The breadth of workplace harassment

Cases of sexual abuse and harassment in Connecticut workplaces are so extreme that they would likely be perceived as exaggerated if viewed in a mandated corporate training video.

But the incidents reported to the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities come from every kind of workplace in the state.

A Hearst Connecticut Media review of 100 CHRO complaints reveals problems that permeate work life in every corner of the state — businesses small and sprawling — from restaurants to hospitals to government. The highest percentage was reported in the hospitality field.

Nina Ovrutsky, an attorney who represents harassment victims, summed up the problem in the simple but chilling words: “This happens absolutely everywhere.”

Our investigation will appear in print editions Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Perhaps the most dispiriting data is that a somewhat consistent rate of harassment complaints dropped about threequarters during the peak of the #MeToo movement in 2017, only to reach greater heights little more than a year later.

It would be encouraging to know those numbers rose because more victims felt emboldened to speak up. But even that would not make this social crisis any less toxic. The behavior never stopped, it just faced a rising tide of opposition.

Our analysis indicates 54 percent of the reviewed complaints involved verbal sexual harassment, while there were claims of unwelcome physical contact in 25 percent of them. An alarming 12 percent were reported as assault or rape.

In 28 of the 100 cases, the victim reported being fired. Many others quit.

The incidents are just the lighting of a fuse. It can burn for months and years, fueled by threats of retaliation, the loss of income, depression and the raw pain of broken trust.

That fuse continues to sizzle for anyone who has to switch jobs because they have been victimized. Confidential settlements only serve to hush them.

Most — though not all — of the victims are female.

A somewhat consistent rate of harassment complaints dropped about threequarters during the peak of the #MeToo movement in 2017, only to reach greater heights little more than a year later.

That’s not a surprise because employers in the state simultaneously maintain the status quo of harassment by paying female workers about 81 percent of what their male counterparts earn.

The Time’s Up Act that took effect Oct. 1 represents some progress. It expands requirements for training, grants more power to CHRO and extends the deadline to file complaints.

It took headlines about the likes of fallen film impresario Harvey Weinstein to inspire such legislation, but the problem was always in workplaces throughout the state, and the nation. It will likely always exist in one form or another.

Harassment is not always of a sexual nature. In all of its forms, though, the remedy is to treat one another with dignity.

As you read the series, consider that it is merely a reflection of reported cases, and even those only represent a sample. There are countless other victims out there who have not been heard. This fuse burns everywhere.