Hollywood looks to stamp out sexual misconduct

WASHINGTON — The legal arm of Time’s Up, the anti-sexual harassment initiative started by a group of powerful women in Hollywood, will award grants of up to $50,000 aimed at helping women in lower-wage jobs protect themselves from sexual misconduct.

The Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund will award the grants to nonprofit organizations serving low-income working women, including those who have experienced sexual misconduct at work.

That could include groups working with service industry employees, including hotel and restaurant workers, nurses and farm and factory workers.

“For too long, sexual misconduct in the workplace has gone unchecked and too many people, particularly those working in low-wage jobs and women of color, have not known where to turn,” said Fatima Goss Graves, a defense fund co-founder and president of the National Women’s Law Center, which houses and runs the legal fund.

“Our hope is that we can support outreach to people so that they can learn about their rights,” she said.

More than 2,700 people have already contacted the legal fund, but Goss Graves said the grants are aimed at education and reaching people who may be unaware of their rights.

“We want to overcome some of the barriers that people may have in coming forward in the first place,” she said. “One of things we know about this new awareness around harassment and violence is that for the first time people are learning about their rights.”

The National Women’s Law Center will review the proposals and bestow awards based on factors that include the organization’s “demonstrated commitment to advocacy on behalf of workers’ rights,” the fund said.

Potential programs that could get funding include helping employees learn how to address workplace misconduct or conducting “know your rights” workshops on sexual harassment and retaliation.