Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:351 – Declaration of public policy
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:351
- Agency: means a department, office, division, agency, commission, board, committee, or other organizational unit of state government. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:352
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Sexual harassment: means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, physical, or inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature which explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment or the holding of office, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment, by a public servant of the state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:352
A. The state of Louisiana is committed to providing a workplace that is free from sexual harassment. Sexual harassment in the workplace is strictly prohibited under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2; the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law, La. Rev. Stat. 23:301 through 303 and 332; and the Louisiana laws on the prevention of sexual harassment, La. Rev. Stat. 42:341 through 345. The Legislature of Louisiana has enacted laws requiring each agency of a governmental entity to develop and institute a policy to prevent sexual harassment, which is applicable to all public servants, public employees, and elected officials.
B. It is hereby declared that in order to reduce the impact of sexual harassment judgments and settlements on the taxpayers of the state, it is the public policy of this state that as sexual harassment is against state and federal law, and state agencies have adopted policies and required training to prevent sexual harassment, when there has been a determination that sexual harassment has occurred, the state should consider certain factors in determining whether the alleged sexual harasser should be required to reimburse all or a portion of the settlement or judgment.
Acts 2019, No. 413, §2, eff. June 20, 2019.