SUBMITTED BYASHWANI DADHICH(14) AMIT SHARMA(6) BHUWAN(17) SWATI

The courts assume that the workplace is asexual. People don't

talk about, look at or think about sex when they come to work. This may not be an accurate assumption, but it underlies this requirement. Since the workplace is not supposed to be sexual, all sexual behavior is presumed unwelcome.

Rita Risser, Managing Within The Law

What Is Sexual Harassment?

Physical contact

Any other non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature

any unwelcome sexually determined behaviour

A demand or request for sexual favours

Showing pornography

Sexually coloured remarks

Infosys Technologies Limited is a multinational information technology Services. Company headquartered in Bangalore, India. It is one of India's largest IT companies with 105,453 professionals (including subsidiaries) as of Nov 9, 2009. It has offices in 22 countries and development centers in India, China, Australia, UK, Canada and Japan. Infosys was founded on July 2, 1981 in Pune by N.R. Narayana Murthy.

The case examines the controversy surrounding the charges of sexual harassment and unlawful termination made by an employee against Infosys, leading Indian software company, during 2001-03. Phaneesh Murthy, a top level executive and a director on the company board, was accused of sexually harassing and unlawfully firing his subordinate, Reka Maximovitch..

The case provides information about the definition of sexual harassment and examines in detail the events that occurred from the time Maximovitch joined Infosys to the out-of-court settlement of the lawsuit.

The reasons for the out- of court settlement are discussed and the measures taken by Infosys to improve its internal policies regarding sexual harassment are described

This is a story of blackmail, sex, stalking, threats, oppression, hurt feelings and revenge. Interestingly, all this happened in and around the US offices of Infosys, one of India's most well-known and respected software companies, between October 1999 and December 2000. As a result, Infosys became entangled in a scandal, that dented its reputation as a company that had the best corporate governance structure in the country

during October 1999 and December 2000 became public knowledge in India only when Phaneesh Murthy (Phaneesh), the head of the sales and marketing, and communication and product services division of Infosys (and a director on the board), resigned from his post in June 2002. Phaneesh said that he had resigned in order to focus on fighting a lawsuit filed against him in the US. The lawsuit, filed by his former secretary, Reka Maximovitch (Reka) alleged that Phaneesh had sexually harassed her and unlawfully terminated her employment. The company's share price declined by 6.6% soon after Phaneesh left.

The case attracted a lot of media coverage since a sexual harassment lawsuit implicating such a senior official had never been heard of in the Indian corporate world. It was also being seen as an event that could make Indian companies stop ignoring the sensitive issue of sexual harassment at the workplace..
Analysts wondered how a company that Forbes had once described as "a model of transparency, not just for the rest of corporate India but for companies everywhere," do such things! The saga of Phaneesh, Reka and Infosys and the issue of sexual harassment at the workplace (in India as well as abroad) were debated heatedly in corporate and media circles, as many more shocking events unfolded over the next one year.

Subjects another person to an unwelcome act of physical intimacy

Makes an unwelcome demand or request (whether directly or by implication)

Makes an unwelcome remark with sexual connotations

grabbing, brushing

for sexual favours

like sexually explicit compliments

touching, pinching etc.

and further makes it a condition for employment, payment of wages/ increment/ promotion etc.

cracking loud and sexual jokes

making sexist remarks

 Seeking sexual favours in exchange for work benefits Occurs when consent to sexually explicit behaviour or speech is made a condition for employment Refusal to comply with a 'request' is met with retaliatory action such as dismissal, demotion, difficult work conditions.

Quid pro quo

 More pervasive form of sexual harassment

Hostile working environment

Work conditions or behaviour that make the work environment 'hostile' for the woman Sexist remarks, display of pornography or sexist/obscene graffiti, physical contact/brushing against female employees

 Natural attraction-biological forces

Societal sex-role definitions Organisational structures make sexual harassment possible because they encourage or tolerate abuses of power

Feminist theories contend that sexual harassment is intentional behaviour designed to maintain a position of power

Impact on Others: Affects third parties, with witnesses and observers frequently leaving the organization in response to their experiences The Financial cost: The financial effects of sexual harassment are potentially severe The increased team conflict problems with team cohesion less success in meeting financial goals.

Discipline: The knowledge that harassment is permitted can undermine ethical standards, and discipline in the organization
Image: If the problem is ignored, a companys image can suffer amongst clients, employees, potential customers, and the general public. Legal Cost: The legal costs if a victim files a lawsuit after complaints are ignored or mishandled

Infosys Phaneesh was an integral part of Infosys' success story. Phaneesh successfully set up the company's overseas businesses. He was often called the 'other Murthy' of Infosys. He was the highest paid executive in the company with a take home package of Rs 20 million. In 1992, Phaneesh joined Infosys, then a $ 2 million company with a negligible presence in the US. Within three years, Phaneesh became the head of sales at the company, and in 1996, he was made the head of worldwide sales...

Even as uncertainty about the outcome of Rekha's suit continued, Phaneesh seemed to have moved on. It was also reported that Phaneesh was planning to promote his own business process outsourcing (BPO) firm. In December 2002, Phaneesh and his wife Jaya Murthy launched Primentor (in California), an advisory firm, to outsource consulting for clients and vendors

At the press conference, Narayana Murthy, Nilekani and Mohandas Pai (among others), made public the entire sequence of events in the case. Firstly, Narayana Murthy made it very clear that Phaneesh was very much a party to the settlement deal and that he had signed the documents himself. Also, Infosys had reserved the right to proceed against him for his conduct and for the fact that he did not contribute financially to the settlement

Nilekani said, "He told me he was innocent and that the charge was without merit, and the company was not at risk. He did not tell me anything else about the relationship or the other matters of things being filed against the company."
However, when the issue became more serious in June 2002 and Infosys was served a legal notice, the company's board stepped in..

At the press conference, Narayana Murthy did not answer a question about the fact that Reka did not seek redressal of her grievances through the company's internal systems. In fact, Infosys had taken several measures to strengthen its grievance redressal procedures and had designed and implemented an effective sexual harassment policy. Mohandas Pai said, "We have conducted several training programs, widened the dissemination of information and met employees on this issue." Infosys conducted a course for all its officers and members (in India as well as abroad) on sexual harassment and the importance of being sensitized about the issue

Though out-of-court settlements were the norm for most workplace sexual harassment suits the world over, it clearly was not the best solution. Instead of addressing the problem, this solution simply paid off the victim, so that the accused could walk away. The larger issue of the emotional, physical and financial damage caused to the victim, could be dealt with only if strict policies and guidelines regarding sexual harassment were established by the companies

The workplace is an area where the employee is required to represent, carry out, perform or implement any duties, obligations or services required.

While carrying out ones duty it is imperative that each person in the organization recognizes the others contribution to the organization, respects the commitment to ones work and does not engage in any activity that may outrage anothers modesty.

Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to take steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. They should clearly communicate to employees that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. They can do so by providing sexual harassment training to their employees and by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process and taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee compla

The issue of sexual harassment needs understanding assessment, sensitivity and commitment from all quarters but mostly from the senior managerial authority as their commitment and action can achieve the aim of prevention and effective resolution of sexual harassment at workplace and a gender friendly, discrimination free workplace.