SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 5,2002) - Valentines Day, a holiday marked by boxes of chocolates and bouquets of roses, has also become a time to reflect on the state of sexual harassment in the American workplace. This year's national survey by the Employment Law Alliance, the world's largest network of employment and labor lawyers, reveals that 21% of the women polled say they've been sexually harassed at work.

Stephen J. Hirschfeld, CEO of the ELA, and a partner in the California based law firm of Curiale, Dellaverson, Hirschfeld, Kraemer, and Sloan, said given the amount of litigation and the volume of claims filed with federal and state government agencies, many observers will be surprised that the percentage of those saying they've been sexually harassed isn't much higher. "The poll results confirm that sexual harassment is still very much a fact of life in the American workplace," said Hirschfeld. "The people who will be shocked by these findings think every American workplace is like "Ally McBeal" or "Sex In The City". Instead, our findings strongly suggest that most employees are confident in their ability to be self-policing when it comes to sexual harassment, clearly want their employers to stay out of their "personal lives, and only resort to litigation as an absolute last resort."

"These results indicate that the American employer is doing a much better job of practicing prevention in the workplace," he added. "While we would agree that one case is one case too many, it's very significant that 85% of the 1,000 American adults polled said they've not been sexually harassed at work." He noted that while 21% of women polled said they have encountered sexual harassment, that contrasts with 7% of the men surveyed. Hirschfeld noted that between 1992 and 2000, the percentage of men filing sexual harassment complaints with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) grew from 9% to 13%. Overall claims with the agency soared more than 40% during that period.

Other key findings in the ELA "America At Work" survey looking at sexual harassment and romantic relationships in the workplace were:

• 20% said they know of a romantic relationship between a supervisor and a subordinate at work.
• 66% said romantic relationships at work cause favoritism and poor morale
• 54% said employees were likely to face retaliation if they rejected romantic relationships with their supervisors.
• 66% of those surveyed believe romantic relationships at work are personal and private and should not be regulated by employers.

Dr. Theodore Reed, survey director and a partner in the Media, Pennsylvania firm of Reed Haldy McIntosh & Associates, said, "We continue to see a trend in which Americans overwhelmingly see regulation of romantic relationships as an intrusion by the employer." Jude Biggs, Chair of the Labor and Employment Practice Group at the ELA Colorado affiliate, Holland and Hart, said the findings once again underscore in dramatic fashion the need for workplace education of managers and all employees. "Today's workplace is more susceptible than ever to sexual harassment, largely because of the free-flowing worldwide web and typically unrestricted, often sexually-suggestive e-mail communications," she said. "Employers must understand that the office intranet can easily be transformed into a tool for sexual harassment and they have an affirmative duty to make sure that doesn't happen."

The Employment Law Alliance is an integrated, global practice network comprised of more than 2000 employment and labor lawyers in more than 75 premier independent law firms distinguished for their practice in employment and labor law. There are member firms in every jurisdiction in the United States and Canada, and in more than 50 countries around the world.

For more information about the ELA and the "America At Work" survey series, including production-quality charts of the findings, visit www.employmentlawalliance.com