ABA Family Legal Guide

Law and the Workplace

On the Job

Sexual Harassment

What is quid pro quo harassment?

Quid pro quo harassment occurs when a job benefit is tied directly to an employee submitting to unwelcome sexual advances. For example, a supervisor promises an employee a raise if she will go out on a date with him, or tells an employee she will be fired if she doesn't engage in intimate conduct with him.

Only people with supervisory authority over a worker can engage in quid pro quo harassment, since it requires the harasser to have the authority to grant or withhold job benefits.

Courts look to whether the harassment results in a tangible employment action--that is, whether there was a significant change in employment status, such as firing, failure to promote, or a change in wage rate.