(http://tinyurl.com/y9ezuvq7)
This quote stands out: “‘You can see what's happening in the media, what's
happening in the nation right now is sexual harassment,’ O'Neill said. ‘We want
to start with where the world is right now, where is Minnesota today. Today,
the issue is sexual harassment. So, we will cross that bridge when we come to
it if there is something in a greater scope that is important, but for today
it's sexual harassment.’”
Wow - "where the world is right now" - American businesses have been routinely
training their employees in sexual harassment rules for at least 20 solid
years. No one ‘complains’ about it - at least not publicly - because it is
known to be non-negotiable. My most recent stint at United Health Group (UHG),
one of the largest companies in Minnesota, featured the attached slide,
admonishing men not to make 'sex jokes' at work. I clipped it because I felt it
was insulting to the intelligence of any adult (this was around 2011).
This training is mandatory for EVERY UHG employee. Now UHG doesn’t do it
because they’re good-hearted - they do it to avoid lawsuits under federal &
state employment regulations. That’s the same reason EVERY LARGE BUSINESS does
it. How are we to believe that the government - the very body who passes the
laws and perhaps the only institution in the state larger than UHG - does not
know this?
The statement by Rep. O’Neill is either 1) knowingly false or 2) made by
someone utterly clueless and obviously unfit to serve in any leadership
position. In either case this is one of the clearest examples why politicians
are not suited for moral leadership and must be subject to all the laws they
pass. This was parodied over 40 years ago in Blazing Saddles - "We've gotta
protect our phony baloney jobs!"
Perhaps I was wrong about the insult to intelligence - and many in state
government *do* need to be told not to make ‘sex jokes’ at work. I’d like to
see our local media call this out. So far I don’t see it. Maybe reporters are
unaware. Do the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune run all employees through sexual
harassment training?