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Angela Howard – Culture Expert
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- Many HR departments struggle to balance employee support with company interests in harassment cases.
- A lack of specialized roles and clear processes can lead to inconsistent responses to serious complaints.
- Strengthening oversight, training, and accountability can help create safer, more supportive workplace cultures.
Sexual harassment in the workplace continues to be mishandled by the very systems meant to prevent it.
At the heart of this ongoing failure is the human resources department, which, in many cases, is unequipped or unwilling to confront these problems with the seriousness and impartiality they require.
Despite public commitments to safe and inclusive workplaces, too many organizations fall short when it comes to meaningful action, leaving employees vulnerable and perpetrators unchecked.
The lawsuit filed by Noushin Faraji, a former hairstylist for Fox Sports, against the company, a current executive and former host Skip Bayless, provides a stark example.
Faraji alleges that Bayless, a high-profile sports commentator, inappropriately touched her and offered $1.5 million in exchange for sex, according to HR Grapevine. She also claims that her complaints were ignored and that an executive used his position to prey on women in the workplace.
Faraji claims she made multiple reports to Fox’s HR and employee relations departments, but instead of taking action, the company retaliated against her and others who spoke out.
According to the lawsuit, the perpetrators and their protectors were promoted, emphasizing what it describes as a toxic, patriarchal culture at Fox and a pattern of empty promises and systemic inaction.
The Structural Failings of HR
At the core of many sexual harassment cases is a structural flaw within HR departments: a built-in conflict of interest. HR is supposed to support employees, yet it ultimately reports to the organization’s leadership.
Its function, particularly in large corporations, often leans more toward protecting the company from legal risk than protecting the rights of individual employees. This dynamic creates a power imbalance where employees are discouraged from reporting misconduct for fear of retaliation, disbelief, or inaction.
Traditional HR protocols tend to be reactive rather than proactive. Many departments rely on standard reporting processes and annual harassment training modules, but these measures are frequently more about compliance than culture change.
When allegations arise, especially against high-ranking individuals, HR departments may prioritize minimizing public fallout over fully investigating or addressing the situation.
What Needs to Change
If workplaces are to become truly safe and equitable environments, HR departments must undergo both structural and cultural transformation. This requires more than updated handbooks or token diversity statements. It demands a fundamental reevaluation of how companies handle harassment and who is responsible for doing so.
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1. Establish Independent Oversight
Organizations should not rely solely on internal HR departments to investigate harassment claims. Independent oversight, such as third-party reporting systems or ombuds offices, can provide the neutrality that internal teams often lack. These systems help ensure that complaints are evaluated impartially, especially when they involve senior leaders or individuals in influential roles.
2. Create Specialized Roles within HR
Generalist HR professionals are often not equipped with the skills or training necessary to handle complex harassment cases. Companies should invest in hiring professionals with backgrounds in trauma-informed care, employment law, or workplace equity.
These specialists should be given autonomy to conduct investigations and make recommendations without interference from leadership or pressure to protect the company’s image.
3. Build a Culture of Accountability
It is not enough to say that harassment will not be tolerated. Companies must demonstrate that accountability applies to everyone, regardless of rank or revenue generation. When allegations involve high-profile figures, as in the Faraji lawsuit, leadership must be willing to act transparently and decisively.
Employees need to see that misconduct has real consequences and that no one is above the rules.
4. Train for Culture, Not Just Compliance
Most corporate harassment training focuses on legal definitions and avoidance behavior, which rarely creates meaningful cultural change. Effective training should focus on empathy, communication, and intervention strategies. It should be ongoing and participatory, encouraging employees to identify subtle forms of harassment and support each other in challenging inappropriate behavior.
5. Protect Whistleblowers
One of the biggest barriers to reporting harassment is the fear of retaliation. HR departments must create systems that not only protect whistleblowers but actively encourage reporting by cultivating trust. This includes anonymous reporting options, transparent investigation timelines, and clear communication about outcomes.
HR Can Be The Catalyst for Change, or the Barrier
The reality is that HR departments can either be a powerful force for good or a quiet accomplice in allowing toxic behavior to persist. In many current cases, HR appears to function more as a shield for the organization than as a support system for employees.
If HR is to regain the trust of workers and fulfill its stated mission, it must be reimagined as a department that advocates for employee well-being first. That means embracing transparency, hiring experts, and building systems that prioritize people over profit. It also means holding everyone accountable, from the intern to the CEO.
As for changes needed within HR departments, Traliant’s VP of Compliance Services, Elissa Rossi, told Allwork.Space that “Ensuring employees feel safe reporting harassment incidents is the first and most vital step toward change.”
“Recent data from Traliant on the state of harassment in 2025 found that when employees feel a lack of protection from harassment, the top three reasons cited are: concerns about retaliation (67%), lack of harassment prevention procedures and training (57%), and fear of bullying and threats (50%),” she explained. “The same report also found that almost half (49%) of respondents would not report harassment if there were no anonymous reporting channels.”
When employees lack trust in leadership to handle harassment and misconduct seriously, they are far less likely to come forward. This silence allows harmful behavior to persist, contributing to a toxic work environment that can erode psychological safety, well-being, engagement, retention, and overall productivity.
To address this, HR departments should reevaluate their reporting processes and training programs to ensure they are clear, supportive, and aligned with the expectations of today’s workforce.
“It’s the responsibility of HR leaders to ensure that their harassment prevention reporting processes are clear and promote a safe and retaliation-free culture across all levels,” Rossi said.
Sexual harassment will not be eliminated by policy alone. It will require courage, commitment, and a willingness to disrupt long-standing power dynamics in the future of work. HR can be part of that solution — but only if it chooses to act not just as a department of record, but as a department of responsibility.
