Impact of #MeToo felt in workplace: Harassment complaints, lawsuits on the rise.

As if you needed another warning to improve your organization's efforts to prevent sexual harassment, the EEOC last month announced these alarming numbers:

* After eight years of declines, the number of sexual harassment complaints filed by employees with the EEOC rose more than 12% in fiscal year 2018 (ending Sept. 30) compared to 2017 numbers. That means the EEOC received more than 7,500 harassment charges this year.

* The number of sexual harassment lawsuits filed by the EEOC reached 41 last fiscal year, up dramatically from past years (see chart below).

* The EEOC recovered nearly $70 million though litigation and administrative enforcement of sexual harassment cases, up from $47 million the year before.

The EEOC says these increases are coming in a year when all other types of discrimination complaints are down.

"It absolutely reflects a greater willingness (for employees) to report it and speak up about it," said EEOC Chair Victoria Lipnic. "If you don't address it in your workplace, you could find yourself on the receiving end of a...