Managers hold key to stopping harassment.

Employers have a legal obligation to prevent sexual harassment and other forms of harassment. The front line of the anti-harassment battle sits where managers interact with their subordinates.

That means it is imperative for all bosses to understand that they must immediately report any harassment they become aware of. That's true whether the employee reports the harassment, the manager just hears about it--and even if the manager is the victim of harassment.

When managers tolerate being personally harassed, they don't have a chance of stopping harassment in the rest of the organization--and they hurt the company's defense in court.

Recent case: A female cashier at a Memphis gas station complained to her in-store manager that when the male regional manager would visit, he would proposition the cashier for sex and touch her inappropriately.

The in-store manager's response? She told the cashier she couldn't...