Claiming sexual harassment is the easiest method of knocking down a juicy severance package.
That is an incorrect statement. However, it has gotten a lot of play the past few weeks. No source though.
And kind of insulting to women, although most people don't think about it enough to actually realize that. It's just a cool sound bite of the kind we have taken to using instead of our brains.
I suggest people use their brains, do some research, and be educated and informed so we don't keep repeating "facts" that make us look like idiots.
I'll give you a tidbit. In 1988, there were around 17,000 resolutions of EEOC and state/local-filed harrassment complaints (these are the complaints that made it far enough to get reported somewhere, which is a precursor to making any serious money).
In 1988, the total amount paid out for those 17,000 resolutions was about $34 million. That's about $2000 per resolution. Of those 17,000 resolved cases, 40% were actually dismissed. A lot more were "resolved" with no payments, through reconciliation or other forms of agreement.
There may have been as few as 3500 payouts from those 17,000 cases, which includes ones where there was clear harrassment. That translates to about $14,000 per successful claim.
Filing harrassment complaints is not an easy way to get paid off. If it were, everybody would do it. It instead is a great way to get labelled a trouble-maker. If you are lucky, you can get non-disclosure so your employer can't tell the next employer.
It is sad that so many freepers really believe that women can just make up a complaint and get paid thousands of dollars. It clearly happens -- but it's not the norm. It seemed to have happened in Cain's case, but that's true without having to pretend it happens all the time.
Respectfully, on one hand we have FR members arguing that the settlements were a pittance and therefore prove that the claims weren't true . . . and on the other hand, we're calling them a juicy severance package?
Were you aware that a book published in 1998 (right in the ballpark of the settlements of the accusations against Cain) stated that only 60% of sexual harassment claims filed with the EEOC found 'reasonable cause'?
And I would imagine that the EEOC would find sexual harassment anywhere it was possible to claim it.