Scope and Legal Basis

Third-party harassment refers to abusive conduct by clients, vendors, or contractors that occurs in the work context or during work-related interactions. This includes in-person encounters, email and chat communications, or remote interactions tied to business activities. The legal framework extends beyond internal staff to address harm caused by non employees who interact with the company or its workers.

Despite variations across jurisdictions, most frameworks share the goal of preventing harm and providing remedies. Organizations may be exposed to liability when they fail to prevent or promptly address harassment by external partners. This lesson clarifies who is covered and what conduct is regulated under common legal and policy standards.

Learning outcome: be able to identify who is protected and understand why the organization must act when non employees engage in harassing behavior.

• Forms of harassment encountered in external interactions
• Liability concepts for organizations and supervisors
• General obligations to prevent and respond to external harassment