This Act superseded the Vishakha guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court of India. Before the institution of this Act, a woman facing harassment at the workplace had to lodge a complaint under Section 354 and/or Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code, which dealt with, respectively, assault or use of criminal force with the intent to outrage the modesty of a woman and words, gestures, or acts to outrage the modesty of a woman. This act is important because it obligates the employer to provide an environment free of sexual harassment. This is in contrast to the pre-Vishakha guidelines era during which the female employee would have to lodge complaints with the police authorities. Such obligation is a part of the company’s legal compliance and non-compliance triggers significant penalties. The Act defines various terms like ‘sexual harassment,’ ‘aggrieved woman,’ ‘workplace’ etc., which clarify actions covered under the Act. The Act broadly interprets these terms and efforts have been made to cover as many facets of employment as possible. Significantly, the term workplace has been expanded to include remote and telecommuting work. The Act also includes guidelines regarding the filing of complaints, the formation of the inquiry committee, and the process of conducting inquiries. Lastly, the Act also provides safeguards against malicious complaints.
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