Katz Banks Kumin partner Alexis Ronickher appeared as a guest on the NPR show HearSay with Cathy Lewis to discuss sexual harassment in the workplace.

Legally, Ronickher explains, workplace sexual harassment has been prohibited for thirty years as a form of sex discrimination. What have changed are the cultural standards behind what constitutes a “hostile work environment,” especially in just the last few months since the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

As it pertains to improving the reporting of sexual harassment, Ronickher points to the bystanders – “Colleagues are critical in these types of situations” – and to a real tonal changes in offices when addressing harassment and its consequences. People will only feel safe speaking out “if you make it clear from the tone at the top that a report is going to be handled, that there are procedures.”

Listen to the full show below, courtesy of HearSay.