Final answer:
The standard applied as the appropriate legal criterion for determining whether sexual harassment had occurred is the preponderance of the evidence standard, commonly used in civil cases.The correct answer is option A.
Step-by-step explanation:
The appropriate legal criterion for determining whether sexual harassment had occurred is commonly the preponderance of the evidence standard.
This standard is used in civil cases and requires that the evidence presented by the plaintiff weighs more heavily in their favor than not, making their case more likely to be true than not.
On the contrary, the beyond a reasonable doubt standard is reserved for criminal cases and is a higher burden of proof, necessitating that there is no reasonable doubt in the mind of the jury regarding the defendant's guilt.
For gender or sex discrimination issues, including some sexual harassment cases, the intermediate scrutiny standard may also be applied, whereby the government must show that the differential treatment is substantially related to an important governmental objective.The correct answer is option A.