• 10
  • September
    2011

In a recent post, we discussed a judgment against a Hollywood producer who was found guilty of sexually harassing his personal assistant. In that post, we detailed the lawsuit that the former personal assistant brought against her employer and the sexual harassment that her boss subjected her to.

As a result of her having to leave her job, she was awarded $822,000 for lost wages. This amount represents the amount of income she lost from the time she was forced to leave her job until the present. This is because her boss effectively made her unemployable in Hollywood by using his influence to keep her from working.

More recently, the second phase of the trial focused on punitive damages, which are awarded to punish behavior. The jury awarded the woman $2.5 million in punitive damages. Like many who heard about this woman's struggle, the jury was outraged by the behavior of the Hollywood producer against his former employee.

The 66-year-old producer reportedly will seek an appeal of this jury verdict, and he continues to deny any wrongdoing. His past behavior -- such as rubbing an employee's thighs, exposing his body and attempting to hug an employee while naked -- makes it hard to believe that he is innocent. This is not appropriate behavior for anyone in the workplace, but particularly not for an employer.

His claim of innocence is even more unbelievable because this is not the first time he has been sued for sexual harassment. In fact, three previous employees have claimed that he subjected them to sexual harassment in the workplace.

In awarding such a large sum for punitive damages, the jury sent a message to this Hollywood producer, and all California employers, that sexual harassment in the workplace will not be tolerated.

Source: LAist, "Woman Awarded Over $3 Million in Yet Another Sexual harassment Suit Against Hollywood Exec Jon Peters," Emma G. Gallegos, Aug. 27, 2011