• 18
  • January
    2012

Our last post discussed a recent sexual harassment case from California. In the case, a woman, Shannon, observed what she considered to be sexually offensive conduct. However, she did not report it to anyone. Later, when she received an email in which she was referred to in sexually vulgar terms, she reported it.

Shannon then started asking her co-workers whether the employee who wrote the email had harassed other people in the past. When she learned about previous sexual harassment toward clients, she reported that as well.

Her co-worker was given a reprimanding letter, and a sexual harassment specialist was brought into the company. Shannon, however, didn't think the company was doing enough. She announced that she was quitting and requested a compensation package for the harassment.

Shannon then filed a lawsuit against the agency and her co-worker, stating that she had been forced to work in a hostile work environment. Although the jury awarded Shannon $250,000, the judge objected. The judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Shannon had been subjected to severe or pervasive workplace sexual harassment.

Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), employees must show that they suffered severe harassment and that the harassment was severe enough to alter the working conditions. The Court of Appeals noted that "it takes more than harassment that is occasional, isolated, sporadic, or trivial."

In addition, because not all of the harassment was targeted at Shannon -- such as the harassment toward a client -- the harassment needed to have happened in her presence for it to constitute a hostile work environment.

Finally, the Court of Appeals also ruled that the conduct was not severe or pervasive. The court stated, "Neither the August email nor any other evidence showed that Shannon was ever assaulted, subjected to unwelcome physical contact, threatened, propositioned, or subjected to explicit language directed at her or anyone in her presence. She was also never subjected to verbal abuse or harassment."

Although Shannon did not win this case outright, the jury did find her employer liable. Moreover, it is rare for a judge to disagree with the jury. If a similar case went before another judge and jury, the outcome could have been drastically different.

Source: HR.BLR.com, "Sexual Harassment: What Conduct Creates a Hostile Work Environment?" Jan. 10, 2012