Updates on Sexual Harassment - Archives

FOURTH QUARTER 2001

This section contains brief updates of recent sexual harassment complaints, suits, settlements, awards, surveys and studies. The information is gathered from many places and is intended to give an overview of the most current events. It is not meant to provide an exhaustive list of all the news.

Harassment of All Types Should be Addressed: According to experts interviewed by the Bureau of National Affairs, two recent federal appeals court rulings, stating that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects workers from disabilities harassment just as Title VII protects them against other types of harassment, emphasize the importance of employer policies and training programs to prevent discrimination The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Fifth circuits recently ruled that the ADA creates a cause of action for hostile work environment harassment. 12/31/01 Full story in the December Webb Report - Subscribe Now!

Punitive Damages Allowed Without Compensatory Damages: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently ruled on an issue not previously addressed. The court said that punitive damages may be awarded in cases under Title VII regardless of whether a judge or jury awarded any compensatory damages. The court affirmed the jury verdict of $100,000 in punitive damages but no other damages for a lab technician in her Title VII sexual harassment lawsuit against her employer. Title VII allows a maximum $100,000 in total damages for companies the size of the employer in this case. The court said that the statutory caps "strongly undermine the concerns that underlie the reluctance to award punitive damages without proof of actual harm." 12/17/01 Full story in the December Webb Report - Subscribe Now!

Court Allows Claim to Go Forward: According to a federal district court in Pennsylvania, a machine shop worker can go ahead with her sexual harassment suit against her former employer because the company's internal policy required her to report the behavior to her supervisor. In this case, the supervisor was one of the alleged harassers. The court said that the employee "was required to report to her supervisor, one of the alleged harassers. Further, when she did complain of the harassment, she was told to retaliate against her co-workers in kind. Therefore, the employee has presented evidence that the employer's policy was ineffective and that her failure to pursue the policy was reasonable." Thus the court allowed the case to proceed to trial. 12/11/01 Full story in the December Webb Report - Subscribe Now!

Five Sue Las Cruces Bank & Executive: A number of plaintiffs have filed multiple lawsuits against First Savings Bank in Las Cruces and one of its former executives. The women have made claims of sexual harassment, unequal pay, workplace retaliation and unwritten policies favoring young white men over other employees. The women filed their suits in federal court. The five former employees said they were either fired or forced to quit their jobs in early 2000 and 1999 because of retaliation and discrimination against them by the bank and its president. The lawsuit alleges that the regional president enjoyed a lifestyle of partying and attempted to hire executives "who would participate in his party behavior." Another of the court complaints was that he "mooned" several employees. Spokespersons for the bank and the president himself denied the allegations. 12/03/01

EEOC Settles Lawsuit with $9 Million Consent Decree: According to a press release, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Eagle Global Logistics, also know as Eagle U.S.A. Airfreight, Inc., reached a $9,000,000 voluntary settlement which has been submitted for approval by U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Hughes in Houston, Texas. The settlement through a Consent Decree avoids protracted litigation by the EEOC on behalf of a class of African-Americans, Hispanics, and female employees and applicants who were allegedly subjected to race, gender, age, national origin discrimination, and harassment on the basis of sex and retaliation. 10/26/01 Full story in the October Webb Report - Subscribe Now!

New Jersey Toughens Harassment and Stalking Law: It is now a crime to use a pager, cell phone, fax machine or e-mail to stalk or harass someone in New Jersey under legislation acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco signed last month. The law updates the state's harassment and stalking statutes, which until this time covered only verbal or written threats. It now includes instances when someone asks another person to convey a threat. 10/16/01 Full story in the October Webb Report - Subscribe Now!

Man's Harassment Award Reduced to $750,000: A male corrections officer who was awarded a record $3.75 million in a sexual discrimination suit against the state had most of the awarded judgment set aside by a state appeals court in New Jersey. The panel upheld $750,000 in compensatory damages awarded to the man who said that he was subjected to years of harassment by a female guard and her friends because he rebuffed the woman's advances. However the appeals court said the trial judge had failed to properly instruct the jury on how it should go about assessing punitive damages. 10/10/01 Full story in the October Webb Report - Subscribe Now!

Archives of Previous Updates

© The Employers Association, 1996- 
Associated Trademarks and All Rights Are Reserved