Often organizations think
they cannot be held accountable for sexual harassment if the
employee reports misconduct but refuses to file a written complaint.
Or they may believe they cannot be held liable for a single instance
of misconduct, particularly in hostile environment cases. And
often companies assume they have no responsibility for behavior
that occurs away from the work site while employees are
off-duty. This case helps us understand the large responsibility
an employer has in such circumstances to those who might have
been victims of sexual harassment.
In this context Ms. Zachary asks a question
that supervisors often answer incorrectly: Can an organization
be held liable for off-site sexual harassment? The answer is
YES, in certain cases.
To answer the question, the author outlines
the history of a case against Delta Airlines in which an employee
sued Delta for creating an unlawful hostile environment that
constituted sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964.
The employee claimed to have been raped in the hotel room of
a male flight attendant in Rome, where all of the employees were
being housed on a layover. She did tell others about the rape,
but failed to file a written report. Other employees had been
raped or harassed by the same employee in the past, but no action
had been taken against him, for a variety of reasons. When the
employee sued the airline in district court for violating Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, she argued that the airline
had maintained an unlawful hostile environment that constituted
sexual harassment. Ultimately, the courts rejected the plaintiff's
sexual harassment allegations, stating that the hotel room was
not in the work environment.
The employee appealed to the Second Circuit,
which found in her favor. The Second Circuit based its decision
on the fact that there were three other complaints against the
employee. It decided that the hotel room could be considered
a work site, since the airline flight crew had been lodged in
a block of hotel rooms arranged and paid for by the employer.
It felt that the egregious circumstance of rape would constitute
a hostile environment. In addition, the employer was held to
be liable, since it knew about the complaint but failed to take
action.
After recounting the history of this court
case, the author concluded the following:
1. An organization may be held liable for
allowing a sexually hostile work environment, even if all complained
of conduct occurs off the work site and during off-duty hours.
2. A supervisor, and thereby the organization
is on notice of a potential legal violation once a complaint
is made, even if the victim declines to make a written report,
or even if she requests that no action be taken.
2. Liability may be imposed on an organization
for a single incident, if the behavior is egregious enough, such
as in the case of rape.
4. Once informed, the supervisor should
immediately investigate any and all allegations of harassment
and should not take any action to dissuade a victim from filing
a complaint or telling others about the incident.
Every organization in this country should be cognizant of issues
related to sexual harassment. Managers and supervisors should
be conversant with its ramifications, notwithstanding Human Resource
Management's constant involvement with policy and procedure.
It is often a supervisor who first becomes aware of an individual
employee's victimization. How that supervisor responds can help
mitigate the effect of the behaviors on the employee, as well
as the potential liability of the employer.
For a more systematic treatment of sexual
harassment, please review the digital training program, Understanding
Sexual Harassment. If you have questions about your own organization's
policies and procedures, you should discuss the matter with your
own supervisor and contact Human Resources for guidance.