Harassment Case

In the case for Brittany she is dealing with sexual harassment in a hostile environment and a quid pro quo environment. The hostile work environment is her colleague Robert making comments about the pictures on her desk and taking them behind her back to put a file on his desktop computer. The quid pro quo environment comes from her boss Duane Miller telling her that Brittany needs to go on a “business trip” and share a room with him while showing him her “goods”. With her saying “no” she then got demoted to the mail room with a cut in pay. Brittany does have a case that will show the law firm she is working for is violating laws against sexual harassment and quid pro environment. The different situation that happened against Brittany are terms for the lawyer firm to get legal action against them. The different actions that happened from Robert and Duane were that she was subjected to unwelcomed sexual advances, harassment complained of was based upon sex, the reaction to the harassment negatively affected the terms and conditions of your employment, and it carried over to her supervisor continuing the harassment.

Any sexual advance that makes you feel uncomfortable may be considered unwelcome. The best way that Brittany established that what Robert was doing is unwelcome is by directly telling Duane that Robert’s actions made her uncomfortable. By Brittany rejecting Robert shows the court that the sexual conduct was unwelcomed. It also shows that when Duane asked Brittany to go on the “business trip” with him to show the goods, in turn her denying and getting a demotion to the mail room with a cut in pay.

With Brittany presenting the court with evidence that she was in good employment standing, such as good reviews and verbal appraisals, prior to refusing the supervisor’s sexual advances usually suffices to show a negative effect. The court may consider the sudden change of her good employment standing as evidence indicating that her refusal to submit to the sexual advances caused her demise. Brittany has to present evidence establishing that the employer’s reason is merely an excuse or that more likely than not her refusing Duane to submit to the sexual advances was the true reason for the discriminatory treatment. When Duane presented the fact that he could more Brittany as a promotion to another department if she showed hers, she could present that to the court to show that he was trying for an unwelcomed sexual favor.

The five suggestions that would be made would be
* The legal firm should correct harassment that is unwelcome regardless of whether a complaint is filed. For example, in Brittany’s case when Robert made his first comment that she told Duane, he should have been given punishment to his actions. * An employer should ensure that its supervisors and managers understand their responsibilities under the organization’s anti-harassment policy and complaint procedures. Duane should have presented this to his boss about Robert “up to his old tricks” and had Robert removed from the company. * An employer should screen applicants for supervisory jobs to see if they have a history of engaging in harassment. The company should have classes about sexual harassment so that the whole company knows how to determine harassment and how to report it. * An employer should keep records of harassment complaints and check those records when a complaint of harassment. Robert should have been let go from the company since he has had a harassment case against him previously. * The employer should designate more than one individual to take complaints, to be all throughout the company to keep an eye out and be there if any of these cases come up.