Source: https://telioslaw.com/blog/ten-ways-land-court-over-sexual-harassment
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 19:55:51+00:00

Document:
Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Al Franken—and the list goes on. High-profile sexual harassment allegations have shaken up Hollywood, the media, and politics. But don’t think that this trend is confined to celebrities. They are not the only ones who can, and do, abuse power. Sexual harassment by employees, if not dealt with swiftly, can create a toxic work environment as well as land even small organizations in hot water. In light of this timely topic, here are ten easy ways to end up in court over sexual harassment. Topics in this “what not to do” list are examples taken from actual cases.
Before diving into this list, it is important to remember when organizations can be held legally liable for sexual harassment that happens to their employees. A key defense exists to sexual harassment liability for organizations, called the Faragher/Ellerth defense. In order to take advantage of this defense, an organization must prove “(a) that the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior, and (b) that the plaintiff employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventative or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise.”1 With that in mind, let’s dive into the list, as many of these easy ways to fail are ways to lose this defense.
1. Have a sexual harassment policy that no one knows about.
Having a sexual harassment policy that the organization does not condone harassment is a good start. But it does little to help the organization or its employees if it sits on the shelf and no one knows it exists. In some cases, courts have held that the fact that employees did not know about the policy meant that the employer was not allowed to take advantage of the policy to show it had taken steps to prevent harassment.2 In those cases, both parts of the Faragher/Ellerth defense are implicated.
2. Conduct a biased investigation and refuse to discipline any employees.
8. Joke about how a top individual treats female colleagues, but don’t discipline him.
1 Kramer v. Wasatch Cnty. Sheriff’s Office, 743 F.3d 726, 745 (10th Cir. 2014).
2See Baty v. Willamette Industries, Inc., 172 F.3d 1232 (10th Cir. 1999).
3See Faragher/Ellerth defense, part (a).
4See Baty v. Willamette Industries, Inc., 172 F.3d 1232 (10th Cir. 1999).
5See Faragher/Ellerth defense, part (a).
6Kramer v. Wasatch County Sherriff’s Office, (10th Cir. 2014).
7See Faragher/Ellerth defense, part (a).
8EEOC v. PVNF, LLC, 487 F.3d 790 (10th Cir. 2007).
9See Faragher/Ellerth defense, part (a).
10Wilson v. Tulsa Junior Coll., 164 F.3d 534 (10th Cir. 1998).
11See Faragher/Ellerth defense, part (b).
12Vasquez v. Empress Ambulance Servs., Inc., 835 F.3d 267 (2d Cir. 2016).
13See Faragher/Ellerth defense, part (a).
14See Faragher/Ellerth defense, part (a).
15Sharp v. City of Houston, 164 F.3d 923 (5th Cir. 1999).
16See Faragher/Ellerth defense, parts (a) and (b).
17Id.; see also Faragher, 524 U.S. at 808.
18 See Faragher/Ellerth defense, parts (a) and (b).

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v.