Opinion ID: 797560
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Co-Workers

Text: 13 Vajdl's claim stands or falls on the proof that her co-workers' harassing conduct subjectively and objectively affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment. Bowen v. Mo. Dep't of Soc. Serv., 311 F.3d 878, 883 (8th Cir.2002). 14 Vajdl alleges that three co-workers harassed her in various ways. The overwhelming majority of Vajdl's complaints focus upon the conduct of Michael Muehlberg. According to Vajdl, Muehlberg would frequently comment to Vajdl about her body. He also once touched the bangs of her hair. Additionally, he wiped water off her pant leg after one of the inmates splashed her at the pool. In an effort to court her, he repeatedly suggested that they go on dates and that she leave her current boyfriend. Muehlberg once telephoned her at home. He also offered to buy her a drink and to give her a ride home. 15 Similarly, the conduct of another co-worker, Joel Lawson, amounts largely to repeated requests for dates. A third co-worker, John Gustafson, also made a series of inappropriate comments about Vajdl's body during the two-week period that the two worked together. Viewed in the light most favorable to Vajdl, this conduct, neither objectively nor subjectively supports a claim of harassment so severe or pervasive as to alter a term, condition, or privilege of Vajdl's employment. 16 The objective standard for evaluating harassment is set forth in this circuit in Duncan v. General Motors Corp., 300 F.3d 928 (8th Cir.2002). In Duncan, the plaintiff alleged that a co-worker repeatedly petted her hand; told her he wanted to have a relationship with her; requested that she make a sketch of a planter, shaped like a slouched man with a hole in the front of his pants that allowed for a cactus to protrude; put up a poster portraying the plaintiff as president of Man Hater's Club of America, and requested that she type a draft of beliefs of He-Men Women Hater's Club. Id. at 931-33. Further, Duncan was also required to use a computer with a screen saver displaying a picture of a naked woman. Id. at 931. Duncan's harasser also kept a penis-shaped pacifier in his desk which he showed Duncan. Id. Duncan's harasser once forced her to go with him to a bar. Id. at 932. Despite this offensive behavior, we decided that Duncan failed to clear the high threshold of showing that the conduct was so severe or pervasive as to alter a term, condition, or privilege of the plaintiff's employment. Id. at 934. 17 Objectively, the behavior Vajdl alleges does not reach the Duncan threshold. Whether an environment was objectively hostile or abusive must be judged by looking at the totality of the circumstances, including the frequency and severity of the discriminatory conduct, whether such conduct was physically threatening or humiliating, as opposed to a mere offensive utterance, and whether the conduct unreasonably interfered with the employee's work performance. Id. at 884. In Duncan, for example, the conduct occurred over three years. Here, Vajdl was employed by the Academy for less than eight months. Muehlberg's conduct occurred mostly within a three-month window. Further, Vajdl does not allege that she felt physically threatened by the offensive conduct. In light of these factors and our holding in Duncan, the conduct endured by Vajdl cannot objectively support a claim of harassment so severe or pervasive as to alter a term, condition, or privilege of her employment. 18 Subjectively, the record evidence shows that Vajdl was justifiably annoyed by the conduct of her co-workers; however, she has not shown severe or pervasive harassment as required by our precedents. For example, in describing her reaction to Muehlberg's conduct, Vajdl stated, I took it as a way of flirting. An absurdity. When Muehlberg called her at home, she stated that the conversation was ridiculous, I don't know, it was ridiculous. . . . It was just things over nothing. Likewise, she also characterized conversations with Lawson as flirting. In her deposition she stated, When I'd come up the stairs, [Lawson would] kick me in the ankles, not like, you know, viciously, but just a tap on the ankle. 19 There can be no question that this conduct is offensive, juvenile, and inappropriate for any workplace. However, we cannot say that this conduct creates a genuine issue of material fact whether the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment. Given this holding, we need not consider whether the Academy knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take prompt and effective remedial action.