Opinion ID: 3013236
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Suders’s Claim of a Sexually Hostile Work

Text: Environment Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s . . . sex.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). In Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 65-67 (1986), the Supreme Court recognized that an employee who has been sexually harassed has a cause of action pursuant to Title VII if the sexual harassment at issue was either a quid pro quo scenario, or if the harassment was so pervasive that it had the effect of creating a hostile work environment and of altering the conditions of employment. In the present case, Suders alleged a violation of Title VII based on the second scenario set forth in Meritor: a hostile work environment at the McConnellsburg barracks. 14 Shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision in Meritor, we addressed a number of issues relating to the burgeoning jurisprudence of sexual harassment. See Andrews, 895 F.2d at 1482. In Andrews, we held that an employee seeking to bring a hostile work environment claim against his or her employer must establish the convergence of five factors: (1) the employee suffered intentional discrimination because of his or her sex; (2) the discrimination was pervasive and regular; (3) the discrimination detrimentally affected the employee; and (4) the discrimination would detrimentally affect a reasonable person of the same sex in that position.6 895 F.2d at 1482; see also Knabe v. The Boury Corp., 114 F.3d 407, 410 (3d Cir. 1997). In Andrews, we also discussed a plaintiff ’s burden with respect to each of the factors. With regard to the first factor, we noted that intentional discrimination is implicit in cases involving “sexual propositions, innuendo, pornographic materials, or sexual derogatory language.” Andrews, 895 F.2d at 1482 n.3. In such cases, the intent to discriminate “should be recognized as a matter of course.” Id. The second factor requires that the “incidents of harassment occur either in concert or with regularity.” Id. at 1484 (quotations and citations omitted). The third factor is a subjective inquiry of whether the particular plaintiff was demonstrably injured. See id. at 1483. And the fourth factor injects a requirement of objectivity: it ensures that employers are held liable only when the work environment is hostile from the standpoint of a reasonable person. See id. at 1483 (noting the need to protect employers from “hypersensitive” employees, but recognizing “the goal of equal opportunity” and “the walls of discrimination that deprive women of self-respecting employment.”). 6. The fifth factor of the Andrews test is respondeat superior liability. Of course, in the context of the vicarious liability of an employer for the acts of its supervisors, the analysis under the fifth factor is materially altered by the Supreme Court’s decisions in Ellerth and Faragher. Accordingly, we devote Part III.C, infra, to discussing this issue. For present purposes, our discussion of Suders’s hostile work environment claim is limited to the first four factors. 15 When assessing the relevant factors, we are reminded to view the record as a whole and admonished against focusing on either one particular factor or a specific incident: “Particularly in the discrimination area, it is often difficult to determine the motivations of an action and any analysis is filled with pitfalls and ambiguities. A play cannot be understood on the basis of some of its scenes but only on its entire performance, and similarly, a discrimination analysis must concentrate not on individual incidents, but on the overall scenario.” Id. at 1484; see also Knabe, 114 F.3d at 410. With these principles in mind, we agree with the District Court insofar as it held that Suders had raised genuine issues of material fact as to her claim of a sexually hostile work environment. Drawing all reasonable inferences in her favor, Suders established all of the following: (1) her own Station Commander had a preoccupation with discussing bestiality and oral sex with her; (2) Easton’s “conversations” were accompanied by leering and suggestive posturing—conduct that Suders found offensive; (3) Baker routinely engaged in sexually-charged acts intended to humiliate or demean Suders, even after he was politely asked to stop. Viewed in the most generous light, his repeated reenactments of the wrestling move were indicative of an immense immaturity and could reasonably be perceived as innuendo; and (4) When not making offensive gestures with his crotch, Baker attempted to engage Suders in conversations about piercing his genitals. Although this brief summary does not catalog all of the offensive conduct alleged, it is sufficient to show that a reasonable jury could find that the work environment at the McConnellsburg barracks was rife with hostility and sexual innuendo. There is no question that under the standard set forth in Andrews, Suders has raised genuine issues of material fact as to the intentional nature of the discrimination at the McConnellsburg barracks. 16 It is also clear that Suders offered evidence sufficient to establish a pattern of sexual harassment that was pervasive and regular. Particularly telling is Baker’s repetition of the wrestling move five to ten times per shift. In addition, Easton’s conduct, although not daily, occurred with regularity. Together, Baker’s and Easton’s conduct is sufficient to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to the second factor in Andrews. In addition, both the subjective and objective components of the Andrews test are satisfied here. Because of the severe and pervasive harassment of her supervising officers, Suders felt that her only recourse was to draft a resignation letter. With respect to the objective standard, the District Court found that “there was enough conduct in the instant action to raise an issue of fact that the atmosphere was sufficiently hostile to offend a reasonable person in Plaintiff ’s position. Most persuasive is Plaintiff ’s testimony regarding the ‘wrestling move’ that Defendant Baker allegedly repeated five to ten times during each shift that he worked with Plaintiff.” Decision, at 14-15. Up to this point in the analysis, we are in complete agreement with the District Court. Suders presented compelling evidence sufficient to raise genuine issues of material fact on her claim of a sexually hostile work environment. We part company with the District Court, however, in the balance of its analysis relating to the liability of the PA State Police. Although it concluded that Suders had marshaled enough evidence to survive the motion for summary judgment, the District Court proceeded to consider the affirmative defense set forth in Ellerth and Faragher. Ultimately, it found that the PA State Police was entitled to assert the defense and that there were no issues of fact justifying trial on the merits. Thus, the Court granted summary judgment as to Suders’s Title VII claim against the PA State Police. We believe that the District Court’s analysis was fundamentally flawed for two reasons. First, even if the PA State Police could assert the affirmative defense, disputed issues of fact relating to the defense preclude summary judgment here. While the PA State Police contended that it had an effective remedial program in place to address 17 sexual harassment claims, Suders never found the complaint form necessary to trigger an investigation. Moreover, Suders contacted Smith-Elliott twice. The first time, Suders alluded to potential problems and stated that she might need assistance. No attempt was made to follow up on Suders’s initial contact. The second time, Suders contended that Smith-Elliott was entirely unhelpful, appearing insensitive at times. On this record, it is unclear whether the PA State Police exercised reasonable care to prevent or correct the sexual harassment that Suders claimed she suffered. Accordingly, the grant of summary judgment on the basis of the affirmative defense was improper. Second, and more importantly, the Court did not consider Suders’s claim of constructive discharge and whether a claim of constructive discharge would affect the availability of the affirmative defense.