Opinion ID: 3049613
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Liability under a quid pro quo theory

Text: To prove actionable harassment under a quid pro quo or “tangible employment action” theory, Craig must show that Byrd “explicitly or implicitly condition[ed] a job, a job benefit, or the absence of a job detriment, upon an employee’s acceptance of sexual conduct.” Nichols v. Frank, 42 F.3d 503, 511 (9th Cir. 1994). If a plaintiff is able to make such a showing, the employer is strictly liable for the supervisor’s con9522 CRAIG v. M&O AGENCIES, INC. duct. Id. at 510 (“employers are held strictly accountable if they place in positions of authority persons who extract sexual favors from those over whom they exercise power.”). [3] Craig does not allege that Byrd explicitly conditioned her continued employment with The Mahoney Group on her acquiescing to sexual relations with him. She did testify that she felt she had to consent if she wanted to keep her job, yet she offers little else to support her contention. Byrd’s comment “I just don’t think I can work with you anymore” is merely a “vague and unsupported allegation,” which we have held is insufficient to cause a reasonable woman to believe that retaining her job was conditioned on having sex with her supervisor. See Holly D., 339 F.3d at 1176. Additionally, several other senior executives approached Craig after she reported the harassment and reassured her that her job was not in jeopardy. Because Craig, who did not acquiesce to Byrd’s demands, was neither demoted nor fired, nor did she suffer any other “tangible employment action,” id. at 1173, we agree with the district court that Craig has not made out a prima facie case for liability under Title VII on a theory of quid pro quo harassment.