Opinion ID: 797560
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Inmates

Text: 11 The Academy and similar institutions house some of the nation's youngest and most violent criminal offenders. The operation and atmosphere of these institutions differ substantially from typical work environments and warrant specialized legal analysis. Prisoners, by definition, have breached prevailing societal norms in fundamentally corrosive ways. By choosing to work in a prison, corrections personnel have acknowledged and accepted the probability that they will face inappropriate and socially deviant behavior. Slayton v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Serv., 206 F.3d 669, 677 (6th Cir.2000). 12 As part of its rehabilitation program, the Academy encourages inmates to verbalize their anger, frustrations, and, in the sex-offender division where Vajdl worked, sexual fantasies. To impose liability upon the Academy for the inappropriate sexual expressions of severely troubled youth would not be reasonable without evidence of special circumstances. 2 We, therefore, conclude that, in the absence of special circumstances not present here, the conduct of inmates cannot be attributed to an employer in order to show that the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment.