Opinion ID: 2756495
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sex-Based Harassment

Text: To prove sex-based harassment, Rickard can (1) show the actions were motivated by sexual desire, (2) show his employer had a general hostility toward members of his sex in the workplace, or (3) offer evidence that similarly situated individuals of the opposite sex were treated more favorably. See McCown v. St. John’s Health Sys., Inc., 349 F.3d 540, 543 (8th Cir. 2003). Rickard alleges the squeezing and towel incidents and Payne’s general mistreatment of Rickard establish sex-based harassment. This claim fails because Rickard cannot show the mistreatment he endured was based on sex. Rickard appears to argue Payne was generally hostile to men in the workplace because Payne had squeezed the nipples of Rickard and several of Rickard’s male coworkers, “receiv[ing] some perverse sexual gratification.” Payne’s alleged behavior—while manifestly inappropriate and obnoxious—is insufficient to show Payne harbored hostility against men in the workplace. Rickard speculates Payne’s actions were motivated by sexual desire, but Rickard admits Payne never pursued a sexual or romantic relationship with him, and Rickard offered no evidence or reasonable inferences suggesting Payne’s behavior was motivated by sexual desire. We also reject Rickard’s assertion that the squeezing incident must have been sex-based harassment because Payne stated “this is a form of sexual harassment.” This court will not take the statement of a layperson—Payne—as definitive proof that his actions qualified as sexual harassment under the law. Without more than Rickard’s speculation, a reasonable juror could not find Payne’s actions—although contemptible—amounted to harassment based on sex. -6-