Faulty EEOC Charge Leads to Dismissal of Sex Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
An employee who alleged she was subjected to a sexually harassing work environment, gender discrimination, and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) filed a Charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). However, almost all of the facts supporting the employee’s Charge were put in the EEOC intake questionnaire and letters to the EEOC, rather than in the EEOC Charge Form. As such, only the claims and facts set forth in the Charge were considered by the Court and they were insufficient to state the discrimination and retaliation claims raised by the employee.
In the case of Balas v. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (2013), the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling from the Eastern District of Virginia that the Plaintiff, Karen Balas, could not maintain claims which were solely asserted in her EEOC questionnaire and in letters to the EEOC. The Court ruled that an administrative charge serves a vital function in the process of [potentially] remedying unlawful employment practices because it serves to alert the employer of the alleged wrongs committed; allows for an investigation into the alleged wrongful activity by the employer and the EEOC; and allows for the EEOC to seek conciliation between the parties if it finds merit to the charges. The Court reasoned that since a plaintiff’s employer is not put on notice as to the claims and facts alleged in the EEOC questionnaire or in letters privately written by a plaintiff to the EEOC, only those claims formally made part of the EEOC Charge were allowed to move forward in a lawsuit against an employer.
The Fourth Circuit concluded that the district court was correct in its refusal to consider any of Ms. Balas’ Title VII claims that were not included in her EEOC Charge; and that the Court had no jurisdiction to hear such claims because the Plaintiff had failed to administratively exhaust her remedies before filing such claims in federal court.
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Employee Allowed to go Forward with Sexual Harassment & Retaliation Claims
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a former city employee’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims to proceed to trial by reversing a lower court ruling which granted summary judgment in favor of the employer. Plaintiff Katrina Okoli, formerly an executive assistant for John P. Stewart, the director of Baltimore’s Commission on Aging and Retirement, filed a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment hostile work environment, quid pro quo sexual harassment, and retaliation. In the case of Okoli v. City of Baltimore, et al., Plaintiff Okoli alleged that over a four month span, Defendant Stewart repeatedly sexually propositioned her; told her of his alleged sexual exploits; asked her about her underwear; fondled her leg underneath a table on several occasions; and forcibly tried to kiss her when they were alone in a conference room. Okoli alleged that she rejected such advances by Stewart and also twice complained about the harassment to officials within the City government, as well as wrote a letter to Baltimore’s then-mayor Martin O’Malley concerning the harassment. Okoli was fired by Stewart just hours after her letter was received by the mayor’s office.
For its part, the City contended (and apparently the lower court agreed) that Stewart’s conduct was sporadic and infrequent and did not rise to the level of a hostile work environment. Further, the City argued that Okoli’s work had deficiencies, and that she was going to be fired even before she wrote the letter complaining of Stewart’s behavior. Additionally, the City argued, Okoli’s letter was non-specific and did not state that she was being “sexually” harassed by Stewart, only “harassed.” Therefore, they argued, Okoli did not engage in protected activity under Title VII to warrant a retaliation claim against the City.
The Appellate Court disagreed and held that the statements attributed to Stewart were both severe and pervasive. In addition, the Court held that a plaintiff need not mention the “magic words” of “sex” or “sexual” to effectively advance a sexual harassment complaint. Citing decisions from other circuit courts, the Court held that the complainant only need put the employer on notice that unlawful behavior is afoot. Okoli’s use of the words “unethical,” “degrading and dehumanizing” in her letter complaining about Stewart’s behavior were enough to raise a sexual harassment complaint. Finally, the Court determined that the district court erred in concluding that simply because Stewart had a document on his computer that pre-dated Okoli’s letter, such document was a termination letter. Stewart modified the computer document three times before delivering it to Okoli as a termination letter just hours after her sexual harassment complaint reached the mayor’s office. Under those facts, the Court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to infer that Stewart did not intend to fire Okoli prior to receiving word that she complained about his behavior to the mayor and his staff.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals hears appeals involving Virginia employment cases.
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Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals: Employer May be Liable for Harassment by Customer
In an unpublished decision, the Fourth Circuit Court Appeals recently held that an employer may be liable for third-party harassment by a customer if the employer knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take appropriate actions to halt it. The evidence of repeated complaints to supervisors and managers by the employee created a triable issue as to whether the employer had notice of the harassment, and thus, the Appeals Court allowed this claim to go forward to trial.
In EEOC v. Cromer Food Services, Incorporated, a route driver for a southeastern vending machine company alleged he suffered daily sexual harassment at the hands of two housekeeper employees of one of the company’s largest customers – a hospital. According to the driver, the harassment began after a co-worker left a note in the hospital cafeteria calling him gay. Following this incident, the two male hospital employees allegedly began harassing him with unwanted sexual comments.
The driver claims he complained to numerous people at CFS, including his supervisor, his direct supervisor, another supervisor, a manager of the company, and the chairman of the Board. As the harassment continued, he took more drastic measures by reporting the harassment directly to a human resources professional at the hospital and to the supervisor of the two hospital employees. But, the hospital employees were unrelenting.
In response to this lawsuit, the company asserted that it did not have actual or constructive knowledge of the harassment because the complaints by the driver were vague and insufficiently detailed for action to be taken. In addition, the company pointed out that the employee failed to report the harassment to its President in accordance with the company’s written sexual harassment protocol.
The Fourth Circuit reversed the trial court’s dismissal of the claim. In doing so, it noted that the District Court focused on only one snippet of the driver’s deposition testimony which stated that he did not provide details of the harassment to the company. The Appeals Court acknowledged that although anti-harassment law requires notice to the employer – it should not require it to be pellucid.
The Fourth Circuit also pointed out the flaws in the employer’s approach in this matter. The Court stated that harassment claims could not be avoided by utilizing a “see no evil, hear no evil” strategy, and it criticized the protocol requiring reports to be made to the President by recognizing that such requirement may likely intimate an employee. Moreover, the Court drew attention to the fact that management failed to report the harassment up the chain of command as required by company policy.
This case illustrates to employers within the Fourth Circuit (which includes Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia and South Carolina) that a company’s written policy for reporting harassment may not provide insulation from liability under Title VII. Virginia businesses must ensure that they have a reasonable process in place to address allegations of harassment by its employees and third parties.
Fourth Circuit: Testimony of Other Women in Sexual Harassment Case is Admissible
In a recent decision, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s admission of testimony by female employees, other than the plaintiff, regarding their own experiences of sexual harassment by the defendant. The Court stated that such testimony is often relevant to a plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim and the employer was not unfairly prejudiced – even though the testimony did not in any way involve the actions of the defendant against the plaintiff.
In King v. McMillan, a former deputy in the Sheriff’s Office for the City of Roanoke, VA alleged that the Sheriff sexually harassed her. Other women testified at trial that the defendant made inappropriate sexual remarks to them as well, asked for kisses and hugs, and touched them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable. The Court determined that the testimony of the other women was relevant to two elements in a hostile work environment claim: (1) whether the defendant’s unwelcome conduct toward the plaintiff was because of the plaintiff’s sex, and (2) whether the unwelcome conduct toward the plaintiff was sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile work environment.
The important aspect of this decision is the determination by the Fourth Circuit that the evidence was relevant and its admission was not a violation of Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which excludes relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. The appeals court noted that proper jury instructions were provided on this issue and unfair prejudice was further avoided by only admitting testimony of harassment that occurred during the same timeframe of the plaintiff’s employment. Thus, the Sheriff’s Office was not able to limit the evidence to matters involving the plaintiff. The trial court specifically acknowledged that disaggregating the experience of its employees was not the law.
What can you do to prevent a sexual harassment claim against your company? In addition to establishing and implementing a comprehensive sexual harassment policy, you and your human resources department should learn to recognize the patterns of sexual harassment. As was apparent from this case, some harassers are adroit at protecting themselves from disclosure and rely on threats or rewards to prevent complaints. Regular training of all employees and establishing clear communication lines for employees to report behavior anonymously will certainly assist in preventing such legal entanglements.
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