Employee Rights Post : Ellen Simon's Employee Rights Post : Employment Lawyer & Attorney : Workplace Discrimination & Harassment Advice & Consultations

Why are we reading so much about male on male sexual harassment lately? 

Just last week the New York Times reported that Knicks basketball player, Ed Curry, was accused of sexual harassment by his former driver. On the same day, the ABA Journal reported  a story about a Nixon Peabody lawyer who sued for discrimination stating that he was  was regularly taunted, ridiculed, and subjected to partner's and co-workers  homophobic statements and comments about oral sex during his time at the law firm.

 A few days earlier, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decided, in Patterson v. Hudson Area Schools, that a school district could be held liable for its failure to stop the harassment of one of its students who was  taunted and victimized by name calling (ie. "queer " "fagot"  "pig")  and pushing  and shoving over a period of years all which escalated into an episode of sexual assault in the locker room.

Is male on male sexual harassment on the rise?  Are men more willing to report the harassment? Was male on male sexual harassment reported but were the courts unwilling to recognize it?

I tried one of the first male on male sexual harassment cases in the country in 1998 -- Hampel v. Food Ingredients Specialties, Inc. . The plaintiff Laszlo Hampel worked at FIS- Nestle in Solon, Ohio  in the production line as a cook.  In short,  the case involved one disgusting outburst of sexual provocation by my client's supervisor,  followed by reporting of the incident, a failure to act on the part of the company to take prompt, remedial action (required under the law) continued harassment by the supervisor, and homicidal behavior on the part of my client. These kinds of cases were simply unheard of ten years ago. 

Shortly before the trial, my father asked my what kind of case I was working on.  When I told him he responded,  "I wouldn't give you five dollars for that case. Why didn't he just punch him in the nose."  While my father's reaction certainly concerned me, fortunately the jury did not see it that way and awarded $1.6 million dollars the majority of which constituted punitive damages.

The case was of course appealed. The  Ohio Supreme Court  decision in Hampel   recognized male on male sexual harassment as a valid claim in line with Oncale v Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc   a case recently decided by the  United States Supreme Court. Interestingly though,  it  held that there  was no sexual harassment in our case, a decision which to this day I completely fail to understand no matter how many times I read it.  Fortunately for Mr. Hampel, the Court affirmed the verdict in sustaining the claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

So I come back to, how come we practice for over twenty five years and we see little to no cases of male on male sexual harassment and then we see three in  in one week? Does it have  anything to do with my father's "why doesn't he just punch him in the nose" method of resolving the problem?

Let's assume that employees out there are simply more aware of their rights and courts are more enlightened.

Images: http://www.gpac.org/images/PressReleasePics/maleworkplace.jpg and http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/10_04/bullyingDM2810_468x720.jpg

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What happens when a woman gets fired because she has an abortion? The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in Doe v. C.A.R.S Protection Plus decided that the discharge was gender discrimination and reversed the lower court which had thrown out the case.

The Jane Doe plaintiff worked as a graphics designer for CARS, a car insurance business with offices in several states. During her pregnancy, Doe learned that the baby had severe deformities. In accordance with her physician’s recommendation she and her husband chose to terminate the pregnancy.

Doe’s husband called CARS on his wife's behalf and asked for a week’s vacation for her.  According to his testimony  the request was approved.  CARS discharged Doe several days later  -- on the same day as the baby’s funeral.

In a question of first impression for the Third Circuit, the Court held that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act’s coverage extended to women who elected to terminate their pregnancies. In so doing, the Court relied on:

1. Precedent from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Turic v. Holland Hospitality , Inc.
2. EEOC guidelines ( which state that “a woman who is affected by pregnancy and related conditions must be treated the same as all other employee … and is therefore protected against such practices as being fired merely because she is pregnant or has had an abortion”) ;and
3. Language from the legislative history of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act ( “no employer may fire or refuse to hire a woman simply because she has exercised her right to have an abortion” and concluded:

Clearly, the plain language of the statute, together with the legislative history and the EEOC guidelines, support a conclusion that an employer may  not discriminate against a woman employer because she has exercised her right to have an abortion.

In comparing Doe to other employees who were temporarily disabled, the Court found evidence that Doe had been treated differently when she was fired instead of given leave.

Although we have held that the 'PDA does not require that employers treat pregnant employees better than other temporarily disabled employees '... the PDA does require that employers treat pregnant employees no worse.

The judgment of the district court was reversed and Jane Doe was given the right to have her day in court.

The opinion is certainly an important one for all working women. There is certainly no room in the law for discrimination in the workplace based upon a woman’s Constitutional right of privacy and freedom of choice. Fortunately there are some courts which agree.

Image: http://www.methodist.org.uk/static/interface/if_distressedwoman_05.07.jpg

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Doctors and hospitals got a sharp reminder about their need to provide interpreters for hearing impaired patients. 

A  Hudson County New Jersey jury awarded $400,000 to Irma Gerena who claimed that she was unable to participate in and understand her medical condition in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination when her physician,  Dr. Robert Fogari, failed to provide her with an interpreter.The verdict was reported in the New Jersey Law Journal last October.

According to the story, the plaintiff Irma Gerena was being treated for lupus. During the multiple office visits with her rheumatologis, Gerena, who had limited English skills and was deaf, claimed that she was unable to understand what her doctor was doing including :

• the treatment she was receiving,
• its risks or benefits,  and
• what alternative approaches may have been available.

Gerena repeatedly requested an American Sign Language interpreter and gave Dr. Fogari an interpreter’s business card. She also had the interpreter call the doctor and explain the law to him.

Dr. Fogari claimed that he could not afford the interpreter’s charge of $150 to $200 and hour since he was only being reimbursed $49 per visit Gerena’s medical insurer. The jury sided with Gerena.

A previous New Jersey decision Borngesser v. Jersey Shore Medical Center held that the law’s requirement of “auxiliary aids and services " meant that "interpreters, video displays and note takers" may be necessary for “effective communication” during critical points of a patient’s care.

Doctors and hospitals need to be prepared to provide interpreters and patients need to be educated as to their rights to request them. The law provides that patients with severe hearing impairments should not be precluded from understanding and participating in their medical care and treatment as a result of their disability. 

Physicians who recklessly disregard the law or retaliate in the face of a patent's request may face a stiff penalty. Of the $400,000 jury award to Gerena, $200,000 was for punitive damages -- so doctors beware -- there's more to come.

Image: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/ibs_ez/images/drnpatient.jpg

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