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Harassment and constructive discharge
August 01, 2006 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
Sexual harassment can create fear that a manager "was capable of, and desirous of, physically assaulting [an employee] in a serious way." If so, then the employee "should have quit immediately to protect herself."
These quotes from Patton v. Keystone RV Company (7th Cir 08/01/2006).
Brenda Patton alleged that she was sexually harassed, and that her "quit" was a constructive discharge. The trial court didn't think so, but the 7th Circuit easily found enough to justify going to trial on both issues.
It's a sad tale that was told by the employee. The court summarizes it this way (read the whole opinion for the shocking details):
The conduct alleged in this case occurred over the course of approximately one month and consists of (1) four instances of physical contact, (2) a few sexually charged comments, and (3) alleged stalking.
The most serious of these is the inappropriate touching.
[The manager's] groping of Patton under her shorts might be sufficient alone to create an abusive working environment.
This was enough for the 7th Circuit to send the case to a jury on the question of sexual harassment.
What about constructive discharge? The harassment must be "more egregious" - "so intolerable that a reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign."
Here's how the 7th Circuit saw that issue:
A reasonable fact finder could agree with Patton’s fear that her supervisor was an obsessed man who - based on previous acts showing no regard for Patton’s right to control who could touch intimate areas of her body - was capable of, and desirous of, physically assaulting her in a serious way. We need not conclude that a rape or other assault was likely, but only whether a reasonable fact finder could find that Patton should have quit immediately to protect herself. We think the answer is yes.
My view: Was the district judge reading a different record?
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