Employment Law and Discrimination - Cause of Action

Employment Law and Discrimination

Amanda Lee

LAW/531

October 5, 2015

Phillip Quintana

Employment Law and Discrimination

Cause of Action

In this scenario, the plaintiff is filing a suit against the defendant for sexual harassment in the workplace. There is a history of pranks within the office staff that are inappropriate in nature. The plaintiff explains that there are four people working in the office, including himself. The other two males and the defendant routinely send inappropriate emails to each other. The plaintiff says that he has always gotten rid of the inappropriate pranks in the past and ignored the situation. In the current situation discussed in the suit, the defendant placed a screensaver on the plaintiff’s computer depicting a female stripper. While the screensaver was on his monitor, a supervisor walked through the area and witnessed the prank.

Applicable Defenses

The plaintiff is arguing that he was overlooked for a promotion because the supervisor saw the inappropriate screensaver. He believes that it is not his fault the supervisor saw this, and it was the defendant’s fault. Therefore, the defendant is the reason he did not get the promotion. The plaintiff argues if the defendant had not been inappropriate at work, he would have been given a promotion. He now believes the last four years of working there has been for nothing.

The defendant does not believe she was in the wrong for what she did. The defendant states the plaintiff never complained in the past and participated in previous pranks or office jokes. The defendant was under the impression that the jokes were a part of the office atmosphere. The defendant also explains there were never any discussions between the plaintiff and other co-workers regarding the inappropriate acts. She states if the plaintiff had expressed concern for the behaviors, the other colleagues would have respected his position.

Judge’s Ruling

The judge asked both the defendant and plaintiff if they remembered signing a sexual harassment policy through the human resources department at their place of employment. Neither of them remembered this piece of information. The judge’s ruling was in favor of the defendant. The judge believes that the nature of the prank was normal for the office atmosphere. There were no previous complaints filed or concerns expressed by the plaintiff. The judge believes the only reason the plaintiff is filing a suit at this time is because he believed he lost a possible promotion and believed his reaction was unreasonable towards the defendant. However, there is no evidence given by the plaintiff showing where he would have received the promotion otherwise. The judge does not find any evidence of sexual harassment in this case and states the suit has no merit.