Why Sexual Harassment Victims Should Follow An Employer’s Complaint Procedure For Reporting Harassment

Having represented sexual harassment victims for more than twenty years, our sexual harassment lawyers in Citrus County, Florida know that sexual harassment victims are often uncertain about to whom they should report sexual harassment. Lodging a sexual harassment complaint with the proper employee is of paramount importance because an employer does not have notice of sexual harassment until the sexual harassment victim complains to the proper employee. Having controlled the interpretation and development of sexual harassment law for decades, employer-friendly courts have determined that sexual harassment victims must complain to the employee designated in the employer’s complaint procedure for reporting sexual harassment. In this article, our sexual harassment lawyers in Citrus County, Florida explain how the decision in Turner v. City of West Memphis, Case No. 15-00093 (E.D. Ark. Aug. 29, 2016) demonstrates why it is critical for sexual harassment victims to complain to the employee designated under the employer’s complaint procedure for reporting sexual harassment.

Employer Liability For Sexual Harassment

Title VII protects employees from sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment that creates a hostile working environment constitutes discrimination based on sex in violation of Title VII. In order to protect employees from sexual harassment, Title VII imposes a remedial obligation on employers. Once an employer knows (actual notice) or should know of sexual harassment (constructive notice) in the workplace, Title VII’s remedial obligation mandates that the employer take prompt and effective remedial action to prevent the sexual harassment from recurring. When an employer fails to take remedial action, or the remedial action taken does not stop the harassment, the employer is liable under Title VII for creating and maintaining a sexually hostile working environment.

Because Title VII’s remedial obligation is not triggered until an employer is deemed to have notice of the sexual harassment, the employer’s liability for sexual harassment generally hinges on when the employer is deemed to have notice of the sexual harassment. In Breda v. Wolf Camera & Video, 222 F.3d 886, 890 (11th Cir. 2000), the court ruled that “if an employer has a company policy specifically designating the person or persons to whom an employee should report instances of suspected sexual harassment, once the employee complains to the designated person or persons, the employer is deemed to have actual notice of the harassment.” “With such a policy,” the Breda court explained, “the employer itself answered the question of when it would be deemed to have notice of the harassment sufficient to obligate it or its agents to take prompt and appropriate remedial measures.”

Application of this principle means that an employer is deemed to be on notice of sexual harassment when a sexual harassment victim complains to the employee designated under the employer’s complaint procedure to receive sexual harassment complaints. Once a sexual harassment victim complies with the employer’s complaint procedure for reporting sexual harassment, the employer’s obligation to take prompt and effective remedial action to stop the harassment is triggered. Correlatively, when a sexual harassment victim fails to complain to the employee designated under the employer’s complaint procedure to receive sexual harassment complaints, the employer is not on notice of the sexual harassment. If a sexual harassment victim fails to comply with the employer’s complaint procedure for reporting sexual harassment, the employer’s obligation to take prompt and effective remedial action is not triggered. If an employer’s remedial obligation under Title VII is never triggered, the employer generally cannot be held liable for the sexual harassment.

Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

In Turner, a woman named Turner brought a sexual harassment claim against her former employer, the City of West Memphis (the “City”), pursuant to Title VII. Turner alleges that she was required to work in a sexually hostile environment in violation of Title VII.

In October 2011, Turner began working for the City in the Sanitation Department. Turner contends that the Sanitation Superintendent, LT, subjected her to unwanted sexually harassing behavior that created a hostile work environment. According to Tuner, LT began regularly directing sexual comments to her shortly after she started working for the City. Turner also alleges that LT kissed her on the lips and sat in her lap on several occasions.

Tuner told the Sanitation Foreman, Jackson, about LT’s conduct in 2021, but Jackson did not report that information along to anyone. Rather, Jackson advised Turner to go to human resources. A man named Douglas was the City’s Human Resources Director at that time. Douglas claims that he was not aware of Tuner’s complaints until she filed a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) in 2014. The EEOC provided Douglas notice of the charge and he spoke with Tuner as part of his investigation. Douglas allegedly encouraged Turner to report any further harassment and provided her with a copy of the no-harassment guidelines.

The City has a written policy that prohibits sexual harassment and provides a way for employees to report allegations of sexual harassment. Under the City’s policy, employees are required to report harassment to the department head. If the department head is the alleged harasser, the complaint should be reported to the supervisor in the chain of command. Tuner did not report her complaint to LT’s supervisor, the Director of Public Works. However, Turner reported the alleged harassment to Jackson, the Sanitation Foreman.

Complied With Complaint Procedure

The City filed a motion with the trial court seeking dismissal of Tuner’s sexual harassment claim. In resolving the City’s motion for dismissal, the trial court observed that “it is undisputed that the City took no action to correct the sexually harassing behavior until 2014, when Douglas learned about Turner’s EEOC complaint.” Thus, according to the trial court, “the City’s liability for LT’s unlawful conduct hinges on when the City’s duty to correct that conduct was triggered.” In other words, the City’s liability for the sexual harassment hinged on when the City was deemed to have notice of the sexual harassment.

In resolving this issue, the trial court explained that “where an employer has a complaint procedure delineating the individuals to whom notice of harassment must be given, actual notice is established when the employee notifies those individuals.” Applying this principle, the trial court observed that the City’s “complaint procedure delineates the department head as the individual to whom notice of harassment must be given, unless the department head is the alleged harasser. Then, notice of harassment must be given to the supervisor in the chain of command.” As Turner maintains that LT was the “department head” and that Jackson was the “supervisor in the chain of command,” the trial court found that Turner’s report to Jackson “triggered the City’s duty to take prompt corrective action.” As it was undisputed that the City did not take any remedial action after Turner complained to Jackson, the trial court denied the City’s motion for dismissal and ruled that Turner was entitled to proceed to a jury trial on her hostile work environment sexual harassment claim.

Free Consultation For Harassment Victims

One of the most important decisions sexual harassment victims must make is which sexual harassment attorneys to consult with regarding their rights and remedies under federal employment discrimination law. As part of our commitment to vindicating the rights of sexual harassment victims, an experienced sexual harassment lawyer will speak with you personally and you will receive the individualized attention your case deserves. We offer free confidential case evaluations for employees, and you will not have to pay to speak with our employment attorneys regarding your rights. We are available for consultation at your convenience, including scheduling telephone consultations for evenings and weekends.

Citrus County Sexual Harassment Lawyers

Based in Ocala, Florida and representing workers throughout Florida, our sexual harassment attorneys in Citrus County, Florida have fought for the rights of sexual harassment victims for more than two decades. If you have been required to work in a sexually hostile environment or have questions about your rights as a sexual harassment victim, please contact our office for a free consultation with our sexual harassment lawyers in Citrus County, Florida. Our employee rights law firm takes sexual harassment cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that there are no attorney’s fees incurred unless there is a recovery and our attorney’s fees come solely from the monetary award that you recover.