5th Circuit ruling shows you must enforce your antiharassment policy

Employers might believe having comprehensive antiharassment and antidiscrimination policies will save them from lawsuits, especially when they can show employees explicitly read and acknowledge them. This recent ruling from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals casts doubt on that belief.

Construction helper claims sexual harassment

Magan Wallace worked for a construction company called Performance Contractors. In a prior stint with Performance, she served as a "laborer” but was later re-hired to work as a "helper." The move from laborer to helper was seen as a promotion, since helpers played a more hands-on role at the jobsite.

Wallace was the only female helper. She sought to work "at elevation," meaning off the ground on scaffolding, for example, because working at elevation provided more opportunity for advancement. Her supervisors wouldn’t allow her to work at elevation, however. Her general foreman explained—in front of others at the jobsite—that Wallace couldn’t work at elevation because she had "t*** and an a**."

Wallace claimed many other forms of sex-based discrimination at her jobsite. Among other incidents, she alleged one supervisor sent her a picture of his genitals and requested that she send back a picture of her breasts. The same supervisor allegedly asked to "grab and squeeze" her breasts. She alleged that another employee at the jobsite told her she was in her "sexual prime" before approaching her from behind and massaging her shoulders.