After defeating harassment charges, beware of retaliation claim

For employers whose supervisor has been accused of sexual harassment, it isn't uncommon to win the battle but lose the war. Even if the harassment claims are disproved, the employer can end up on the wrong end of a retaliation claim. Read on to see how the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers South Carolina employers) recently handled such a scenario.

Background

Stacy Saunders' former employer, Metropolitan Property Management, Inc., provides government-subsidized housing for low-income, elderly individuals throughout the southeastern United States. The company employed her as a site manager at one of its housing locations. As part of her job, she supervised the work of Clayton Carter, the maintenance technician at the site.

On November 4, 2015, Saunders informed Joseph Moore, Metro's operations director, that Carter had been sexually harassing her. She sent Moore a picture of a sexually explicit note Carter had left on her computer keyboard, along with a letter she had written describing the technician's previous pattern of sexual harassment.

In the letter, Saunders said Carter had made “sexual advances” toward her for about 10 months and detailed the incidents. She alleged his conduct had made her feel “very uncomfortable” and “frightened,” but acknowledged she hadn't previously reported the behavior to Metro.