Don’t let #MeToo hit you: key reminders to avoid sexual harassment claims

It wasn’t all that long ago when the #MeToo movement took the world (and employers in particular) by storm. The COVID-19 pandemic has since caused management officials to shift their focus, but preventing harassment on the job is as important now as it has ever been. Are you prepared to shut it down or at least try your best to do so? A recent case from the 5th Circuit includes several important reminders about workplace harassment.

Facts

Kristina Sansone worked at Harrah’s, and in September 2017, a casino customer began frequenting her table and making sexually charged gestures, propositions, and remarks about her appearance. She claims the customer engaged in the harassing behavior at least twice a week until her termination on December 31, 2017.

Although Sansone says she verbally reported the customer to floor supervisors several times throughout the three-month period, no formal written report was made until December 22. When the customer returned on December 25, Sansone was removed from her table and permitted to leave early.

Meanwhile, on December 24, a time discrepancy arose when Sansone failed to clock in for work properly. She was ultimately found to be in violation of five Harrah’s employee rules pertaining to honesty and clock in/out procedures, and she was let go for allegedly misrepresenting the number of hours she had worked.

Sansone filed suit, alleging she had been subjected to a hostile work environment, and Harrah’s sought to have the claim summarily dismissed. The district court granted the employer’s request, and she appealed.