05.01.10
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:31 pm by normarae2008
Another Interesting case to review:
LOS ANGELES – Giumarra Vineyards Corporation, one of the largest growers of table grapes in the nation, violated federal law by subjecting a teenage female farm worker to sexual harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today. Further, the EEOC said, the company retaliated against a class of other farm workers who came to her aid at its Edison, Calif., facility. All of the victims identified in the lawsuit are indigenous Indians from Mexico, a minority among the Mexican farm worker community.
According to the EEOC’s suit (EEOC v. Giumarra Vineyards Corporation, et al, Case No. 1:09-cv-02255), filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the young female worker was subjected to sexual advances, sexually inappropriate touching and abusive and offensive sexual comments about the male sex organ by a male co-worker.
The EEOC further alleged that after witnessing the sexual harassment, a class of farm workers came to the aid of the teenage female victim and complained to Giumarra Vineyards. However, just one day after reporting and complaining about the sexual harassment, the teenage victim and the class of farm workers were summarily discharged in retaliation for their opposition to the sexual harassment.
“What happened to this vulnerable young girl was intolerable and illegal,” said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “And what this employer did to others who simply came to her defense was outrageous. Whenever workers alert their superiors about unlawful discrimination in the workplace, employers should act immediately to end the illegal mistreatment. If they don’t – if employers won’t protect their own workers from illegal harassment and instead retaliate against the whistle-blowers – then the EEOC will make sure they face the legal consequences.”
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful to harass employees based on sex, and prohibits an employer from retaliating against someone who complains about employment discrimination. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement. The agency seeks injunctive relief to end the discriminatory practices, plus back pay and compensatory and punitive damages to compensate the victims for their monetary losses and emotional pain and suffering and to deter Giumarra Vineyards from engaging in future civil rights violations.
EEOC Regional Attorney Anna Y. Park said, “The EEOC takes seriously charges where teenage victims are subjected to egregious acts of sexual misconduct in the workplace. Moreover, aggressive acts of retaliation against workers who exercise their right to oppose unlawful harassment will not be tolerated. The Commission will vigorously enforce those rights and will be vigilant in protecting employees from this type of retaliation.”
EEOC San Diego Local Office Director Marla Stern added, “Employers must understand that they have an obligation to their employees to provide a safe workplace free of the type of sexual harassment that took place here. They also must be aware that retaliating against an employee for complaining of such unlawful harassment is as much a civil rights violation as the harassment itself.”
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
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04.19.10
Posted in Uncategorized at 6:09 pm by normarae2008
Thank you to the women who have written emails to my private email address at normarae2008@gmail.com. Many people don’t wish to post their issues in a public blog, so I’m happy to respond to your questions or problems by email. Please write to me privately and I will provide ideas, resources or other non-legal advice to your issues as promptly as possible. Thanks for staying in touch with me, and best of luck to all.
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01.25.10
Posted in Examples of Sexual Harassment at 7:17 pm by normarae2008
I was appalled over a broadcast I saw last week on ABC’s 20/20. They reported on the case of Kati Moore of Orange County, California, a 16 year old barista who was allegedly sexually harassed by her supervisor.
Miss Moore claims that her supervisor, Tim Horton, sent her numerous illicit and in many cases sexually explicit text messages indicating times and places where she was instructed to meet him to provide sexual favors. Mr. Horton plead guilty to criminal charges of having illegal sex with a minor and served 4 months in prison, but both he and Starbucks are now awaiting the outcome of the pending lawsuit.
I don’t know any of the parties to this lawsuit, nor do I know what really transpired between the under age employee and her supervisor. However, what disturbs me the most about this case is two fold: one, the supervisor already plead guilty to having sex with a minor. Starbucks should have a clear management training policy that includes sexual harassment training (Mr. Horton claimed in his deposition that he was only shown a manual on sexual harassment, but was not offered actual training). Starbucks had an obligation to protect their employees and provide managers with not only sexual harassment but with education on how to work with minors. Secondly, the Vice-President of Human Resources for Starbucks made an outrageous claim on 20/20, citing that Miss Moore’s parents did a poor job of raising her with proper values.
I’ve been a Human Resources Vice-President myself for 20 years, and I’ve never accused a family member of poor values training when my company was faced with potential litigation. The legal approach Starbucks is taking to defend its actions in the face of their own supervisor having sex with a minor, and destroying her credibility by basically interviewing all previous boyfriends (to make her look like a whore) is disappointing.
This case makes me want to reconsider where I buy my latte’s in the morning. I will try to follow the trial when it begins and provide updates to this website.
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01.14.10
Posted in Recent Headlines, Uncategorized at 7:09 pm by normarae2008
In a press release dated January 4, 2010, the EEOC announced it has sued American Laser Centers for violation of federal law by “subjecting a class of women to a sexually hostile work environment in its Fresno, California, clinic by retaliating against the manager of that clinic for complaining about it.”
According to the suit, EEOC v. American Laser Centers, LLC, et al, the Fresno’s clinics consulting physician and landlord created a hostile work environment by engaging in frequent, unwelcome sexual harassment towards female employees. In spite of complaints by female employees, the company failed to assist them. The company is accused of retaliating against the female manager at the Fresno location for her repeated complaints by firing her.
EEOC Fresno Director Melissa Barrios said “no employees should have to silently endure this type of offensive sexual conduct in order to keep a job. Employees have a right to work in an environment free of sexual harassment.”
We’ll keep you updated on this case as more information becomes available.
Portions of this report were provided by the EEOC Newsroom Release dated 1-4-10.
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12.07.09
Posted in Contact Us, Uncategorized at 8:27 pm by normarae2008
If you or a family member was a victim of sexual harassment prior to 1964 when Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was written, I’d like to hear from you. By the same token, if you’ve suffered sexual harassment since Title VII went into law I’d also like to talk with you.
I’m working on a new project in which I’m hoping to connect women from the 1960’s (and/or their relatives) when we didn’t have legal protections against sexual misconduct in the workplace, with women who have suffered the same offenses from 1964 well into the 21st century. What will we discuss? The environment, human behaviors, and workplace policies in comparison from then to now. What will we learn? We hope to learn how much or how little has changed in the workplace in spite of the laws to protect working men and women. How will we use this data? My goal is to collect all of the information and feedback and incorporate it into a book that in turn may help educate business and government on what still needs to be done to protect women in the workplace and improve Title VII protections.
Every case is unique and complicated. Every victim of sexual harassment has a different story to tell that is not a cookie cutter of someone else’s story. Every women has a right to tell her story and have it heard, and hopefully make a difference in our efforts to change the way we deal with sexual misconduct in today’s working environment. Women learn from each other’s experiences, and as a special niche group women who have suffered harassment have stories that are powerful and that collectively can change things. My goal is to gather up the power of these women and put it to use to affect change in how we manage corporate policies, codes of ethics, and develop new laws to protect the rights of men and women in the workplace.
If you were affected by the devastation of sexual harassment during those years, and are willing to share your story not only with me but with someone else who experienced similar job-related issues, I strongly encourage you to contact me either at this website or on my personal email posted above and/or at humancapitalachievement@hotmail.com. I sincerely hope to hear from you as we dig deeper to discover how much work we still may need to make in the education, awareness, and development of tougher laws to protect women and men against sexual harassment in the workplace. All of your comments and your name will remain confidential, so please do not fear contacting me. I sincerely hope to hear from you.
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11.28.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:35 pm by normarae2008
We’re quickly approaching our one year anniversary. We’ve helped numerous women and young teen girls who have contacted us confidentially at our email address (for privacy purposes). We look forward to an even more ambitious year with more interaction with women who have been the unfortunate victims of sexual harassment. Please contact me if you’d like to share your experience or are seeking help with your individual situation. I am a 28 year Human Resources professional with a passion for civil rights, personal freedoms, and a workplace that embraces equality and the law for all people. Please contact me if you need to talk, share your thoughts, or need help and referrals. I’m here for you.
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09.23.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:58 pm by normarae2008
We launched this site almost 10 months ago. During that time we’ve received personal e-mails from women seeking help with their questions, concerns and fears about sexual harassment. Some had real problems in their work environment involving their direct supervisors. We also received e-mails from a few teenagers who were frightened by older men who were sexually abusing and/or stalking them on the internet. Many women are fearful of putting their information publicly on a website so I respect and appreciate their use of confidential e-mails.
The last several months have been eye-opening for me personally as I’ve listened to people and tried to provide answers, do research, and be a resource for those in needs. Although I had hoped for more of a public dialogue, I respect everyone’s individual right to privacy and am committed to helping those in need in whatever format is most comfortable.
As we slowly approach my one year anniversary of this site, I will commit to offering more information, resources, and more personal opinion about the nature and state of sexual harassment in today’s workplace. I will be writing a weekly article beginning this week — please check back in.
Normarae
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08.03.09
Posted in Recent Headlines at 2:46 pm by normarae2008
Recently the Wall Street Journal reported an increase in sexual harassment complaints at the United Nations. The U.N. is a large, complex international organization with 60,000 employees.
The WSJ studied five of the recent sexual harassment complaints. Other reports indicated that the U.N. administrative sector was receiving approximately 8-15 cases per year. This rise in complaints led U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon to issue the following bulletin to all U.N. employees: “any form of discrimination, harassment including sexual harassment and abuse of authority is prohibited.”
The complaint system within the U.N. is reported to be voluminous and complicated. The Secretary-General vows to get a handle on the harassment issues.
Even in an organization designed to promote peace and harmony among world leaders, harassment can be an issue.
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07.13.09
Posted in Examples of Sexual Harassment at 3:32 pm by normarae2008
Sexual harassment and other workplace violations continue to raise questions for employers and employees alike. Although progress has been made, there is considerable evidence that further education and promotion of harassment-free workplaces are required not just in California, but across the nation.
Before I discuss a recent case that was presented to me, let’s establish a common framework for the definition of sexual harassment as provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission:
“Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.”
Who can be a victim? The victim can be a member of either sex, and doesn’t have to be a member of the opposite sex. The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor or manager, an agent of the company, a supervisor from another part of the company, a contractor of the company, or a non-employee.
It’s important to note that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
With a common framework established, I’ll review a case I recently received from a woman who works as a cocktail waitress. She wrote to me at my website at www.stopworkplaceharassment.com, and told me that she was quite distressed over the treatment she was receiving from her boss. He was allegedly touching her in sexually unwelcome ways, and he had threatened to terminate her employment if she didn’t provide sexual favors in return for her continued employment.
My initial reaction would be to quit the job, but this individual needed her job and was fearful of finding another job in a lackluster economy. She also expressed concerns that just because she wore revealing “cocktail” outfits to work, she was partly responsible for her dilemma and would not have a basis for a claim of sexual harassment. I’m not a lawyer, but I explained to her that I’ve had 28 years in Human Resources work. I would believe that her clothing had limited if any bearing on her case, because her clothing was her “work uniform” for that line of work. Although I didn’t have the opportunity to interview her boss and conduct a thorough investigation of all parties, I anticipate that she is entitled to the same protections under the law that all employees are entitled to, regardless of what she wore to work. Her boss’s actions, requiring an alleged “quid pro quo” form of sexual harassment, if found to be true, could very well be a form of sexual harassment and a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. I strongly encouraged her to prepare her notes and file a complaint with the owners of the restaurant, and if that didn’t work to talk with legal counsel for further evaluation of her case.
Harassment is an unfortunate occurrence that creates hostile feelings, disappointment, and a breach of trust. It has a painful way of severing the most positive of work relationships, and it can prove costly in many ways. Providing a harassment-free workplace is a key to promoting a positive company culture. Every employee should work towards these ideals, but senior management should exercise due diligence to provide moral leadership and send the message that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated.
Special thanks to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for their definition of sexual harassment.
This article reprinted from www.examiner.com
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06.28.09
Posted in Examples of Sexual Harassment at 4:19 pm by normarae2008
HR World just published a list of history making sexual harassment cases which are quite interesting to review. The list includes President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky; Bill Clinton and Paula Jones; Kobe Bryant and a Colorado teenager; Anita Hill versus Clarence Thomas, and several other landmark as well as somewhat creepy cases.
Each case includes a brief description of the matter including the allegations and their final disposition. The review covers many years of sexual harassment case law and interpretation of sexual harassment behavior, and demonstrates the impact harassment has had on our social and corporate behaviors.
Reviewing these cases is a good source of education, and helps us remember past mistakes in an effort to prevent further harassment in the future.
I encourage our readers to visit www.hrworld.com and enter “top sexual harassment cases” in the search feature.
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