The Storage Room Massage: A Case of Sexual Harassment?
Background
Standard Value & Gauge Company manufactures safety relief valves, pressure gauges, thermometers, testing instruments, and spring disks. The company has three small plants scattered throughout the Southeast.
Each plant employs approximately 325 workers. Personnel operations are generally centralized at corporate headquarters located in Atlanta, Georgia. However, the plant superintendent of each plant is largely responsible for the day-to-day administration of personnel policies.
The Incident
Bill Winthrop, a Shift Supervisor at the Marshfield Plant, has been employed with the company for about six years. On June 11, 2019, Winthrop was terminated by the Plant Superintendent, Jim Hudson, for sexual harassment of a female employee, Mary Harper Jones, on June 9 (see Exhibit 1). Jones was employed as a laborer in the Marshfield plant and accused Winthrop of unwanted sexual advances (see Exhibit 2).
A few months after Winthrop was terminated, the company received a Notice of Charge of Discrimination from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), filed by Winthrop alleging that he had been sexually harassed by Jones on three occasions and that her actions unreasonably interfered with his work performance and created a negative work atmosphere.
He further alleged that the company failed to take action on his complaints about Ms. Jones and that he had been unduly discharged .
The Company’s Position
In its reply to the EEOC, the company maintained that Winthrop was terminated for sexual harassment and not on the basis of his race, sex, or any other manner of retaliation. The company also pointed out that after his termination on June 11,
Winthrop had applied for unemployment compensation and the Employment Security Commission office hearing his appeal agreed that Winthrop was terminated for just cause. Consequently, Winthrop was disqualified for unemployment benefits for a period of nine weeks.
The discharge of the claimant was for good business reasons to avoid instances of like nature in the future. The company argued that his sexual harassment charges were unsubstantiated and should be dismissed (see Exhibit 4).
Two weeks after forwarding the letter in Exhibit 4 to the EEOC, the Human Resource Director, J. Bevins, received a letter back from the EEOC (Exhibit 5) requesting additional information about the charges.
Questions
Did Mary Harper Jones experience illegal sexual harassment that is in violation of Title VII? YES or NO. Provide at least three reasons that for your decision.
What steps should the company take to prevent sexual harassment from occurring in the future?
Consider the company’s handling of Winthrop’s termination. Do you think the company made the right decision to fire Winthrop? YES or NO. Why or why not?