Workplace sexual harassment comes in a wide array of varieties. Targets of sexual harassment and sexual assault at work are not limited to one gender, and neither are their harassers. Regardless of your gender (or that of your harasser), you are entitled to a workplace free from sexual harassment and sexual assault. And it does not have to be an everyday thing, either. In instances of sexual assault and egregious sexual harassment, even a single occurrence may be enough to create civil liability on the part of the employer. If you are experiencing harassment at work, you should contact an experienced New York sexual harassment lawyer, who can help develop the best plan to protect yourself and your rights.
Consider, for example, the sexual harassment case of a male surgical resident in Brooklyn.
Several months into his oral and maxillofacial surgical residency, F.S. met a contract anesthesiologist, P.L., who was assigned to the hospital. The resident and the female anesthesiologist entered a romantic relationship that lasted roughly a year and a half.
After the resident ended the relationship, the anesthesiologist, purportedly unhappy with the breakup and with the resident’s “refusal to impregnate her,” allegedly began to harass the resident. According to the lawsuit, she sent him text messages that threatened him physically and threatened his career.
She also allegedly physically accosted him. According to the lawsuit, while the resident performed a surgical procedure, the anesthesiologist “groped his genitals” and whispered, “You can’t hide from me; I’ll end your career and life.” A few months later, she allegedly tried to grope him again while he was performing a surgical procedure.
The resident allegedly complained to his supervisor on multiple occasions, but the supervisor took no action. Even after the resident told his supervisor about the death threats, the supervisor dismissed him, saying that “little Dr. [P.L.]’s not going to hurt you,” according to the lawsuit.
Eventually, saying that he feared for his safety, the resident resigned from the program. Subsequently, he sued the hospital, alleging a hostile work environment in violation of federal law (Title VII), state law (New York State Human Rights Law), and city law (New York City Human Rights Law).
The hospital asked the court to throw out the resident’s case on summary judgment, advancing several arguments in support of its position.
Even a ‘Single Groping Incident’ Can Be Enough
For one thing, the hospital asserted that it could not be liable because the groping incident was an “aberrational act by a non-employee.” Furthermore, the hospital argued that being “touched once by a former lover [and non-supervisor] after a breakup” was inherently insufficient to create a hostile work environment.
The court dismantled each of these arguments. First, the court explained that whether the groping incident was an “aberration” was irrelevant, because “the case law makes clear that a single groping incident can give rise to a hostile work environment.” Previous Second Circuit court decisions have expressly stated that “[d]irect contact with an intimate body part constitutes one of the most severe forms of sexual harassment.” That is true even if the groping occurred only once.
Additionally, the court rejected the notion that the anesthesiologist’s status as an independent contractor, rather than an employee, of the hospital meant that liability for her harassment could not be imputed to the hospital. The law is clear that, even if your harasser is a non-supervisor, and even if they are a non-employee, your employer can be liable if your allegations substantiate that your “employer knew (or reasonably should have known) about the harassment but failed to take appropriate remedial action.”
In this case, the resident alleged that he complained to his supervising physician multiple times, but the hospital took no action. That was enough potentially to hold the hospital liable.
Sexual harassment and sexual assault occur across all workplaces, from blue-collar/industrial environments to professional fields like medicine, law, and Wall Street. Targets and perpetrators of sexual harassment and sexual assault are not necessarily one gender, either. Whatever your career field, your gender, or your sexual orientation, you should not have to live with sexual harassment at work. If you are experiencing sexual harassment or sexual assault at work, the New York sexual harassment attorneys at Phillips & Associates, PLLC are here to fight for you. Our knowledgeable litigators have extensive experience successfully helping all kinds of sexual harassment and sexual assault survivors protect themselves through legal action. To find out more, contact us online or call (866) 229-9441 to set up a free and confidential consultation today.