'Hostile work environment'? One bad act can do it

Here’s a crucial reminder for your managers: A single incident can create a “hostile work environment.”
Take the case of Cynthia Berry, a carpenter for the Chicago Transit Authority and one of only two female employees among about 50 workers at her service facility.
Berry claimed that during a morning break, a male employee lifted her up from behind, grabbing her breasts. While holding her up in the air, the man allegedly rubbed her buttocks against the front of his body three times.
The man then put her on the ground and pushed her into a fence, Berry claimed.
Complaint wasn’t welcome
Berry said she told a supervisor she’d been sexually harassed; the supervisor responded that she was “a pain in the butt” and that she could lose her job if she filed charges. He added, according to Berry, that he’d do “whatever it takes to protect CTA.”
However, the supervisor did call in a CTA equal employment opportunity investigator, and asked her to investigate the incident. The investigator interviewed the alleged harasser and several witnesses — and came to the conclusion that Berry had instigated the incident.
Berry called police to report the assault. The cops, after speaking to the employees, came to the same conclusion as the employer’s investigator: Berry was the aggressor.
Berry eventually brought a lawsuit against the CTA, claiming that her co-worker’s actions and her supervisor’s response created a hostile work environment and constituted sex discrimination.
‘Severe enough’
A federal district court found for the employer, saying that the CTA could not be found liable because it took prompt and reasonable steps to discover and rectify the sexual harassment. The court also reasoned that Berry could not prove sex discrimination because she couldn’t prove she’d suffered an adverse employment action.
An appeals court disagreed. Berry’s testimony could convince a jury that her supervisor, who said he’d “do whatever it took” to protect the employer,  maliciously thwarted any legitimate investigation into her complaint.
What’s more, the court said, “a single act can create a hostile environment if it is severe enough, and instances of uninvited physical contact with intimate parts of the body are among the most severe types of sexual harassment.”
Now the case goes back to the lower court — where the employer faces an expensive trial or an expensive settlement.
Cite: Berry v. Chicago Transit Authority. For a look at the full court decision, go here.