MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
        • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for HR Professionals
          Employment Law
          Labor Law Posting Requirements: Everything You Need to Know
          Recruiting
          businesswoman selecting future employees on digital interfaces
          Recruiting Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
          Performance Management
          vector image of young female making star rating
          Performance Review Resources
          Employment Law
          Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity and the EEOC
          Recruiting
          Onboarding Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR

  • LOGIN
  • SIGN UP FREE

HR Morning

MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
        • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for HR Professionals
          Employment Law
          Labor Law Posting Requirements: Everything You Need to Know
          Recruiting
          businesswoman selecting future employees on digital interfaces
          Recruiting Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
          Performance Management
          vector image of young female making star rating
          Performance Review Resources
          Employment Law
          Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity and the EEOC
          Recruiting
          Onboarding Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • Performance Management
  • HR Technology
  • More
    • Leadership & Strategy
    • Compensation
    • Staff Administration
    • Policy & Procedures
    • Wellness
    • Staff Departure
    • Employee Services
    • Work Location
    • HR Career & Self-Care
    • Health Care
    • Retirement Plans

When workplace romance goes wrong, don't do what this company did

Dan Wisniewski
by Dan Wisniewski
February 1, 2013
2 minute read
  • SHARE ON

Workplace relationships are going to happen, no matter what. And when they do — and then fall apart — HR pros probably shouldn’t use this story as a guide on how to handle things.  
Melissa Gerald was a scientist with the University of Puerto Rico. Her supervisor was Edmundo Kraiselburd.
After working together for several years without incident, Gerald and Kraiselburd engaged in a weeklong sexual affair at a conference in Cuba.
When they returned home, Gerald, who was embarrassed by the fling, rebuffed Kraiselburd.
Several years passed without incident, until one night when Kraiselburd propositioned Gerald for sex after a work dinner. Gerald refused, upsetting Kraiselburd.
The next month, after a meeting in Kraiselburd’s office, Kraiselburd grabbed Gerald’s breast and made sexually suggestive grunting noises.
The issues continued the following week during a meeting when Kraiselburd asked Gerald in front of a number of colleagues, “What will it take for you to f–k me?”
Not surprisingly, Gerald filed a sexual harassment complaint with her employer. The university interviewed a number of Gerald’s and Kraiselburd’s co-workers, and they all said that Kraiselburd and Gerald had a relationship that frequently included off-color remarks and jokes of a sexual nature.
After an investigation, the university determined that the first two incidents, which supposedly occurred in private, didn’t occur, and the third incident was called a common occurrence between the two colleagues.
All three were deemed “not severe or offensive enough to alter Gerald’s work conditions.”

Court disagrees with university

So Gerald filed a sexual harassment claim against the university.
A district court dismissed the case, but an appeals court sent the case to trial, noting:

“[The university] primarily argued that Gerald’s own conduct, namely her voluntarily engaging in off-color banter of a sexual nature with Kraiselburd, showed that his conduct was not unwelcome. This argument does little to convince. We fail to see how an employee telling risqué jokes means that she is amenable to being groped at work. Instead the evidence here was enough, at the very least, to raise a factual question as to whether Kraiselburd’s conduct was unwelcome.”

Now the case has been sent to a jury, and you know what that means — a lengthy trial or an expensive settlement.
The case is Gerald v. University of Puerto Rico.

Get the latest from HRMorning in your inbox PLUS immediately access 10 FREE HR guides.

I WANT MY FREE GUIDES

Keep Up To Date with the Latest HR News

With HRMorning arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on labor laws, benefits, retention and onboarding strategies.

Sign up for a free HRMorning membership and get our newsletter!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
HR Morning Logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linked In
  • ABOUT HRMORNING
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WRITE FOR US
  • CONTACT
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • HR Technology
  • Performance Management
  • Leadership & Strategy
  • Compensation & Payroll
  • Policy & Culture
  • Staff Administration
  • Wellness & Safety
  • Staff Departure
  • Employee Services
  • Work Location
  • HR Career & Self-Care

HRMorning, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest HR and employment law news for HR professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, HRMorning delivers actionable insights, helping HR execs understand what HR trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service
Copyright © 2021 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

During your free trial, you can cancel at any time with a single click on your “Account” page.  It’s that easy.

Why do we need your credit card for a free trial?

We ask for your credit card to allow your subscription to continue should you decide to keep your membership beyond the free trial period.  This prevents any interruption of content access.

Your card will not be charged at any point during your 21 day free trial
and you may cancel at any time during your free trial.

preloader