Employer Established Faragher/Ellerth Affirmative Defense To Sexual Harassment Claim
Bonnie Chaloult sued her former employer, Interstate Brands Corporation (“IBC”), alleging she had suffered sexual harassment by her supervisor, Kevin Francoeur, in the six months before she quit her job. The district court entered summary judgment for IBC. The issue on appeal turned on the affirmative defense available to employers when the harassment is by the plaintiff's supervisor.
Under Title VII, an employer is subject to vicarious liability for sexual harassment by an employee's supervisor which does not constitute a tangible employment action. But the employer may prevail if it demonstrates the two-part Faragher/Ellerth affirmative defense: that its own actions to prevent and correct harassment were reasonable and that the employee's actions in seeking to avoid harm were not reasonable.
After reviewing the record, the 1st Circuit affirmed summary judgment for IBC, holding that: (1) Chaloult's own actions were not reasonable (Chaloult did not herself complain to management); (2) IBC had reasonably set up and educated employees on appropriate procedures for handling sexual harassment allegations; (3) IBC did reasonably investigate the original allegation Chaloult made to management at the time of her resignation; (4) no one at a managerial level equal to or superior to the harasser had notice of the different allegations of harassment made in the lawsuit; and (5) the co-worker who had some notice of some of the different allegations did not consider the conduct he knew of to be harassment and did not call it to the attention of management.
Chaloult v. Interstate Brands Corp.
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals’ jurisdiction includes Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island.