An interesting case was decided earlier this month when a California Appellate Court overturned a trial court and ruled that an employer cannot be liable for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace if there was in fact no sexual harassment.
Let’s look at the applicable Law. Government Code §12940 says that it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail to take “all reasonable steps” necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
The jury found the employer “not guilty” for sexual harassment, and that should have been the end of it.
But the employee’s attorneys had also included another accusation in its complaint, namely, that the employer had also failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment from happening. The jury agreed with that proposition.
Astounding, in our view. And the Appellate Court agreed, overturning this ruling. When failing to take preventative action is itself a legal violation, but what was to be prevented does not occur in any case, the employer cannot be held liable for “failing to take preventative action.”
The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.
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