Can A Co-Worker Watching Pornography At Work Create A Sexually Hostile Work Environment?
Having fought for the rights of sexual harassment victims for more than twenty years, our sexual harassment lawyers in Citrus County, Florida know that employees are frequently exposed to pornography in the workplace. For example, employees may be exposed to pornographic materials posted in the workplace. Likewise, employees may be exposed to pornographic materials in emails and text messages from co-workers. Similarly, employees may be exposed to pornographic materials when a co-worker watches pornography on a computer while in the workplace. In this article, our sexual harassment lawyers in Citrus County, Florida explain how the decision in Garduno v. Capable Controls, Inc., 2023 WL 6276564 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 26, 2023) demonstrates that a co-worker watching pornography in the workplace can create a sexually hostile work environment in violation of federal employment discrimination law.
Protection From Sexual Harassment
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) protects employees from discrimination based on sex. Under well-established law, sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination forbidden by Title VII. As determined by the U.S. Supreme Court in Meritor Sav. Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986), employees are not required to run a “gauntlet of sexual abuse in return for the privilege of being allowed to work and make a living.” Title VII protects both men and women against sexual harassment. Employees are protected against sexual harassment from co-workers, supervisors, managers, officers, customers, and clients.
To violate Title VII, sexual harassment must be sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create a hostile working environment. Importantly, harassment need not be severe and pervasive to violate Title VII. Rather, one or the other will suffice to create a sexually hostile work environment. To be severe, the harassment generally must involve the touching of an intimate body party. To be pervasive, the harassment must be continuous and concerted. Usually, a single isolated incident of harassment will not create a hostile work environment unless the incident was extraordinarily severe. However, there is no threshold magic number of harassing incidents that automatically create a sexually hostile work environment in violation of Title VII.
Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
In Garduno, a woman named Garduno brought a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former employer, Capable Controls, Inc. (“CCI”), pursuant to Title VII. Garduno claims that she was subjected to hostile work environment sexual harassment in violation of Title VII.
Garduno was employed as a customer service agent with CCI from December 2017 until her termination on March 1, 2022. Shortly after her employment began, according to Garduno, a Purchasing Manager asked her to come into his office for a training session. Garduno alleges that upon entering his office, she observed that the Purchasing Manager’s computer was displaying pornography. Shocked by her alleged observation, Garduno claims that she returned to her desk. Garduno maintains that she reported the incident to another manager, Huizinga, later that week. Garduno contends that Huizinga’s only response to her complaint was to “get proof.”
According to Garduno, the Purchasing Manager continued to watch pornography in his office on a regular basis and, due to the proximity of their workspaces, she overheard sexual noises coming from his office throughout the workday. Garduno claims that, sometime in 2018, she recorded a video outside of the Purchasing Manager’s office in which one can hear sexually-charged dialogue followed by continuous moaning. Garduno alleges that she provided the video recording to management, but no action was taken in response. Garduno allegedly asked one of CCI’s accountants about the company’s apparent acceptance of the Purchasing Manager’s behavior. Garduno contends that the accountant acknowledged that it was common knowledge that the Purchasing Manager watches pornography in his office and that supervisors did nothing to address it.
Garduno alleges that she again spoke with Huizinga in April 2021 about the Purchasing Manager’s pornography viewing. Garduno asserts that Huizinga said that the Purchasing Manager should not be able to watch pornography because of the firewall in place on the company’s network. Garduno maintains that the Purchasing Manager continued to watch pornographic videos in his office, causing her to suffer mental anguish.
Garduno claims that she again reported the Purchasing Manager’s pornography-viewing via email. Garduno asserts that she made an additional report regarding the Purchasing Manager in February 2022. Less than one month later, on March 1, 2022, Garduno was terminated. Garduno maintains that, at the time of her termination, she was performing her job satisfactorily and that there was no legitimate reason for her termination apart from her complaints about the Purchasing Manager.
Pornography Creates Hostile Work Environment
CCI filed a motion with the trial court seeking dismissal of Garduno’s sexual harassment claim. In denying CCI’s motion for dismissal, the trial court found that Garduno’s allegations “are sufficient to plausibly state a sexual harassment claim under a hostile work environment theory.” In support of its conclusion, the trial court observed that Garduno alleges that CCI “had a practice or policy of condoning [the Purchasing Manager’s] habit of watching pornography in close proximity to [her], the only female in the office.” The trial court further observed that Garduno “states that she repeatedly complained about [the Purchasing Manager’s] behavior, but [CCI] consistently failed to take any action in response, thereby allowing [the Purchasing Manager’s] pornography-viewing to continue with zero ramifications.”
Citrus County Sexual Harassment Lawyers
Based in Ocala, Florida and representing workers throughout Florida, our sexual harassment lawyers in Citrus County, Florida have litigated sexual harassment cases in Florida courts for more than two decades. If you have been required to work in a sexually hostile environment or have questions about your protection from pornography in the workplace, please contact our office for a free consultation with our sexual harassment lawyers in Citrus County, Florida. Our employee rights law firm takes sexual harassment cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that there are no attorney’s fees incurred unless there is a recovery and our attorney’s fees come solely from the monetary award that you recover.
