Dennis v. Nevada.U.S. District Court SEXUAL HARASSMENT sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. TITLE VII HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT A hostile work environment exists when an employee experiences workplace harassment and fears going to work because of the offensive, intimidating, or oppressive atmosphere generated by the harasser. Dennis v. Nevada, 282 F.Supp.2d 1177 (D.Nev. 2003). A state corrections officer The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. sued a state under Title VII and [section] 1983, alleging she was sexually harassed by her supervisor. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the state. According to the court, the officer established a prima facie case prima facie case n. a plaintiff's lawsuit or a criminal charge which appears at first blush to be "open and shut." (See: prima facie) of discrimination, but the state established an affirmative defense A new fact or set of facts that operates to defeat a claim even if the facts supporting that claim are true. A plaintiff sets forth a claim in a civil action by making statements in the document called the complaint. with its non-harassment policy, and its procedure to address harassment problems. The court noted that the officer established that a reasonable person in her position could find that her working environment was abusive and hostile, ant that the hostile working environment reasonably interfered with her work performance in violation of Title VII. The officer alleged that while she was assigned to a control room with her supervisor, he made physical contact with her, such as touching her hands, ears, hair and face, and sat unnecessarily close to her. She alleged that the supervisor frequently attempted to convince her to begin a dating relationship with him, and made two attempts to kiss her while she was on the job. (Northern Nevada Correctional Center) |
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