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Employment Law and Discrimination

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Employment Law and Discrimination
Ali Akbar
LAW/531
February 2nd, 2016
University of Phoenix James Charnell

Employment Law and Discrimination
Johnathan Silverstein is suing Meredith Shaw for sexual harassment based on the fact that she put a “sexy screen saver” on his computer in which his supervisor seen and apparently used it as an excuse to deny him a promotion. The two were once friends and had played numerous of pranks on one another for several years. The only time that it went too far is when he felt like he lost a promotion because of it. According to The Free Legal Dictionary (2003) the federal courts did not recognize sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination until the 1970s, because the problem originally was perceived as isolated incidents of flirtation in the workplace. Employers are now aware that they can be sued by the victims of workplace sexual harassment.

An applicable defense, in this case, is that the behavior was unwelcome. However, the judge ruled that the Plaintiff took part in the action before, and the only reason he is doing something about it now is because he believes it cost him a promotion. The Plaintiff admitted that he had never told the Defendant to stop or that it made him feel uncomfortable. He also admitted that he did not inform the supervisor or the Human Resources Department about the Defendant’s behavior.

According to The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII, it makes no difference . . . Whether the person whose acts are complained of is an employee, an independent contractor, or for that matter a customer (Willey & Butera, 2015). Whether an employee or an independent contractor, the sexual harasser is liable for their actions, either civilly or criminally. However, if the employee is working in a supervisory capacity, the employer may be held vicariously liable. According to Santos v. Puerto Rico

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