Sexual Harassment Lawyer Blawg

As reported in Vermont Today, Michael Davis, a former corrections officer for the state of Vermont, has filed a lawsuit against the state's Department of Corrections alleging sexual harassment, discrimination based on disability, and retaliation. The lawsuit, filed by sexual harassment attorneys Law Offices of Joshua Friedman, on June 23, 2011 in the U.S. District Court for Vermont, seeks damages for Davis' emotional distress and lost wages, as well as punitive damages.

The lawsuit describes the facts of the case as follows:

Davis began working for the Department of Corrections at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, Vermont in 2005. In 2007, an inmate punched Davis in the groin. A year later, Davis was still experiencing pain in his groin area, so he took a two-week leave from work. He returned to work in January 2009 still in pain, and he found the beginning of a pattern of harassment and abuse that would continue until he left his employment there. First a supervisor e-mailed Davis information on sexually-transmitted diseases, which he took as a reference to his groin pain. Soon after, he received as e-mail with a photograph of a nude male doll holding its groin area. Subsequent e-mails included photographs showing Davis' face placed on nude male bodies and other images Davis found highly offensive.

The Vermont Rutland Herald reported that the suit alleges that the two shift supervisors who created these images then circulated printed copies to other employees, both male and female. Copies were placed in areas where both employees and inmates could view them. In February 2009, Davis took leave for hernia surgery. While on leave, he made a complaint to his union representative.

When Davis returned from leave, he found the work environment had become hostile. He received threatening notes in his mailbox at work. Inmates approached him asking for money in exchange for information on who was disclosing Davis' medical information to the inmates. Other inmates began mocking Davis openly.

Davis was eventually transferred to a higher-security area within the prison, where the inmates have no contact with the rest of the prison population. He found that even the inmates there knew about his medical condition. Harassment from both coworkers and inmates continued through the summer of 2009, causing Davis increased anxiety and distress. At one point a medical provider wrote a letter to the Vermont DOC explaining how damaging the inmate harassment was but the employer failed to correct the problem.

In September 2009, Davis suffered a shoulder injury during a Use of Force training. He eventually found a position in the state's Agency for Transportation.

Continue reading "Former Vermont Corrections Officer Files Suit for Harassment" »

Five women have intervened in a lawsuit brought by the United States attorney general against Stanley Katz and William Barnason for sexual harassment constituting multiple violations of the Fair Housing Act. The women, who are represented by New York sexual harassment attorney Joshua Friedman, were residents of apartment buildings in Manhattan's Upper West Side owned by Katz. Barnason served as superintendent of the apartment buildings.

The Today Show reported on this story in February 2010 and interviewed several of the residents who intervened in the lawsuit:

The government's lawsuit alleges that Barnason engaged in a years-long pattern of behavior that created an atmosphere of sexual hostility and harassment for the buildings' female residents. Katz is alleged to have ignored this conduct at best and facilitated it at worst. Living under conditions of near-constant harassment, the lawsuit says, constituted discrimination under the Fair Housing Act and deprived the residents of their rights to the property protected by that law. While the attorney general's lawsuit is brought on behalf of the American people, the claim brought directly on behalf of the residents may allow them to present their case and recover damages directly.

The intervenor complaint filed by the Law Offices of Joshua Friedman provides more detailed factual allegations. Each resident tells a part of her story in the complaint, including an allegation that Barnason accepted a $2,000 security deposit from a resident and threatened to keep it and deny her access to her apartment if she did not have sexual intercourse with him. While Katz initially agreed to keep Barnason away from her, harassment coninued from both Katz and Barnason. One resident alleges that Barnason drugged her late one night and tried to take her to a vacant apartment while she was impaired. Another resident witnessed this and intervened, and was able to get her away from Barnason. Multiple residents allege that Katz would steal their unemployment or welfare checks from their mailboxes, then harass them once they got behind on rent. Barnason would also offer to pay rent for certain residents in exchange for sex.

The intervenor complaint filed by the five women supplements the complaint filed by the government and adds additional claims. The women claim violations of the Fair Housing Act due to Barnason's repeated demands for sexual favors in exchange for ordinary superintendent services, other inappropriate sexual advances, sexual assaults, and harassing behavior and statements, as well as Katz's support of this conduct. They also claim violations of Title 8, Chapter 1 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York, which offers more generous protections than the Fair Housing Act.

Continue reading "New York Attorney Joshua Friedman Intervenes in Apartment Sexual Harassment Suit on Behalf of Tenants" »

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Stanley Katz, the owner and manager of three apartment buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and William Barnason, the former superintendent of those buldings. The suit alleges violations of the Fair Housing Act in the form of an ongoing and pervasive campaign of sexual harassment and sexual assault against multiple female residents of the apartments over a period of years.

Barnason is a Level III registered sex offender who served fourteen years in prison for the sexual assault of several children and one adult. Katz employed Barnason as the superintendent of at least three apartment buildings for several years. The lawsuit complains of an atmosphere of sexual harassment fostered by both Katz and Barnason, and of specific acts of sexual harassment and even assault committed by Barnason.

Barnason is alleged to have demanded sexual relations with female residents in exchange for ordinary maintenance services, reductions in or forgiveness of rent, or even simply cessation of verbal abuse. Several residents allege that Barnason drugged a female resident and attempted to take her to a vacant apartment late at night until another resident intervened. Both defendants are said to have engaged in frequent verbal harassment of residents, referring to them as "hookers" and "whores."

The government's lawsuit asks the court to find that the defendants' condict constitutes multiple violations of the Fair Housing Act, and that the conduct specifically amounts to a deprivation of rights guaranteed to the residents by the Fair Housing Act. The suit further asks for an injunction against further discrimination, and requests monetary damages, including punitive damages, and civil penalties against the defendants.

The Fair Housing Act, enacted as part of the civil rights laws in 1968, protects tenants, homeowners and home buyers from discriminatory practices by landlords, sellers, property managers, and lenders. The law prevents discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, gender, family status or handicap. It covers, among others, refusal to rent or sell a house or apartment based on those criteria, refusal to lend money, or setting different terms for sale or rental of a property. A person claiming damages resulting from discrimination covered by the law may recover their actual damages, and the court may subject a defendant found liable to civil penalties. The law also allows punitive damages, but courts tend to only do so in extreme and unusual circumstances, defined in at least one case as "when the defendant's conduct is shown to be motivated by evil motive or intent, or when it involves reckless or callous indifference to the federally protected rights of others." Smith v. Wade, 461 U.S. 30, 56 (1983).

Continue reading "Department of Justice Sues New York Apartment Owner and Superintendent for Years of Sexual Harassment" »

In May, two female employees of the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Arkansas received the biggest settlement in Washington County history: $395,000. Lori Schmidt, a former sergeant, and Stephanie Guenther, a former corporal, sued the Sheriff's Office for sexual harassment in November 2009. They claimed that Sheriff Tim Helder and his subordinates permitted open discussion of sexual practices and that the strip search of female inmates was ordered in front of video cameras.

This blog has discussed some of the past humiliations Schmidt and Guenther had to endure before achieving this victory. Sheriff Helder called them "liars" on television. Transcripts of witnesses were filled with criticisms of Captain Osburn, whom they said liked to discuss breast augmentation and preferred to have women prisoners strip searched in the hallway instead of the women's showers so that he could watch on the monitors in his cubical. When Schmidt voiced a complaint, she was transferred to the night shift, even though with her seniority, she could have remained on the day shift. After she sued for sexual harassment and retaliation, she was moved to an even worse shift that prevented her from seeing her family.

In September 2009, Schmidt and Guenther filed claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Two months later, they filed their complaint in the Western District of Arkansas pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and various laws of the state. The specific allegations included Captain Osburn making inappropriate remarks about the type of breast augmentation that two coworkers intended to get, crude descriptions of sexual practices involving chocolate syrup and peanut butter, and telling one coworker whom she could and could not have sex with. Although Osburn's "wife swapping" parties were widely known--he "invited" junior officers and deputies in his office--he was not disciplined. One senior officer also knew about a photo of Guenther's breast that Captain Osburn shared with the rest of the office without Guenther's knowledge.

Schmidt and Guenther might have received more had they gone to trial, said an attorney for the county. Nonetheless, they were very satisfied with the $395,000 settlement. They felt vindicated for all they had to put up with over the past few years. Schmidt and Guenther, who were terminated from their jobs after reporting the harassment, will now be listed as "resigned," which may make it easier for them to find new employment.

Both women stated that they hope the settlement leads to changes in the Sheriff's Office. Schmidt hoped that this would show women that they could "come forward and they will be heard, and just keep going until you are heard." Guenther stated that she hoped that they "opened up doors at the Sheriff's Office" and made them realize that there were problems that needed fixing. The Sheriff's Office has received a taste of what can happen when women come forward with the help of a sexual harassment lawyer.

Continue reading "Sexual Harassment Suit Results in Largest Settlement in Washington County History" »

What do you do when you report sexual harassment, your employer does an investigation, the evidence clearly shows that you were sexually harassed, and then you employer issues a report stating your allegations were "not sustained." And commences to retaliate against you. And gets on TV and calls you a liar.

This is exactly what happened to Sergeant Schmidt and Corporal Guenther of the Washington County Sheriff's Office, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Continue reading "Sexual Harassment was Just the Beginning of Their Ordeal: Their Boss Calls them a "Liar" on TV" »

Harassers abuse the positions of power they occupy, such as supervisor, or professor. Most of us are too afraid of the consequences to speak out. Those who do may be ostracized, disbelieved and face retaliation. But if we do not find the courage to speak out about civil rights violations, they continue.

Without people like Cameron Aulner who find the courage to fight we would have no civil rights. By standing up to a powerful adversary Cameron has made things better for all Edinboro University students. Read the Complaint.