EEOC Settles Sexual Harassment, Constructive Discharge Lawsuit against Hobson Air Conditioning

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced last week that it has settled a sexual harassment and constructive discharge lawsuit the day before the case was set to be presented to a jury. The suit was brought by the EEOC on behalf of Misty Kratky, the only female employee at Hobson Air Conditioning, a Weatherford Texas-based company. The settlement paid Ms. Kratky $37,500, and provides what the EEOC described as “extensive injunctive relief” to prevent future unlawful conduct.

According to the press release, Kratky’s manager subjected her to sexually vulgar comments and unwelcome touching soon after she was hired. The press release also indicates that the manager repeatedly asked Kratky to show him her breasts, made crude sexual demands on her and even exposed himself to her on multiple occasions. Kratky allegedly reported the harassment to higher management, but nothing was done to stop the harassing conduct or to impose any disciplinary action on the harasser.

The EEOC argued that as a result of the company’s failure to conduct an investigation of her report and the continuation of the unwanted conduct, Kratky had no choice but to quit. In Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders, 542 U.S. 129 (2004), the Supreme Court held that a victim of sexual harassment could make out a “constructive discharge” claim if she showed that a reasonable person in the her position would have viewed the working conditions as being so intolerable that she felt she had no other option but to resign.

In addition to the monetary relief Ms. Kratky received from Hobson in the settlement, U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay ordered extensive injunctive relief. Judge Lindsay will require Hobson to:

• revise its sexual harassment policy and procedures to provide multiple avenues for reporting harassment;
• conduct annual training for five years on the laws against sexual harassment and the proper procedure for investigating complaints;
• report to the EEOC any complaints of sexual harassment for the next five years and post an anti-discrimination notice; and
• place in the personnel file of the alleged harasser a notice reflecting the sexual harassment complaint.

EEOC Supervisory Trial Attorney Toby Wosk Costas statedd, “As the only female employee in her office, Ms. Kratky was targeted for this crude and disturbing behavior on the work premises. Women in traditionally male-dominated fields can sometimes face an uphill battle when it comes to reporting and remedying unwelcome sexual conduct on the job, and the EEOC is here to help.”