"This & That" Tuesday: Male and Female Harassment

January 20, 2015

 

 

Here is the latest issue of “This & That” Tuesday. I hope you find it to be informative and useful.

 

Announcements

You can always check out my website for upcoming speaking engagements that are guaranteed to be of value to business owners or for a list of topics that I can speak on at Chambers, Clubs, Business Associations, etc. More details about the events, topics and Human Resources 4U, in general, can be found on my website.

 

Upcoming Events

January 21, Webinar on Coaching for Improved Performance

http://www.trainhr.com/ and go to Webinar Search – by month

 

January 27, Labor Law Update 2015, Irwindale Chamber of Commerce

Information at: Human Resources 4U

 

February 5-6, What Employers Need to Know About Human Resources, Seminar

http://www.trainhr.com/ and go to Seminar Search – by month

 

February 11, Webinar on Discipline

http://www.trainhr.com/ and go to Webinar Search – by month

 

February 12, Labor Law Update 2015, Glendora Chamber of Commerce

Information at Human Resources 4U

 

February 21, Labor Law Update 2015, Institute of Management Accountants, San Gabriel Valley

Information at: Human Resources 4U

 

Jury Awards Former Officer $7.5M in Harassment Suit

A former St. Louis (MO) police officer who claimed her supervising sergeant sexually harassed her — and that she suffered retaliation for complaining — won a $7.5 million judgment from a Circuit Court jury.

 

Although jurors found in favor of the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners on a discrimination claim, they awarded Ross-Paige $300,000 in compensatory damages and $7.2 million in punitive damages from the board for retaliation.

 

The verdict is against the police board, a state agency, based on allegations made before it turned over control of the police department to City Hall last year. Lawyers for the Missouri attorney general's office, which represented the board, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

 

Ross-Paige's original suit claimed her then-supervisor, Sgt. Steven Gori, created and distributed a mock "wanted" poster with her picture and comments about her body.

 

The flier read, "Subject wanted for having the baddest body in the St. Louis area," and "Use extreme caution when approaching this subject. Approach this subject from behind for your own safety."

 

The suit also claimed that Gori asked the married Ross-Paige to sit on his lap, take off her bullet-resistant vest so that he could "see what (she is) working with," and invited her to skinny-dip in his hot tub.

 

The suit claims that after she filed a complaint with the department in June 2011, Gori and then-Lt. Michael Deeba began assigning her to unfavorable shifts, evaluating her differently in performance reviews and denying her time off for training that was given to others.

 

Deeba told others on two occasions that the complaint was frivolous and he wanted her transferred. She also was sent for remedial training.

 

The lawyers said that before trial, they offered to settle the case, asking for $250,000 or $100,000 plus the approval of her disability claim. The lawyers for the police board refused to offer more than $80,000, he said.

 

Jury Awards Man $567 in Sexual Harassment Suit Against Female Boss

A Galveston County (TX) jury has awarded more than half-million dollars in damages and back-pay to a former deputy constable who was allegedly sexually harassed by former boss and Precinct 7 Constable.

 

Former Texas deputy constable James P. Gist, 55, was awarded $567,000 by a jury due to sexual harassment claims that range from unwanted lap dances to forced “motorboats,” in which she allegedly placed her shirt over his head and held his face against her breasts.

 

Gist alleges that his then-boss, Matranga, had been sexually harassing him for months, including instances of “grabbing her breasts, and saying, ‘Here, hold these.’”  Gist accused Matranga of repeated sexually suggestive comments and acts that he said caused him “humiliation” and “embarrassing” moments he’d never experienced in his nearly 30-year law enforcement career.

 

“She walked up behind me and pulls her shirt over my head and kinda held me in a head lock under her shirt,” said Gist. “I didn’t reciprocate in any way and, if anything, I backed away.”

 

In testimony that was “rife with sexual content,” Matranga admitted that she had joked with Gist about him attending “chunky chick night” at a local strip club.

 

Gist alleged that Matranga repeatedly offered him oral sex at work, causing him to place a hidden camera on his desk to catch her in the act. However, Matranga reportedly found the video, deleted it, and then reported Gist to the District Attorney for wiretapping. Gist said that she demoted him from sergeant to deputy and later forced him to resign.

 

The jury unanimously sided with Gist, and his attorney, Anthony Griffin, said the jury would not absolve Matranga simply because of her gender. The jury awarded his client $200,000 more than he originally had sought. 

 

Factoids

• The number one distraction at work is “personal technology”
• 50% say that cellphones and texting are the biggest productivity killers
• 42% say gossip

 

Sales Professionals

• 68% will be looking for a new job in the next year
• They are leaving because they are unhappy with compensation, career growth and company culture
• 71% said they would take less money to work for a company with a great culture 

 

Quotes

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

~J.R.R. Tolkien~