Sexual Harassment Lecture Flashcards
All of the following cases are directly related as legal antecedents to the #MeToo movement except:
A) Harvey Weinstein ( Judd at All v Weinstein)
B) Faragher v City of Boca Raton
C) Burlington Industries v. Ellerth
D) Onscale v. sundowner offshore services
E) Meritor Savings Bank v. Vincent
D) Onscale v. sundowner offshore services
The “reasonable woman” standard was articulated in:
A) Faragher v. city of Boca Raton
B) Ellison versus Brady
C) Bundy versus Jackson
D) Burlington Industries versus Ellert
E) Meritor versus Vinson
B) Ellison versus Brady
All of the following are true about sexual harassment except:
A) It must be unwelcome
B) It is a form of sexual discrimination violating title 7
C) It always consists of a quid pro quo element
D) Forensic psychiatrists do not opine on whether it occurred
C) It always consists of a quid pro quo element
Which of the following is correct about the term quid pro quo as used in sexual harassment cases?
a. Literally: “This for that”
b. A demand that an employee provides sexual favors to gain employment benefit or avoid adverse employment action
c. Promotions or opportunities based on employee’s submission to verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
d. Unlawful whether the employee resists or submits.
e. All of the above.
e. All of the above.
Which of the following is true about the legal term “Welcomeness?”
a. Voluntary participation ipso facto constitutes “welcomeness”
b. sexually provocative speech or dress, sexual horseplay may suggest welcomeness
c. A plaintiff’s prior consent to sex strongly suggests welcomeness
d. psychiatrists may offer direct opinions on welcomeness
d. psychiatrists may offer direct opinions on welcomeness
After Meritor, Plaintiffs with hostile environment claims must prove that the harassers’s conduct was unwelcome and also:
a. Severe or pervasive
b. Created a hostile or abusive work environment
c. Was based on gender
d. All of the above.
d. All of the above.
Which of the following is not correct about Harris v. Forklift systems, incorporated?
a. The court held that Title 7 comes into play before the harassing conduct leads to a “Nervous breakdown”
b. The court held that each case must be considered in its “totality of circumstances”
c. Totality of circumstances may include frequency, severity, humiliation, and interference with work
d. The reasonable woman standard of Ellison was adopted.
d. The reasonable woman standard of Ellison was adopted.
Which of the following is incorrect about victim responses to sexual harassment?
a. Delays in reporting the conduct suggest a lack of emotional distress.
b. High severity conduct is associated with worse psychological outcomes.
c. Low severity but chronic conduct may result in adverse psychological outcomes
d. Victims may experience threats to self worth and physical integrity.
a. Delays in reporting the conduct suggest a lack of emotional distress
The so-called Farragher-Ellerth defense holds that:
a. An employer made avoid Liability by showing that plaintiff’s behavior suggested welcomeness to sexual advances
b. An employee may block inquiry into her past sexual conduct outside of work
c. An employer may avoid liability by exercising reasonable care to prevent and correct harassing behavior, and showing that the plaintiff unreasonably failed to take advantage of the preventative or corrective opportunities
d. A defendant may raise an affirmative defense of undue influence when a Plaintiffs provocative behaviour is “in controversy”.
c. An employer may avoid liability by exercising reasonable care to prevent and correct harassing behavior, and showing that plaintiff unreasonably failed to take advantage of the preventative or corrective opportunities
A woman working at a stereo company recently posed for graphic nude photos appearing in national magazines and a calendar on her own time. One of her supervisors repeatedly asked her to go out with him, made sexually suggestive comments, and showed her the nude calendar pictures of herself. The supervisor also showed her nude photos from Penthouse and Playboy magazines. Eventually, the woman quits and files a sexual harassment suit, claiming that the supervisor’s advance in conduct was offensive enough to create an abusive work environment. Considering the United States Supreme Court’s. Reasoning and Meritor and Harris, Which of the following is most correct?
a. The character of a person who would appear nude in a national magazine is unlikely to be offended by the conduct, even if she did not welcome it.
b. The plaintiff’s claims of being offended by sexual comments or Playboy pictures is not credible
c. Plaintiff posing nude outside work was not material to the issue of whether she found her employee’s work-related conduct offensive. The primary issue is whether the alleged conduct by her supervisor was not welcome.
d. This is a case in which reasonable persons could differ.
c. Plaintiff posing nude outside work was not material to the issue of whether she found her employee’s work-related conduct offensive. The primary issue is whether the alleged conduct by her supervisor was not welcome.
Which of the following statements about same-sex sexual harassment is true?
a. A male is unlikely to have a cause of action under Title 7 for harassment by male coworkers
b. Same-sex sexual harassment must be shown to be motivated by sexual desire and be actionable.
c. The United States Supreme Court has held that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination under Title 7
d. It is most often inflicted on men by other men and involves gender-based insults.
d. It is most often inflicted on men by other men and involves gender-based insults.
What legislation prohibits employment discrimination based on sex, race, national origin, or religion?
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII
What legislation was to “further promote equal employment opportunities for American workers?”
Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972
What was the holding of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson?
That a hostile environment sexual harassment claim was actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Court pointed out that guidelines issued by the EEOC specified that sexual harassment leading to noneconomic injury was a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Court recognized that the plaintiff, Mechelle Vinson, could establish violations of the Act “by proving that discrimination based on sex has created a hostile or abusive work environment.” A Plaintiff with hostile environment-styled claims must prove that the challenged conduct was severe or pervasive, created a hostile or abusive working environment, was unwelcome, and was based on the plaintiff’s sex.
How does Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson determine what a hostile work environment is?
- Conduct was severe
- Created a hostile or abusive work environment
- was unwelcome*** (Vinson was unwelcome)
- based on gender
Which legislation authorized jury trials, compensatory, and punitive damages in federal sexual harassment cases and allowed jurors to consider the extent of the plaintiff’s harm to determine damages?
The Civil Rights Act of 1991
What has the issue and holding in Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. (1993)?
The issue was whether sexual harassment must affect an employee’s psychological well-being to create an abusive work environment that violates Title VII.
No, Title VII comes into play before the harassing conduct leads to a “nervous breakdown.”
“A forklift does not have to break you.”
What was the issue and holding in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services (1998)?
The issue was whether workplace harassment violates Title VII’s “discrimination because of Sex” in cases of same-sex sexual harassment.
Same-sex SH is actionable under Title VII.
What are the two types of sexual harassment conditions?
- Quid Pro Quo
- Hostile or abusive work environment - must be unwelcome
