This is NOT sexual harassment

In a recent case won by Hewlett-Packard in Corvallis, Oregon, the court held that Ms. Cleese was not sexually harassed by Mr. Ciarla. Upon learning that Ms. Cleese was pregnant, Ciarla commented on the size of her breasts by stating that "the baby's sure going to have a mouthful." On another occasion, Ciarla commented that women in the lab area were inferior. The court held, "These 'mere offensive comments,' objectionable as they may be, are not sufficiently severe or pervasive so as to have altered the conditions of Cleese's working environment. [Therefore] her hostile environment claim must fail."

What you should do: Even though the company won the lawsuit, how much did they have to pay in attorneys fees to fight it? All employees should be trained in what is harassment both under the law and under company policy. Targets of harassment should be encouraged to speak up, and where harassment has occurred, the offender should be appropriately disciplined.

Case Excerpts

Several of the comments which Cleese finds offensive were not of a sexual nature. For instance, Ciarla called Cleese his "spandex queen" a couple of times. At the time he made these comments, Cleese was wearing a lab coat which came down below her knees, so he was only commenting on the area between her knees and her ankles. Ciarla's comments were apparently directed not at Cleese sexually, but only at the type of clothing she wore. As Cleese complained in her deposition: "[H]ow come I'm always wearing spandex, don't I have any other clothes." Ciarla also called Cleese "Hot Lips," on "very few" occasions. Cleese understood this to be a reference to the M*A*S*H character because Cleese's name is Loretta, and not as a sexual comment.

Ciarla did make two comments which were sexual in nature. Upon learning that Cleese was pregnant, Ciarla commented on the size of her breasts by stating that "the baby's sure going to have a mouthful." On another occasion, Ciarla commented that women in the lab area were inferior. These "mere offensive comments," objectionable as they may be, are not sufficiently severe or pervasive so as to have altered the conditions of Cleese's working environment.

Because Cleese has not shown that she was subjected to unwelcome sexual comments sufficient in severity or frequency to have altered the conditions of her working environment, her hostile environment claim must fail.

Cleese v. Hewlett-Packard Co., --- F.Supp. ----, 1995 WL 770614 (D.Or., Dec. 21, 1995)

Information here is correct at the time it is posted. Case decisions cited here may be reversed. Please do not rely on this information without consulting an attorney first.