"Seinfeld" case reversed on appeal; management upheld on all counts 02-01-00
-- by Ann Kiernan

Remember this one? This is the case where a man was awarded $25 million by a jury after he was fired for telling a joke from Seinfeld. Well, here's the rest of the story. In fact, he never recovered a dime. Read on...

In March, 1993, Patricia Best, a manager at Miller Brewing Company, reported that Jerold Mackenzie, a fellow manager, had engaged her in inappropriate conversations about a Seinfeld episode. She said she was offended when Mackenzie commented on and later continued to discuss the show's thinly-veiled references to female sexual anatomy. Miller Brewing investigated her report, and shortly thereafter fired Mackenzie for "poor management judgment."

Mackenzie filed suit claiming wrongful termination against the company, and fraudulent misrepresentation against the woman, alleging that she wasn't really offended by what he said. The case went to trial, and he was awarded millions against both the company and the woman.

But on February 22, 2000, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals reversed all the jury verdicts. The Court rejected Mackenzie's argument that Miller could not terminate him based on allegations of sexual harassment unless those allegations were proven. The court noted that in 1989 and 1990, Mackenzie's secretary had filed a sexual harassment case against him, that Miller had settled the claim, and that Mackenzie's supervisor had warned him that any repetition of such conduct would lead to termination.

What are the lessons of this case?

1. Supervisors who give their honest opinions about an employee's qualifications for promotion are protected from liability.
2. Employees who make honest reports of sexual harassment are protected from liability.
3. Employers are entitled to take appropriate discipline against employees accused of harassment.
4. These cases consume years of time, energy, and resources, for all concerned.
5. Don't believe everything you read in the newspaper!

Stop costly lawsuits such as this one before they go to court!

For your lawyer-approved anti-harassment policy and procedures, click here.

For a sexual harassment research report complete with checklist on either how to conduct a sexual harassment investigation, or for someone accused of sexual harassment, or for guidance for the harassed employee, then go here.

Case citation:
Mackenzie v. Miller Brewing Co., Wisc. Ct. App. 2/22/00

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.