Landmark Case Holds Office Affairs Create Hostile Environment 08-04-2005
- By Rita Risser, attorney at law

The California Supreme Court recently became the highest court in the country to find that a manager's affairs created an illegal hostile environment for other women. Although not binding outside California, this case may well be cited by courts in other states when faced with the same issue.

The case involved a prison warden who for seven years had affairs with 3 of his subordinates at the same time. Throughout this time, he gave them unfair advantages. He gave them opportunities to train that were denied to other women. He promoted them into supervisory positions over other women who were more qualified. He also allowed his lovers to abuse women who complained about the affairs. After the other women complained, they were retaliated against by both the lovers and the warden. One of the lovers physically assaulted a woman who complained.

The Court said, "The evidence suggested Kuykendall [the warden] viewed female employees as 'sexual playthings' and that his ensuing conduct conveyed this demeaning message in a manner that had an effect on the work force as a whole. Various employees, including plaintiffs, observed Kuykendall and Bibb fondling one another on at least three occasions at work-related social gatherings. One employee reported that Kuykendall had placed his arm around her and another female employee during one such social event, adding that Kuykendall had engaged in unwelcome fondling of her as well. Bibb and Brown bragged to other employees, including plaintiffs, of their power to extort benefits from Kuykendall. Jealous scenes between the sexual partners occurred in the presence of Miller and other employees. ..."

The Court went on to note:

"Certainly, the presence of mere office gossip is insufficient to establish the existence of widespread sexual favoritism, but the evidence of such favoritism in the present case includes admissions by the participants concerning the nature of the relationships, boasting by the favored women, eyewitness accounts of incidents of public fondling, repeated promotion despite lack of qualifications, and Kuykendall's admission he could not control Brown because of his sexual relationship with her - a matter confirmed by the Department's internal affairs report."

The Court echoed the guidelines from the EEOC that one relationship by a supervisor is not enough to create illegal sexual favoritism. Even multiple relationships may not create liability if they are kept private. It is when the behavior spills over into the workplace that a potential hostile environment is created.

What this means to you: In this case, the warden's supervisors knew about the affairs. If you are a manager and are aware of this type of behavior (whether by a subordinate or by your management), report it immediately to your company's Human Resources Department.

Miller v. Dept. of Corrections (Cal. Sup. Ct. 7-18-05)

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.