by Cathleen S. Yonahara
A Los Angeles County jury found that although an employer wasn’t liable for sexual harassment, it was liable for over $1 million in damages for retaliating against an employee for exercising her right to report sexual harassment. Take steps to ensure your company avoids incurring such damages.
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Some of the Facts
Stephanie Kelley served as the director of marketing for Merle Norman Cosmetics, Inc., from September 2007 until she was fired in November 2010. In early 2009, Vice Chairman Helen Nethercutt told Sarah Tillman, one of Kelley’s subordinates, that she should wear a different type of brassiere.
Kelley also testified that she witnessed or heard about several other sexual comments or conduct by Helen and her husband, Chairman Jack Nethercutt.
Kelley reported Helen’s brassiere comment to the director of HR in June 2009, and he relayed the report to the Nethercutts in September 2009. In October 2009, the company moved its marketing department to a different suite of offices. In February 2010, the company created and filled a new chief operating officer position to oversee the marketing department.
This led to allegations of retaliation as well as sexual harassment. See how the case and its subsequent appeals turned out in the full article.