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$567K jury verdict for sexual harassment in the workplace

On Behalf of | Mar 28, 2014 | Sexual Harassment |

A male police department employee from another state has been awarded $567,000 after a jury verdict in a sexual harassment suit. The 55-year-old deputy constable claimed to have suffered from severe sexual harassment in the workplace. In his lawsuit, he alleged that he was forced to endure extreme harassment, the likes of which he had never seen in his entire 30-year career with the police force. While most claims of sexual harassment in Florida involve women being abused by men, cases in which the abuse is reversed do occur regularly and are equally reprehensible.

The police department employee said that his former supervisor would hold her breasts in her hands and ask the man if he would hold them for her. The complaint further alleged that the woman lifted her shirt over his head and held him in a headlock against her breasts. She also repeatedly offered to perform oral sex on the man.

Eventually, the police department employee decided to record the woman with a video camera that he set up on his office desk. However, the woman found out about the video and deleted it before he could use the evidence against her in a former complaint to superiors. The man’s supervisor then reported him for inappropriately recording a coworker, had him demoted and eventually forced his resignation. While the man’s supervisor denied most of his claims during the litigation of the lawsuit, she did admit to inviting him to attend a local strip club event with her.

This man’s legal victory regarding his claims of sexual harassment in the workplace is certainly commendable. Numerous instances of female superiors harassing male underlings go unreported — either because the male employee does not believe he has recourse under the law or because of embarrassment. In reality, any Florida employee who is subjected to this kind of harassment — regardless of whether that person is male or female — has the right to lodge a formal complaint and seek to put a stop to it. The victim may also be entitled to financial compensation, as this man has now been awarded in this case.

Source: CBS Houston, Jury Awards Man Over $500K In ‘Motorboat’ Sexual Harassment Suit Against Female Boss, No author, March 24, 2014