Labor & Employment – Civil Rights – Sexual Harassment — Faragher/Ellerth Defense

Walton v. North Carolina Department of Agriculture (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-02-1212, 11 pp.) (Louise W. Flanagan, J.) E.D.N.C.

Holding: The defendant-employer had an effective anti-harassment policy in place, plaintiff was trained in the policy, and plaintiff was the employee who posted the policy in the workplace. When plaintiff finally reported the harassment to defendant Brogden’s superior, the superior convinced Brogden to resign immediately.

Even though Brogden was generally well-liked, plaintiff’s nebulous fear of retaliation was not a proper basis for remaining silent. If she were retaliated against, she had a remedy under Title VII.

The defendant-employer has established the affirmative defense defined in Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998), and Burlington Industries v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998). The court grants summary judgment for the employer.

Plaintiff’s claims against Brogden arise under state law. The court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over those claims, so they are remanded to the state court in which plaintiff originally filed her complaint.

Although plaintiff made an earlier report of sexual harassment to Steve Warren, who supervised 10 employees, Warren did not have supervisory authority over either plaintiff or Brogden. Thus, when plaintiff told Warren of the harassment, she merely informed a co-worker, not the employer.