By GINA HOLLAND, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to clarify when employers can be sued for sexual harassment, in a case involving a Pennsylvania woman who claims male bosses told her dirty jokes and urged her to perform sex acts.
Nancy Drew Suders quit her state police dispatcher job after enduring persistent harassment, including one boss who talked about man-on-animal sex and oral sex, and another supervisor who called her “Momma” and repeatedly acted out a sexually provocative wrestling stunt, she said.
Her supervisors said she was disorganized, often late for work and overwhelmed by the duties.
Suders’ case raises an employment question that the Supreme Court never has decided -- whether people who voluntarily quit their jobs and then claim harassment have the same legal rights as those who are fired.
It is a follow-up to a Supreme Court ruling five years ago. Justices found companies can be liable for workplace harassment, even if top managers didn’t know about the behavior, when it results in “tangible employment action” against the harassed worker, like firing or demotion.
Suders argues that the category should include people who feel as if they have no choice but to resign, and then sue later for harassment.
The case will be closely watched by businesses, which fear the court will open them up to more lawsuits. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the court to overturn a ruling in Suders’ favor.
Suders claims she was harassed consistently during her five months on the job and that her attempts to complain to an Equal Employment Opportunity officer were rebuffed. She finally quit after being accused of stealing paperwork about her employment. She was handcuffed at work, photographed, read her rights and questioned. She was not charged.
Her lawyer, Don Bailey, told justices in a court filing that she is “a devoted wife and mother, and a recent grandmother” who took the state job to make more money than she had earned working as an assistant for a sheriff. He said she has returned to work in rural Fulton County for the sheriff’s office.
Suders sued under the 1964 Civil Rights Act and other laws claiming she was discriminated against based on her age, sex and political affiliation. Her lawsuit claims she was targeted for harassment because she was viewed as a political appointee.
She worked on the campaign of former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, now President Bush’s homeland security secretary. Two prominent Republicans urged her to apply for the police job.
The appeals court said it was unclear how much influence the state GOP leaders exerted to help her get the job in 1998, but she found out from one of the leaders that she was being hired.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that Suders could pursue her lawsuit. The Supreme Court will hear arguments next spring in the state of Pennsylvania’s appeal and issue a ruling before July.
The case is Pennsylvania State Police v. Nancy Drew Suders, 03-95.