Iowa County Pays Former Employee $385,000 to Settle Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

After putting Linda Reed, Cedar County’s jail administrator, on paid leave at taxpayer expense, Cedar County paid Ms. Reed $385,000 to drop her sexual harassment lawsuit against the sheriff.  The settlement agreement was reached two years after Reed filed with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.

Reed alleged that her boss, Sheriff Hannes, began making sexually suggestive remarks and gestures soon after she was hired in 2000.  For example, while attending a training seminar out of town, the sheriff phoned and asked her to his hotel room to see a gift he had bought his wife.  When she opens the door to his room, she found him naked and masturbating in a recliner.

She considered quitting, but as a single parent with five kids, she couldn't afford to.  But she kept a log of the sheriff's actions.

Reed alleged that Hannes:

1. Told her how fine she looked and made comments about her legs and her "nice ass."

2. Made comments when she bent down including, "Ooh baby, how bad do you want your raise?" and "Want some candy, little girl?"

3. Left a condom in her desk drawer.

4. Showed her a picture of a naked woman that he kept in his drawer at work.

5. Slapped her on the buttocks.

6. Discussed details of his sex life with her.

In court filings, the sheriff admitted to asking Reed what color underwear she had on - he claimed that it was after she made similar comments - and giving her and other staffers XXX-rated videos.  He also acknowledged that he once "kneeled in a chair, wiggled his butt and spanked himself and asked if Reed would like to spank him."

Reed said she complained to the chief deputy, Lyle Fitch, about six times between 2001 and early 2004.  But as the county acknowledged in court filings, he never ordered an investigation.  He only addressed it with the sheriff, Reed said, after she blew up at him in February 2004.

In court papers, Fitch acknowledged being aware of Hannes' sexual remarks and jokes.  Fitch said his own wife was embarrassed by and uncomfortable with the sheriff's words.

Eventually Reed contacted a lawyer, and she secretly recorded Hannes.  After that, lawyers representing the county suggested Reed go on paid administrative leave.  When she left, her supervisor told her, "I'm supposed to tell you never to come back around here or in this building, and I guess there would be no reason for you to."

The county then sought a judge's ruling that it had reason to fire Reed for incompetence.  These attempts were dismissed.

The county has acknowledged planning to fire Reed.  And though Fitch never investigated Reed's complaints against the Sheriff, he did investigate her, visiting her previous employer to ask if she had ever acted or dressed inappropriately.

In Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 118 S. Ct. 2257 (1998), and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 118 S. Ct. 2275 (1998), the Supreme Court made clear that employers are subject to vicarious liability for unlawful harassment by supervisors.  The standard of liability set forth in these decisions is premised on two principles: 1) an employer is responsible for the acts of its supervisors, and 2) employers should be encouraged to prevent harassment and employees should be encouraged to avoid or limit the harm from harassment.  In order to accommodate these principles, the Court held that an employer is always liable for a supervisor's harassment if it culminates in a tangible employment action.  However, if it does not, the employer may be able to avoid liability or limit damages by establishing an affirmative defense that includes two necessary elements: 

(a)        the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any harassing behavior, and

 

(b)        the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise.

In this case, the County failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent and promptly correct the Sheriff’s behavior.  Chief Fitch should have investigated the allegations or at the very least contacted the Board or the County Attorney.

If you have any questions regarding this article or any other human resources topic, please contact Jack Lipovac at (515) 221-1718 or lipovac@hr-onesource.com.