Real Life Story of Sexual Harassment

Sheryl, Customer Service Rep. - Massachusetts

Sheryl and her husband both worked together at a public utility company. The company ran a yearly golf tournament, and in 1994, several employees who had been having conflicts with both Sheryl and her husband, produced copies of a photograph of Sheryl. The employees defaced the photographs, drew crude slogans and sketches on them and then posted them around the golf tournament, which was attended by other company employees. Sheryl was so humiliated that she could not return to work. She and her husband filed a claim for sexual harassment. Her suit was successful because she could show that, while the harassment had only been one incident, it had affected her profoundly. In addition, her employer could be held liable because the golf tournament was a company-sponsored and organized event. Sheryl also claimed damages for emotional distress.

Morehouse v. Berkshire Gas Co., 989 F. Supp. 54 (D. Mass. 1997)