EMPLOYMENT LAW AND DISCRIMINATION
Audrey Bennett-Coleman
Judith Gray
MBA/LAW 531
7/18/2016

Employment Law and Discrimination
The Plaintiff, Johnathan Silverstein, is suing a coworker, Meredith Shaw, for sexual harassment based on the fact that she put a “sexy screen saver” on his computer that his supervisor observed. Mr. Silverstein claims that he lost a promotion based on the actions of Ms. Shaw. As the argument unfolds, the following six questions needs to be considered for the case. (1) Was the sexual behavior unwelcome? (2) Does the Plaintiff’s reaction meet the “reasonable person” standard? (3) Has a “hostile environment” been created? (4) Is there any employer liability? (5) Is there corroborative evidence to support the claim? (6) Is the claim credible?
After evaluating the video “You be the Judge: Sexual Harassment" and analyzing each of the elements of this cause of action, the applicable defenses, and the bases for the Judge's ruling. As well as analyze the potential civil liability of both the employee and the employer. Lastly, analyze the different liability in this case if the sexual harasser were an independent contractor versus an employee.
Cause of Action
In this situation, Mr. Silverstein is filing a suit against the Ms. Shaw for sexual harassment in the workplace. There is the previous history of pranks within the office personnel that are inappropriate in nature. Mr. Silverstein explains that there is a total of four people working in the office. The other two males and the defendant routinely send inappropriate emails to each other. Mr. Silverstein says that he has always deleted the inappropriate prank emails in the past and ignored the situation. In the current situation discussed in the lawsuit, Ms. Shaw had placed a screensaver on Mr. Silverstein’s computer depicting a female stripper. Although the screensaver was on his monitor,