California Sexual Harassment case- Even when you win you lose- Employer won on summary judgment but it took an appeal to finally “win”
This case from the California state courts is unusual in that the trial court granted the employer summary judgment as did the appellate court but also is instructive because it shows the threshold for sexual harassment includes the banter between co-workers. Although the employer prevailed, it spent big dollars to defend the decision of the trial court. As the headline states…even when you win, you lose. The message is that employees need to keep their comments about another employees appearance or other personal matters to themselves.