Employment Law Commentary - Volume 23, No. 12 - December 2011: Low-level Supervisors Create Big Liability in California Sexual Harassment Suit: Fuentes v. AutoZone

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California’s Second District Court of Appeal recently affirmed a jury verdict awarding a plaintiff in a Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) sexual harassment suit $160,000 in damages, $23,898.76 in costs, and a staggering $677,025.00 in statutory attorneys’ fees. The Second District Court of Appeal opinion in Fuentes v. AutoZone, Inc. further illuminates the definition of sexually harassing behavior and the meaning of “severe and pervasive” in the context of sexual harassment suits. The court’s opinion stands as a costly warning to employers that they must act quickly (very quickly) in response to complaints of sexual harassment. The nearly $861,000 AutoZone paid out to the plaintiff does not even take into account the defendant’s own legal expenses, which were surely greater than the fees paid to the plaintiff’s attorneys. To avoid a similar fate, employers must ensure supervisors at all levels of the business understand that the employer can be liable for their actions and such liability can easily reach into the millions. They must also be committed to the employer’s sexual harassment policy and understand their responsibilities under it.

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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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