New York State

3 horrifying harassment cases the courts did nothing about

Three examples of real cases in which judges ruled certain modes of conduct could not be considered harassment in New York.

How much harassment in the work place is actually permissible in a New York court?

How much harassment in the work place is actually permissible in a New York court? Dmytro Zinkevych/Shutterstock

In New York, in order for harassment to be deemed illegal and thus covered by the state Human Rights Law, a court must find the harassment to be “severe or pervasive.”

Advocates say that’s a big problem – and that the state should quickly change that standard to ensure victims of harassment are adequately protected.

Here are three real cases in New York in recent years – taken from written testimony by Miriam Clark, president of National Employment Lawyers Association’s New York chapter – in which judges ruled the conduct described did not meet the standard.

RELATED: The young lawmakers seeking justice for women

1. Actions taken by a male defendant against two female colleagues over a period of time:

Told plaintiff she should get breast implants and offered to take her to a doctor who could perform the procedure.

Told plaintiff that her underwear was exposed but told her that she should not have adjusted her pants because he had been “enjoying himself.”

Placed whipped cream on the side of his mouth and asked plaintiff if this “looked familiar.”

Repeatedly told plaintiff that she needed to lose weight.

Once touched plaintiff’s rear end and told her she needed to “tighten it up.”

Attempted to get plaintiff to socialize with his male friends despite her refusal.

Took women, including other female employees, into rooms for extended periods of time.

Often spoke in public about his affinity for women with large breasts.

Frequently walked around the office in only long johns and a T-shirt.

Showed plaintiffs a pen holder, which was a model of a person and in which the pen would be inserted into its “rectum.”

2. Actions taken by a supervisor in regard to a subordinate:

Called plaintiff a “dumb blonde,” “Blondie,” “money bunny” and “Mae West.”

Claimed at a staff meeting that he and she would be sharing a hotel room during an upcoming business trip.

Told a client that he and the employee had showered together.

Made sporadic remarks about her appearance and work attire.

Swatted her on the butt with papers that he was holding.

Jokingly told her that if she didn’t work better he was going to bring his paddle from home.

On three or four subsequent occasions, stood in the doorway of her office and made spanking motions with his hands.

3. Actions taken by a supervisor against one employee:

Pulled on plaintiff’s bra straps.

Pulled her hair twice.

Suggested that plaintiff purchase certain sexual paraphernalia.

Rubbed lubricant on plaintiff’s arm.

Called her a sexually derogatory name.

Described a party that he had attended in sexually graphic terms.

Claimed that he ejaculated into a plate of food that he had brought into the office to share.

Called her a derogatory term for lesbian.

Gave her a refrigerator magnet with a crab on it and said she had crabs.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.