Florida frequent flyers might be interested to learn that on Aug. 9, a lawsuit was filed against United Airlines by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a female flight attendant who says she experienced sexual harassment and a hostile work environment for years and the airline did nothing to help her. The lawsuit says a pilot posted images online of the flight attendant that were sexually explicit and sometimes included information such as her name and her home airport.
According to the EEOC, the flight attendant reported the behavior multiple times, but United failed to act effectively. The EEOC says the result was that the flight attendant had to go to work each day for years in fear that her coworkers or a customer might recognize her. The airline has denied the claims.
The EEOC filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. It included a citation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that protects employees from workplace sexual harassment. The EEOC says employers’ obligations extend to incidents of cyberbullying and harassment. The lawsuit is asking for compensatory and punitive damages and for the airline to institute policies that prevent sexual and gender-based harassment.
Unfortunately, many victims of sexual harassment encounter the same resistance this flight attendant claims she did in which they seek relief internally but the employer does not respond appropriately. However, an employee’s first step may be to review the workplace harassment policy and attempt to resolve the harassment using workplace channels. The employee may want to seek Boca Raton sexual harassment legal assistance before doing this to discuss how to approach the employer.
Source: Fox News, “United Airlines pilot accused of sharing sexually explicit images, personal information of female flight attendant online”, Alexandra Deabler, Aug. 9, 2018
