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sexual harassment issues presented in scenario

Read the “Sidebar 20.6” in Ch. 20 of the text.

Write paper of 700- to 1,050-words in which you analyze the sexual harassment issues presented in scenario.

  • Analyze each of the elements of this case: the applicable defenses and the basis for the court’s ruling.
  • Analyze the possible liability in this case if the sexual harasser(s) were an independent contractor versus an employee.

Cite to at least three peer-reviewed sources.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Sidebar 20.6

Hithon v. Tyson Foods, Inc.: The Use of the Word “Boy”

 

John Hithon and Anthony Ash, African American

men, worked at a Tyson Foods plant in Alabama.

When two supervisor positions opened up, they were

passed over for promotion and two white men from

other plants were hired. Believing that the failure to

be promoted resulted from racial prejudice, Hithon

and Ash filed an employment discrimination claim

against their employer.

As part of their case, the plaintiffs produced

evidence that their white boss used the term “boy”

when referring to them. Is the use of the term boy

racially discriminatory?

In 2002, an Alabama jury awarded Hithon and

Ash $250,000 each in compensatory damages and

$1.5 million in punitive damages. After a magistrate

overruled the jury’s verdict, Hilton and Ash appealed.

On appeal, the 11th Circuit determined that an adult

African American man being called “boy” alone was

not discriminatory unless it was preceded by “black”

or “white.”

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed

the 11th Circuit’s decision, stating:

 

Although it is true that the disputed word 

will not always be evidence of racial animus,

it does not follow that the term, standing 

alone, is always benign . . .The speaker’s 

meaning may depend on various factors

including context, inflection, tone of voice,

local custom and historical usage.

 

Thereafter, another Alabama jury found in favor of

Hithon, awarding him $35,000 in back pay, $300,000

in compensatory damages for his mental anguish

and $1 million in punitives. The District Court vacated

the punitive damage award. Both sides appealed. On

appeal, the 11th Circuit voted 2-1 entering a judgment

in favor of Tyson Foods. The majority said that

the evidence did not support Hithon’s argument.





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