WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday decided not to hear a sexual harassment case in which an employee at a Seattle TV station says he was subjected to unwanted romantic overtures by the station’s general manager.
The alleged victim, Hugh Hardage, the former local sales manager for KSTW-TV, wants the court to clarify employers’ obligations regarding complaints of sexual harassment.
Hardage spoke about his treatment with a CBS representative, who told Hardage he could choose to do nothing, talk to the station’s general manager or have the representative speak to the general manager. Hardage said he would handle it on his own, and he alleges that the harassment continued. Hardage sued CBS after leaving the station.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that CBS was relieved of any duty to investigate or take other corrective action when Hardage accepted the network’s offer to deal with the alleged harassment on his own.
“When Hardage finally made his complaint, he specifically asked the company not to investigate it,” said the appeals court. The court said Hardage “unreasonably failed to make use of CBS’s anti-harassment policies and procedures.”
Hardage wants the Supreme Court to decide whether an employer is relieved of its duty to deal with harassment when the victim decides to handle the matter based on the employer’s presentation of that as an option.
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