A Sexual Harassment Case Example

Professor Smith has been alleged to have sexually harassed Jane Doe, a student at Georgetown College, who is in his Political Science class. Professor Smith and Georgetown are made aware of this allegation. The college notifies its insurance carrier of the allegation, and the right to defend the college and the professor begins for the insurance carrier.

The College’s Response under its policy (GCPP-3-06-02 Sexual Harassment)

Once Human Resources is made aware of a complaint (either directly or through another member of management) the investigation begins. The Human Resources Director contacts the appropriate VP and the college’s onsite legal counsel to make them aware of the situation.

Human Resources and the relevant VP will meet with the person making the charge to:

1. Determine if this is a case of harassment (sexual or otherwise).

2. Determine the facts of the situation.

3. Determine if any action needs to be taken prior to the completion of the investigation

(i.e. separating the faculty member from the student).

The student will be asked to put their charge in writing listing any details, dates, witnesses, etc. and to forward that to HR.

The HR Director will then contact the faculty member and let him know a complaint has been filed against him. The HR Director will schedule a meeting between the professor, the HR Director, and the VP (normally the college’s legal counsel does not attend these meetings). It is typically not necessary for either party to have legal representation during the investigation. When the meeting takes place, the details of the charge will be shared with the professor. The college always assumes innocence unless and until the facts of the situation determine otherwise, or if the faculty member refuses to cooperate. The faculty member will be asked to tell their side of the situation and will be asked to put their statement in writing and forward it to the HR Director after the meeting has taken place.

Once the initial meetings have taken place, the HR Director and the VP will decide if they should meet with anyone else. If so, then those meetings will be scheduled. If not, then once the documentation has been received from both parties, the HR Director will schedule a meeting with the VP to discuss the findings of the investigation. The HR Director and the VP will determine the best course of action, up to and including termination of employment. Typical courses of action may include:

·  Investigation reveals a misunderstanding -- Employee required to review the Unlawful Harassment Policy and re-take the Web-based Course “Unlawful Harassment”

·  Employee placed on final warning -- Employee required to review the Unlawful Harassment Policy and re-take the Web-based Course “Unlawful Harassment”

·  Employee reassigned – Not always possible

·  Employee terminated – Generally, if the facts prove the harassment was severe or has occurred in the past.

If the employee wishes to appeal a decision he/she may submit an appeal to the Executive Cabinet for review. Should an employee be dissatisfied with the appeal decision resulting from this formal process, they may wish to turn to their local Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Investigations are kept as confidential as possible and are normally handled by the college with no outside involvement. However, should a situation arise from an EEOC claim, outside counsel would be retained and the insurance company would be notified.

Actions of the Insurance Company

Once notified by the college, the insurance carrier has the right to conduct its own investigation immediately, but in practice, the insurance company will wait for the results of the College’s investigation.

If a lawsuit is filed, or the results indicate that a lawsuit will be forthcoming, the insurance carrier will begin an investigation into the claim, talking with all parties involved, including the claimant, professor and members of the college staff. The insurance company will pay all costs for this investigation, including all attorneys, investigators, etc.; however, the cost of this is part of the limit of liability, not on top of the limit.

The professor or college can hire their own legal representation, but this will be at their own cost. The insurance carrier will not pay for any representation that the professor or college hires on their own. The policy covers the college, as well as any employee of the college. All employees of the college are listed as insured under the policy.

Settlement and Trial

After the investigation, the company will then move to the legal proceedings. If the insurance carrier makes an offer that would be accepted by the claimant, and the insured (college or staff member) rejects the settlement offer, then the insurance carrier’s maximum amount of loss will only be the amount they could have settled the case for. For example, the insurance carrier may make a settlement offer for $100,000 that the claimant accepts. However, if the insured (college or staff member) rejects the offer, then the case will go to trial. If the insured loses and the claimant is awarded $150,000, the insurance carrier will pay $100,000 (the amount they could have settled for), which will leave $50,000 for the insured to pay.

The insurance carrier provides a limit of liability of $3,000,000 through Chubb. However, the college also has an umbrella policy with Travelers Insurance, which will sit on top of the $3,000,000 provided by Chubb to add another $10,000,000 of coverage.