In sex harassment, once is more than enough

On June 20, 2023, Division One of the Washington Court of Appeals filed an opinion that clarifies courts must view claims of sexual harassment by taking the entire workplace into account, and courts must allow the jury to make factual determinations.

The King County Superior Court had earlier ruled that a single incident of groping by a manager of an employee could not sustain a sexual harassment claim. The Court of Appeals determined that was an improper determination by the lower court and reversed. The case is Wilson v. Archdiocesan Housing Authority, Case No. 84372-9-I.

The Court of Appeals determined that a reasonable jury could find that a single incident of groping of a subordinate would indeed create a hostile work environment and that a reasonable jury could also conclude that a manager thereafter making the subordinate’s working conditions intolerable was unlawful retaliation. The Court of Appeals rules that the Superior Court had wrongly substituted its judgment for the jury’s, and the case now returns to King County Superior Court for a jury trial.

This decision is important in that it once again tells trial courts not to invade the province of the jury, and in following in the footsteps of previous court decision, it brings further visibility to #MeToo and other grassroots movements highlighting employees’ experiences with workplace sexual harassment.