Preventing Workplace Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation

 Whether there was a close connection between a discussion about job benefits and a request for sexual favors. 107

Case Study on Quid Pro Quo

Figueroa v. RSquared NY, Inc. 108 Figueroa was an RSquared employee who took a leave of absence after suffering a miscarriage. When she was ready to return to work, she contacted her supervisor who let her know that she could not return to her old position. Thereafter, Figueroa received a call from Ain who was not her supervisor, but was an RSquared Operations Manager and cousin to RSquared’s CEO. Ain allegedly told her that he could get Figueroa her old job back if she “hooked up” with him. She declined. Even though Ain was not her supervisor, the Court found that it could be reasonably inferred that he was a de facto supervisor because of his familial connection to the CEO and his position within the company and allowed Figueroa’s quid pro quo case to proceed.

B ULLYING A ND A BUSIVE C ONDUCT

Section 6

A. I NTRODUCTION Workplace bullying has recently received greater media and legislative attention as a potentially growing area of concern in the workplace, state- and nationwide. Proponents of anti-bullying legislation and employee advocates for “healthy workplaces” point to the potential hidden costs to employers in low morale, higher rates of absenteeism, and lower productivity in the workplace. Workplace bullying is not illegal, but since 2015, California law requires that mandatory harassment prevention training for supervisors must also include a component on prevention of “abusive conduct.” 109 “Abusive conduct” is defined as conduct of an employee or employee in the workplace, undertaken with malice, that is unrelated to an employer’s legitimate business interests, and that a reasonable person would find hostile or offensive. 110 Statutorily listed examples of abusive conduct include: repeated verbal abuse, derogatory remarks, insults, epithets, verbal or physical conduct that reasonably appears threatening, intimidating, or humiliating, or sabotage of another’s work performance. 111 B. W HAT I S W ORKPLACE B ULLYING / A BUSIVE C ONDUCT A ND W HO I S A FFECTED ? Workplace bullying/abusive conduct may consist of repeated, unreasonable actions of one or more co-workers or supervisors directed towards a particular employee (or a group of employees). The conduct must be intended to intimidate, degrade, humiliate, or undermine the

Preventing Workplace Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation ©2019 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 24