[PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FILED
________________________
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-12520 October 20, 2003
________________________ THOMAS K. KAHN
CLERK
D. C. Docket No. 00-01897-CV-T-30MAP
LUANNE WALTON,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
JOHNSON & JOHNSON SERVICES,
INC., ORTHO-MCNEIL
PHARMACEUTICAL, INC.,
Defendants-Appellees.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
_________________________
(October 20, 2003)
Before ANDERSON and WILSON, Circuit Judges, and O'KELLEY*, District
Judge.
*
Honorable William C. O'Kelley, United States District Judge for the Northern District of
Georgia, sitting by designation.
PER CURIAM:
Luanne Walton appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in
favor of her employer, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. ("Ortho"). Walton sued
Ortho under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.,
claiming that the company was responsible for sexual harassment committed by
her supervisor. The district court concluded that although there was a genuine
issue of material fact as to whether there was actionable harassment, the employer
was entitled to summary judgment on the basis of the affirmative defense
recognized by the Supreme Court in Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 524
U.S. 742, 118 S.Ct. 2257 (1998), and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S.
775, 118 S.Ct. 2275 (1998). Walton appeals that decision.
I. BACKGROUND
In reviewing the district court's summary judgment order, we must consider
all of the evidence in the record, viewing it in the light most favorable to the non-
moving party's claims. See Frederick v. Sprint/United Mgmt. Co., 246 F.3d 1305,
1309 (11th Cir. 2001). Accordingly, the following account is drawn from the
record evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to Walton's allegations.
Walton worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative ("PSR") for Ortho
2
for a number of years preceding the events in question. In 1997, she requested and
received a transfer from Virginia to Tampa, Florida. Like many other PSRs,
Walton worked out of her home, spending much of her time calling on doctors
offices in an effort to persuade doctors to write prescriptions for Ortho products.
Each PSR reported directly to a district manager, and the district manager would
sometimes accompany the PSR on his or her calls (called a "drive-with").
In January of 1999, Ortho went outside the company and hired George
Mykytiuk, of Eli Lilly, to work as the district manager for the Tampa area.
Mykytiuk had been referred to Ortho by one of its employees, Lou Ferrerra, who
was himself a former Eli Lilly employee. Though Mykytiuk did not directly
supervise employees during his tenure at Eli Lilly, he had worked as a national
account manager, and based on his business experience in the pharmaceutical
industry, Ortho's regional business director, Cathy Wichert, felt that he would be
the best candidate for the job. Wichert contacted two other Ortho employees who
worked at Eli Lilly while Mykytiuk was there in order to confirm that he had been
working in the position he claimed he was. Though the company, when it hired
Mykytiuk, did a background investigation (including a criminal history check), it
3
did not contact his then-current employer or check any of his references.1
Mykytiuk was Walton's direct supervisor. Mykytiuk, like the PSRs, worked
out of his home office.2 In April, Walton told Mykytiuk that she was interested in
obtaining a promotion to a hospital representative position. Mykytiuk told her that
he was well-connected to upper management and that he could assist her in getting
the promotion.
On June 14, 1999, Mykytiuk was scheduled to drive with Walton while she
made her calls. Instead, Walton claims that Mykytiuk asked her to go shopping
with him, took her to a movie, and asked her to accompany him to dinner. Walton
claims that Mykytiuk tried to hold her hand during the movie, and that when they
parted company that evening, he tried to kiss her. Walton claims that she told
Mykytiuk that his behavior was inappropriate and that he apologized and promised
never to do it again.
The next day, June 15, Mykytiuk traveled with Walton while she made her
calls, ostensibly for the purpose of observing her performance in the field. At
some point during the day, Mykytiuk indicated that he needed to go to his office,
1
Ortho, like many companies, has a policy of not contacting current employers due to
fears that prospective hires might be terminated from their current position if their employer
knew that they were interviewing with another company.
2
At one time, Ortho maintained office space for district managers and PSRs to meet and
conduct business, but that practice was apparently discontinued many years ago.
4
which was at his apartment, in order to finish some inventory paperwork. Walton
accompanied him to his apartment. When Mykytiuk finished his paperwork, he
told Walton that he did not feel like working the rest of the day. He began talking
about his marital difficulties and picked up a gray box and pulled out some letters
his wife had written him. He asked Walton to read the letters aloud. At some
point thereafter, Mykytiuk took a gun out of the box and showed it to Walton.
Later, when Walton was about to leave, Mykytiuk grabbed Walton’s breasts and
buttocks and attempted to kiss her. She again told him that this behavior was
inappropriate, and he again apologized and said it would not happen in the future.
A couple of days later, Walton, at Mykytiuk's request, came by Mykytiuk's
apartment and accepted a key and security code to his apartment. Mykytiuk told
her that he considered her an assistant manager and that she needed to have access
to his office in case he was out of town and needed something faxed to him.
More than a week later, on June 29, 1999, Walton hosted a dinner program
for 95 nurse practitioners, a program that Mykytiuk attended. After the dinner was
over, Mykytiuk complimented Walton on her performance. He told Walton that
he was intoxicated and asked her to follow him home. He indicated that he
5
wanted to recap the program once they got there.3 When she arrived at
Mykytiuk’s apartment, he offered her a glass of wine, which she accepted. He
pulled out the gray box, removed the gun, and placed it back in the box after
talking about it for a few moments. Mykytiuk continued to talk about his marital
difficulties. He next began to compliment Walton, telling her what a good friend
she had been to him. He then purportedly jumped on top of her and began to kiss
her. Walton claims that she told him “no” and tried to push him away, and that
despite her efforts, he physically entered her without her consent. She testified
that she fell into a state of shock and that she believes she was raped again later
that evening, after Mykytiuk carried her into his bedroom.
Walton did not immediately report the alleged assault to either her employer
or the police. The next day, Walton called in sick. She returned to work later that
week, and about a week later, on July 8, she attended a lunch business meeting
with Mykytiuk. After the meeting, he asked her to give him a ride back to his
apartment. When she got there, she was offered and again accepted a glass of wine
from Mykytiuk. He asked her to lie down on the floor so that he could give her a
3
In her deposition, Walton claimed that Mykytiuk asked her to come to his home in order
to "recap" the meeting. Walton herself contradicts this version of events, however, as her notes
indicate that Mykytiuk asked her to come over because he wanted to talk to someone about his
marital problems.
6
massage. She complied, and, according to Walton, Mykytiuk allegedly raped her
yet again. After the alleged assault, Mykytiuk apologized to Walton, who was
crying. He said that it would not happen again and that they would have a
professional relationship in the future.
Once again, Walton did not immediately report Mykytiuk's conduct to either
her employer or the police. She did tell her husband the next day that Mykytiuk
had tried to kiss her and that he was calling her a lot, making her life very
stressful. Though Walton was able to avoid Mykytiuk in the days immediately
following the July 8 assault, she claims that Mykytiuk continued with his incessant
phone calls. Walton then decided to contact Mykytiuk's psychologist, Dr. Karen
Cervenka, hoping that she could persuade Mykytiuk to stop his advances.4
On July 21, 1999, Walton had a meeting with Dr. Cervenka. At that
meeting, Walton told Dr. Cervenka that one of her patients, George Mykytiuk, was
harassing Walton at work. Dr. Cervenka asked Walton whether she had sex with
Mykytiuk, and Walton told her that she had, but that she did not "want to."
Walton never told Dr. Cervenka that Mykytiuk had raped her. Dr. Cervenka
arranged for Walton and Mykytiuk to have a joint session (called a "conjoint"
4
Mykytiuk had apparently mentioned that he had been seeing Dr. Cervenka in his
conversations with Walton.
7
session) to discuss these issues on July 26, 1999. At the conjoint session, Walton
and Mykytiuk worked out a 30-day agreement in which he was to no longer call
Walton or ask her to his apartment for meetings. In addition, Walton was not to be
alone with Mykytiuk at any meetings.
Mykytiuk, however, allegedly violated that agreement on numerous
occasions. He showed up uninvited at her house, wanting to go water skiing.
And, after driving Walton to a meeting in Orlando on August 21, 1999, Mykytiuk
invited Walton to his room so that he could review her “good sales numbers.”
Though she initially refused, Mykytiuk persuaded her that she could trust him.
Once there, he tried to hug and kiss her, and he managed to fondle her breasts and
buttocks over her objection. A few days later, on August 26, 1999, after a
business dinner, Mykytiuk allegedly pressed Walton to have sex with him again
and tried to hug and kiss her. Walton refused and pushed him away.
The next day, August 27, 1999, Mykytiuk asked Walton to give him a ride
home after they met with another sales representative in a nearby town. Walton
returned to Mykytiuk's apartment, this time for the purpose of using the restroom.
While there, Mykytiuk purportedly handed her a "Victoria Secret's" catalogue and
told her to pick something out for herself.
During this time period, Walton claims that Mykytiuk continued to make
8
harassing phone calls. At some point in July, Walton had confided to Kim Van
Goidstnoven, a friend who worked at one of Ortho's sister companies (a company
under the Johnson & Johnson umbrella), that Mykytiuk was paying too much
attention to her. Van Goidstnoven talked about this with some of her mangers at
that company, and they told Van Goidstnoven that Walton should contact the
human resources department and file a complaint. Van Goidstnoven relayed this
advice to Walton in mid-August of 1999.
On September 3, 1999, more than two months after the July 8 assault,
Walton finally reported Mykytiuk by making an anonymous call to Ortho’s human
resources department. Walton told Angela Taylor, one of Ortho's human resources
representatives, about the June 14-15 incidents in which Mykytiuk had made
inappropriate advances and fondled her. Taylor pushed Walton to file a complaint
and told her that, based on the information from the call, Taylor already knew who
she was and who she was complaining about. After thinking it over the following
weekend, Walton called Taylor on September 7, 1999, and named Mykytiuk as the
person who made the inappropriate advances. At the time she limited her
complaint to the June 14-15 incidents. Taylor informed Walton that Renee Ralph,
who was on vacation, would be taking over the investigation. Three days later,
Ralph traveled to Tampa and spent several hours interviewing Walton. Walton
9
did not mention the fact that she had been raped; she simply told Ralph that
Mykytiuk paid too much attention to her and that he had tried to hug and kiss her
on a couple of occasions.
Three days later, on September 13, 1999, Ralph interviewed Mykytiuk. He
told Ralph that he and Walton had been involved in an intense and consensual
affair, and that Walton had initiated some of the encounters. Ralph suspended
Mykytiuk at the end of the interview.
On September 17, 1999, Dr. Cervenka called Walton and told her that
Mykytiuk's wife had subpoenaed Cervenka's session notes in connection with
Mykytiuk's divorce proceeding. She told Walton that the notes would reveal that
Mykytiuk and Walton had been having an affair. Walton purportedly disputed this
account, but Dr. Cervenka informed her that she could no longer discuss the
matter. Walton then decided to tell her husband that Mykytiuk had raped her on
multiple occasions.
On September 20, 1999, Walton called Mykytiuk's manager, Cathy Wichert,
to inform her that, in addition to the other incidents previously reported, Mykytiuk
had raped her. That same day, Walton reported the alleged rapes to the Tampa
10
Police Department.5
Wichert relayed the rape allegation to Ralph, who then returned to Florida
to conduct another interview with Walton. Mykytiuk was also re-questioned by
Ortho officials, and he provided Ortho investigators with detailed information to
support his claim that the affair was entirely consensual. The investigators
interviewed a number of other individuals and ultimately concluded that the affair
was consensual, or that, at the very least, they could not rule out such a possibility.
Ortho, however, decided to discharge Mykytiuk for exercising poor
judgment. Mykytiuk was formally discharged on December 31, 1999.6 Shortly
thereafter, Ralph invited Walton and her husband to New Jersey for a briefing on
the close of the company's investigation. Ralph and Alan Saleeba, Johnson &
Johnson's Director of Security, told Walton that they could not conclude that she
had been raped and that they were unable to exclude the possibility of a
consensual affair. Upon hearing the news, the Waltons were upset and demanded
to see someone from upper management. Walton complained, among other things,
about the fact that Ortho had not interviewed a number of witnesses who she
5
After reviewing Walton's claims, the Tampa Police Department declined to press charges
against Mykytiuk.
6
Though he was not formally discharged until December 31, 1999, Mykytiuk remained on
suspension from September 13, 1999 until the date of his discharge.
11
claimed could support her version of the events. On January 12, 2000, Michael
Carey, Chief Human Resources Officer for Johnson & Johnson, met with the
Waltons. Carey listened to their concerns but told them that he had confidence in
the integrity of the investigation. He also told Walton that he would be happy to
help her return to work, even if it meant placing her in another position in the
Johnson & Johnson family.
Walton, however, never returned to work for Ortho or any other Johnson &
Johnson company. She went on leave shortly after she reported Mykytiuk's
conduct to Ortho officials, and she began collecting short-term disability benefits
under Ortho's disability plan. Those benefits expired on May 16, 2000. On May
12, 2000, Ortho informed Walton that her short-term disability benefits were about
to expire, and that she had two options. She could either seek long-term disability
benefits, assuming she was qualified after an independent medical evaluation, or
she could return to work. The company notified her that in order to collect long-
term disability benefits, her active employment status would have to be
terminated. Walton ultimately decided to go on long-term disability, collecting
benefits under that plan until February 2002, when a reviewing physician
determined that she was no longer disabled. Her employment with Ortho was
terminated on May 17, 2000, when Walton failed to return to work. This suit
12
followed.
In the district court, Ortho moved for summary judgment, contending that
Walton’s request to go on disability leave did not constitute an adverse, tangible
employment decision and that as a result, any claim she might have against Ortho
relating to Mykytiuk's alleged harassment would have to be in the form of a hostile
work environment claim. Ortho conceded, at least for purposes of summary
judgment, that Walton was subjected to unwelcome sexual harassment. The
company argued, however, that it was entitled to summary judgment based on the
affirmative defense recognized by the Supreme Court in Burlington Industries,
Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742, 118 S.Ct. 2257 (1998), and Faragher v. City of Boca
Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 118 S.Ct. 2275 (1998) (hereinafter "Faragher defense").
The district court concluded that Ortho was entitled to summary judgment
on the basis of the Faragher defense. The district court held that there was no
genuine issue of material fact as to whether Ortho acted reasonably to prevent and
then promptly correct any sexually harassing behavior. In addition, the court
concluded that Walton failed to take advantage of Ortho’s anti-harassment policy,
and that her failure to do so could not be considered reasonable under the
circumstances. The court therefore entered summary judgment on behalf of Ortho
with respect to Walton’s sexual harassment claim under Title VII.
13
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
We review a district court's order granting summary judgment de novo,
viewing the facts in the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party,
and drawing all inferences in that party's favor. See Frederick v. Sprint/United
Mgmt. Corp., 246 F.3d 1305, 1311 (11th Cir. 2001). "Summary judgment is only
proper if there are no genuine disputed issues of material fact, and the moving
party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Id.
III. DISCUSSION
Title VII makes it “an unlawful employment practice for an employer . . . to
discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms,
conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's . . . sex . . . ."
42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). Noting that the phrase “‘terms, conditions, or
privileges of employment’ evinces a congressional intent to strike at the spectrum
of disparate treatment of men and women in employment,” the Supreme Court in
Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson held that intangible forms of discrimination,
such as being forced to work in a sexually hostile work environment, constitute
actionable discrimination under Title VII. 477 U.S. 57, 64, 106 S.Ct. 2399, 2404
14
(1986). Not all forms of conduct that may be described as “harassment,” however,
affect a “term, condition, or privilege” of employment within the meaning of Title
VII. “For sexual harassment to be actionable, it must be sufficiently severe or
pervasive 'to alter the conditions of [the victim’s] employment and create an
abusive working environment.” Id. at 67, 106 S.Ct. at 2405 (alteration in original)
(internal quotation marks and citations omitted). See also Harris v. Forklift Sys.,
Inc. 510 U.S. 17, 21, 114 S.Ct. 367, 370 (1993) (noting that a hostile work
environment exists under Title VII where “the workplace is permeated with
'discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult,' that is 'sufficiently severe or
pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim's employment and create an abusive
working environment.'") (quoting Meritor, 477 U.S. at 65, 106 S.Ct. at 2405).
To establish a hostile work environment claim under Title VII, a plaintiff
must therefore show the following:
(1) that [she] belongs to a protected group; (2) that [she] has been
subject to unwelcome harassment; (3) that the harassment must have
been based on a protected characteristic of the employee, such as [the
employee’s sex]; (4) that the harassment was sufficiently severe or
pervasive to alter the terms and conditions of employment and create
a discriminatorily abusive working environment; and (5) that the
employer is responsible for such environment under either a theory of
vicarious or of direct liability.
Miller v. Kenworth of Dothan, Inc., 277 F.3d 1269, 1275 (11th Cir. 2002). For
15
summary judgment purposes, Ortho apparently concedes that there is a genuine
issue of material fact as to whether Walton was subjected to unwelcome sexual
harassment. The company also does not contest the fact that a genuine issue of
material fact exists as to whether that harassment was so severe and/or pervasive
that it created a hostile working environment. The sole issue before this Court as
it relates to Walton’s claim of discrimination under Title VII is whether Ortho can
be held vicariously liable for the actions of Mykytiuk.
The Supreme Court first touched on the issue of employer liability for the
harassing conduct of supervisory employees in Meritor. In light of the factual
record, the Court was unwilling to provide a definitive rule on the subject. It did,
however, reject the two most extreme positions with respect to employer liability.
It rejected the notion “that employers are always automatically liable for sexual
harassment by their supervisors.” Meritor, 477 U.S. at 72, 106 S.Ct. at 2408
(citing Restatement (Second) of Agency §§ 219-237). Conversely, the Court
rejected the proposition that “absence of notice to an employer . . . necessarily
insulate[s] that employer from liability.” Id. (citing Restatement (Second) of
Agency §§ 219-237 (1958)). Other than marking these boundary lines, the Court
in Meritor merely indicated that courts should look to traditional principles of
agency law in deciding whether an employer is liable for the harassing conduct of
16
one of its employees, though the Court cautioned that those “common-law
principles may not be transferable in all their particulars to Title VII . . . .” Id.
The Supreme Court revisited the question of employer liability for the
harassing conduct of supervisory employees in Ellerth and Faragher. In Frederick
v. Sprint/United Management Co., we summarized the Court’s holdings:
In Ellerth and Faragher, the Supreme Court indicated that courts
should no longer use the labels "quid pro quo" and "hostile
environment" to analyze whether an employer should be held liable
on an employee's Title VII claim concerning a supervisor's sex-based
harassment. Ellerth, 524 U.S. at 753, 765, 118 S.Ct. 2257; Faragher,
524 U.S. at 807, 118 S.Ct. 2275 (applying new standard). Instead,
when analyzing whether an employer should be held liable for a
supervisor's harassment, courts should separate these cases into two
groups: (1) harassment which culminates in a "tangible employment
action," such as discharge, demotion or undesirable reassignment, and
(2) harassment in which no adverse "tangible employment action" is
taken but which is sufficient to constructively alter an employee's
working conditions. Ellerth, 524 U.S. at 761-63, 765, 118 S.Ct. 2257;
Faragher, 524 U.S. at 790, 807, 118 S.Ct. 2275; see also Johnson v.
Booker T. Washington Broadcasting Serv., Inc., 234 F.3d 501, 508
(11th Cir.2000) (recognizing shift in terminology). Under this
analysis, when a supervisor engages in harassment which results in an
adverse "tangible employment action" against the employee, the
employer is automatically held vicariously liable for the harassment.
Ellerth, 524 U.S. at 763, 118 S.Ct. 2257; Faragher, 524 U.S. at 790,
118 S.Ct. 2275. In contrast, when the supervisor's harassment
involves no adverse "tangible employment action," an employer can
avoid vicarious liability for the supervisor's conduct by raising and
proving the affirmative defense described in the Faragher and Ellerth
cases ("Faragher/Ellerth affirmative defense"). Ellerth, 524 U.S. at
765, 118 S.Ct. 2257; Faragher, 524 U.S. at 807, 118 S.Ct. 2275.
17
246 F.3d 1305, 1311 (11th Cir. 2001). Walton claims that Ortho’s termination of
her employment, following her request for long-term disability benefits,
constitutes a tangible employment action to which no affirmative defense is
available. Alternatively, she insists that a genuine issue of material fact exists as
to whether Ortho satisfied the requirements of the Faragher affirmative defense.
We address these claims in turn.
A. Does Walton’s Claim Of Harassment Satisfy The Tangible
Employment Action Requirement.
Walton contends that she suffered a tangible job detriment when Ortho
terminated her from active service on May 17, 2000. In order to obtain long-term
disability benefits, Walton’s active employee status had to be terminated. Ortho
informed Walton of this fact, and notified her that on May 17, 2000, she could
return to work or go on long-term disability leave. Walton ultimately decided to
collect the disability benefits and did not return to work. Consequently, on May
17, 2000, Ortho removed her from active service. Walton claims that the
discharge itself amounts to a tangible employment action. She claims that because
the disability was the product of her supervisor’s harassment, any discharge
resulting from that disability must be charged against the company.
18
As the Supreme Court recognized in Ellerth, “[w]hen a party seeks to
impose vicarious liability based on an agent’s misuse of delegated authority, the
Restatement’s aided in the agency relation rule, rather than the apparent authority
rule, appears to be the appropriate form of analysis.” 524 U.S. at 759-760, 118
S.Ct. at 2268. When a company official makes a tangible employment decision,
“there is assurance the injury could not have been inflicted absent the agency
relation.” Id. at 761-62, 118 S.Ct. at 2269. Thus, “[w]hatever the exact contours
of the aided in the agency relation standard, its requirements will always be met
when a supervisor takes a tangible employment action against a subordinate.” Id.
at 762-63, 118 S.Ct. at 2269. A discharge is unquestionably a tangible
employment decision. See id. at 761, 118 S.Ct. at 2268 (“A tangible employment
action constitutes a significant change in employment status, such as hiring, firing,
failing to promote, reassignment with significantly different responsibilities, or a
decision causing a significant change of benefits.”) (emphasis added). There is,
therefore, no question but that Walton’s discharge constitutes a tangible
employment action.
The problem for Walton is that there is absolutely no evidence in the record
that she was discharged (as opposed to being harassed) because of her sex. To the
contrary, the undisputed evidence shows that Walton was discharged because she
19
elected to take disability rather than return to work.
Walton claims that because the disability resulted from the harassment of
one of Ortho’s supervisors, there is a causal link between the harassment and the
discharge. The question we must concern ourselves with, however, is whether
Ortho, when it terminated Walton, took her gender into account. And there is no
evidence that Ortho, or any of the employees acting on its behalf, considered
Walton’s gender when the company terminated her.7 To the contrary, the
undisputed evidence is that Walton was terminated because she failed to return to
work after her short-term disability benefits expired in order to preserve her
eligibility for long-term disability benefits. The district court therefore correctly
determined that Walton was unable to establish a genuine issue of material fact as
to the reason for Walton’s termination.
That is not to say that a company can escape liability where it ostensibly
discharges an individual for not returning to work even though that individual
was, as a practical matter, forced to resign by company officials. We permit
plaintiff-employees to recover discharge damages when the plaintiff is
7
Though Mykytiuk's conduct may be imputed to Ortho (subject to the affirmative defense
recognized in Ellerth/Faragher), Walton has not shown that he played a role in the decision to
terminate her. In fact, when Ortho discharged Walton, Mykytiuk had already been terminated.
To the extent that Walton claims that Mykytiuk's conduct precluded her from returning to work,
that claim is properly considered as a constructive discharge claim, as we discuss infra.
20
“constructively discharged.” To succeed on such a claim, the plaintiff, who bears
the burden of proof, must show that her working conditions were “so difficult . . .
that a reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign.” Pipkins v. City of
Temple Terrace, Fla., 267 F.3d 1197, 1201 (11th Cir. 2001) (internal quotation
marks and citations omitted). The plaintiff must do more than merely show that
she was subjected to actionable harassment. “The standard for proving
constructive discharge is higher than the standard for proving a hostile work
environment.” Hipp v. Liberty Nat’l Life Ins. Co., 252 F.3d 1208, 1231 (11th Cir.
2001).
Walton did not attempt to prove that a reasonable person would have felt
compelled to resign under the circumstances presented here. She instead focuses
all of her attention on her subjective reaction to the alleged harassment. She
insists that so long as an employee can show that she was forced to leave because
of the harassment she experienced, the employer is liable for any resulting
discharge. Accepting that position would eviscerate the objective standard for
constructive discharge. In any case where a plaintiff could show that she was
unable to continue working in the face of a sexually hostile working environment,
even where the conditions were not sufficient to compel a reasonable person to
resign, the employer would be responsible for any damages relating to the
21
discharge. That position is clearly inconsistent with the objective test for
constructive discharge adopted by our Circuit.
We need not decide whether a claim of constructive discharge would fail
given the facts in the record. Because Walton did not press her constructive
discharge claim in the court below, the district court never squarely addressed the
issue of whether a reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign under
the circumstances.8 Though we sometimes permit a party to raise legal issues they
did not raise below, see Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. v. Fernandez, 741 F.2d 355,
360-61 (11th Cir. 1984) (noting several exceptions to the general rule that
appellate courts will not consider an issue unless it was first presented to the trial
court), we are unwilling to do so here because Walton’s counsel expressly
disavowed the notion that constructive discharge was even an issue in the case.
See Pl.'s Br. in Opp. to Defs.' Mot. Summ. J. (noting that cases cited by the
defendant "address an issue . . . not present in this case," namely "whether a
constructive discharge can qualify as a tangible job detriment under Faragher").
Thus, to the extent the district court erred in failing to construe Walton’s tangible
employment action claim as a constructive discharge claim, that error was invited
8
The district court did intimate that a constructive discharge claim would not lie here.
Because Walton argued that constructive discharge was not an issue in this case, we offer no
opinion as to the accuracy of the district court’s observation.
22
by counsel and cannot be reviewed on appeal. See Glassroth v. Moore, 335 F.3d
1282, 1290 (11th Cir. 2003) (recognizing the long-standing rule of appellate
procedure that "a party may not challenge as error a ruling or other trial
proceeding invited by that party.") (quotation marks and citations omitted).
In short, the undisputed facts conclusively demonstrate that Walton was
discharged because she failed to return to work and that her gender played no
motivating role in Ortho's decision. And, because Walton did not assert that she
was constructively discharged as a result of the harassment by Mykytiuk, we need
not decide whether a constructive discharge is a “tangible employment action” for
purposes of the Ellerth/Faragher analysis.9 See Hardy v. Univ. of Ilinois, 328 F.3d
361, 364 (7th Cir. 2003) (refusing to address constructive discharge because
plaintiff, who claimed that she resigned and went on medical leave as a result of
the alleged harassment, had not raised that claim in the court below). We
therefore turn to Walton’s remaining claim, that she was subjected to a sexually
9
There is considerable disagreement among the circuits with respect to that issue.
Compare Suders v. Easton, 325 F.3d 432, 461 (3d Cir. 2003) (holding that a constructive
discharge constitutes a tangible employment action under Faragher/Ellerth), and Jaros v.
LodgeNet Entm't Corp., 294 F.3d 960, 966 (8th Cir. 2002) ("[A] constructive discharge
constitutes a tangible employment action which prevents an employer from utilizing the
[Faragher/Ellerth] affirmative defense."), with Caridad v. Metro-North Commuter R.R., 191 F.3d
283, 294 (2d Cir. 1999) (concluding that a "constructive discharge does not constitute a 'tangible
employment action,' as that term is used in Ellerth and Faragher.").
23
hostile work environment.10
B. Walton’s Alternative Claim That Ortho Is Liable For The Hostile
Work Environment Created By Her Supervisor.
Walton claims that she was subjected to a sexually hostile work
environment, beginning in June 2000 and continuing up and until she went on
disability leave in September of that same year. For purposes of summary
judgment, Ortho does not dispute the fact that there is a genuine issue of material
fact as to whether Walton was subjected to unwelcome sexual advances, including
multiple allegations of rape, during this time period. Ortho instead contends that it
is not liable for this harassment under the terms of the affirmative defense
recognized by the Supreme Court in Ellerth and Faragher.
In Faragher, the Supreme Court addressed the disparate standards used in
the various circuits with respect to employer liability for the harassing conduct of
10
Walton argues for the first time in her reply brief that the alleged rapes on June 29, 1999
and July 8, 1999, by themselves, constitute tangible employment actions. We decline to address
that argument because it was not raised below. As noted above, Walton argued in the district
court (and in her initial brief) only that there was a tangible employment action because her
discharge in May 2000 was the result of the sexual harassment. Indeed, in the district court,
Walton expressly disavowed asserting a constructive discharge claim, which might be closely
related to the issue now raised for the first time in her reply brief. Had Walton raised the issue in
the district court, Ortho would have had an opportunity to respond thereto, and the district court
would have addressed same. Ortho also may have been able to adduce additional relevant
evidence.
24
supervisory employees. The Court began its analysis by noting that it was
building on the foundation previously laid in Meritor, which as we noted supra,
held that courts should look to traditional principles of the law of agency in
defining employer liability. The Court then proceeded to address the three
grounds for vicarious employer liability identified by the lower court: (1) liability
under an “acting within the scope of employment” theory; (2) liability under an
“aided by agency” theory; and (3) liability flowing from the employer’s
negligence.
The Court declined to rely on the “scope of employment” theory, noting that
courts had uniformly rejected (either explicitly or implicitly) the notion that co-
workers act within the scope of their employment when they harass fellow
employees. Faragher, 542 U.S. at 799-800, 118 S.Ct. at 2289. Because the Court,
using the “scope of employment” theory, could not principally distinguish those
cases from ones involving supervisory harassment, see id. at 800, 118 S.Ct. at
2289, the Court next addressed the idea that employers may be liable for
supervisory harassment under an “aided by agency” theory. Specifically, the
Court looked to Restatement (Second) of Agency § 219(2)(d), which provides that
an employer “is not subject to liability for the torts of his servants acting outside
the scope of their employment unless . . . the servant purported to act or speak on
25
behalf of the principal and there was reliance on apparent authority, or he was
aided in accomplishing the tort by the existence of the agency relation.” (emphasis
added). Relying on this provision, the Court explained that “in implementing Title
VII it makes sense to hold an employer vicariously liable for some tortious
conduct of a supervisor made possible by abuse of his supervisory authority, and
that the aided-by-agency-relation principle embodied in § 219(2)(d) of the
Restatement provides an appropriate starting point for determining liability” for
supervisory harassment. Faragher, 524 U.S. at 802, 118 S.Ct. at 2290. The Court
then provided several reasons for adopting this theory of liability:
The agency relationship affords contact with an employee subjected
to a supervisor's sexual harassment, and the victim may well be
reluctant to accept the risks of blowing the whistle on a superior.
When a person with supervisory authority discriminates in the terms
and conditions of subordinates' employment, his actions necessarily
draw upon his superior position over the people who report to him, or
those under them, whereas an employee generally cannot check a
supervisor's abusive conduct the same way that she might deal with
abuse from a co-worker. When a fellow employee harasses, the victim
can walk away or tell the offender where to go, but it may be difficult
to offer such responses to a supervisor, whose "power to
supervise--[which may be] to hire and fire, and to set work schedules
and pay rates--does not disappear . . . when he chooses to harass
through insults and offensive gestures rather than directly with threats
of firing or promises of promotion." Estrich, Sex at Work, 43 Stan.
L.Rev. 813, 854 (1991). Recognition of employer liability when
discriminatory misuse of supervisory authority alters the terms and
conditions of a victim's employment is underscored by the fact that
the employer has a greater opportunity to guard against misconduct
26
by supervisors than by common workers; employers have greater
opportunity and incentive to screen them, train them, and monitor
their performance.
Id. at 803, 118 S.Ct. at 2291. The Court thus announced that "[a]n employer is
subject to vicarious liability to a victimized employee for an actionable hostile
environment created by a supervisor with immediate (or successively higher)
authority over the employee.” Id. at 807, 118 S.Ct. at 2292-93.11
Ortho, for summary judgment purposes at least, does not contest the fact
that Walton was subjected to an actionable hostile environment.12 Nor does the
11
Because the Court endorsed the aided-by-agency theory of liability, it declined to rule
on the question of whether the employer could be held responsible for supervisory harassment
under a negligence or imputed knowledge theory. See Faragher, 524 U.S. at 810, 118 S.Ct. at
2294.
12
For sexual harassment to rise to the level where it alters the terms and conditions of
employment, the work environment must be “both objectively and subjectively offensive, one
that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive, and one that the victim in fact did
perceive to be so.” Faragher, 524 U.S. at 787; 118 S.Ct. at 2283. In addressing the objective
hostility of the conduct, we look at four factors: “(1) the frequency of the conduct; (2) the
severity of the conduct; (3) whether the conduct is physically threatening or humiliating, or a
mere offensive utterance; and (4) whether the conduct unreasonably interferes with the
employee's job performance.” Mendoza v. Borden, Inc., 195 F.3d 1238, 1246 (11th Cir. 1999).
We must then decide, looking at the totality of the circumstances, “whether the harassing conduct
is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the terms or conditions of the plaintiff's employment
and create a hostile or abusive working environment.” Id.
Generally speaking, “isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not amount to
discriminatory changes in the ‘terms and conditions of employment.’” Faragher, 524 U.S. at 788,
118 S.Ct. at 2283. We can think of few incidents, isolated or not, that are more serious than
those alleged to have occurred in this case. Because Ortho does not contest the fact that Walton
was subjected to an actionable level of harassment, we assume that the allegations of fondling
and sexual assault are sufficient to create a sexually hostile and abusive work environment that
altered the terms and conditions of Walton’s employment.
27
company dispute the notion that, to the extent there was any unwelcome
harassment here, Mykytiuk's position as a supervisor aided his ability to engage in
harassing behavior. Thus, we assume for purposes of this appeal that Walton was
subjected to an actionable level of harassment by her supervisor.
Under the rule announced in Faragher, Walton has established a prima facie
case for holding Ortho liable for Mykytiuk's alleged harassment. There is,
however, an important qualification to Faragher’s rule of vicarious liability.
Though the Court indicated that an employer should be held vicariously liable for
the harassment of its supervisors, it recognized that the rule it announced created
some tension with its earlier pronouncement in Meritor, where it rejected the idea
that an employer should be “always automatically liable for sexual harassment by
their supervisors,” see Meritor, 477 U.S. at 72, 106 S.Ct. at 2408. Faragher, 524
U.S. at 804, 118 S.Ct. at 2291 (describing the tension between the theory of
liability it endorsed and the Court's earlier holding in Meritor). In the Court’s
view, there were two basic alternatives to the rule of automatic liability. The first
was to recognize a rule whereby the harassing supervisor would have to
affirmatively invoke his authority in order for the employer to be held liable. The
Court rejected that idea because it was impractical in application and would lead
to endless litigation over whether a supervisor's authority was implicitly invoked.
28
Id. at 805, 118 S.Ct. at 2292. The Court then explained that:
The other basic alternative to automatic liability would avoid this
particular temptation to litigate, but allow an employer to show as an
affirmative defense to liability that the employer had exercised
reasonable care to avoid harassment and to eliminate it when it might
occur, and that the complaining employee had failed to act with . . .
reasonable care to take advantage of the employer’s safeguards and
otherwise to prevent harm that could have been avoided.
Id. Thus, the Court held that “[w]hen no tangible employment action is taken, a
defending employer may raise an affirmative defense to liability or damages,
subject to proof by a preponderance of the evidence, see Fed. Rule Civ. Proc.
8(c).” Id. at 807, 118 S.Ct. at 2293. According to the Court, “[t]he defense
comprises two necessary elements: (a) that the employer exercised reasonable care
to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior, and (b) that the
plaintiff employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or
corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise.”
Id.
The district court granted Ortho summary judgment on the basis of this
affirmative defense. It concluded that there was no genuine issue of material fact
as to whether Ortho had taken reasonable measures to prevent and correct sexually
harassing behavior. The district court also ruled for Ortho on the second element
of the affirmative defense, holding as a matter of law that Walton unreasonably
29
failed to take advantage of Ortho’s remedial mechanisms or to otherwise avoid
harm. We examine each of these issues in turn.
1. Whether Ortho Acted Reasonably To Prevent And
Promptly Correct Sexually Harassing Behavior.
As we have previously recognized, in crafting the first prong of the
Faragher affirmative defense, which in part requires employers to take reasonable
measures to prevent harassment, “the Supreme Court sought to give effect to Title
VII’s deterrent purpose.” Madray v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 208 F.3d 1290,
1297 (11th Cir. 2000). The Court in Faragher “implied that employers could meet
the initial burden in determining whether they had exercised reasonable care to
prevent sexual harassment by promulgating an anti-harassment policy.” Madray,
208 F.3d at 1297-98. In fact, “dissemination of an employer’s anti-harassment
policy [is] fundamental to meeting the requirement for exercising reasonable care
in preventing sexual harassment.” Id. at 1298.
In addition to promulgating an anti-harassment policy, an employer must
also ensure that the policy itself adequately addresses Title VII’s deterrent
purpose. “The employer’s size, location, geographic scope, organizational
structure, and industry segment are just some of the characteristics that impact the
30
analysis of whether the complaint procedures of an employer’s anti-harassment
policy adequately fulfill Title VII’s deterrent purpose.” Id. At a minimum,
employers must “establish a complaint procedure ‘designed to encourage victims
of harassment to come forward [without requiring] a victim to complain first to the
offending supervisor.’” Id. (quoting Faragher, 524 U.S. at 806, 118 S.Ct. at 2292
(alteration in original) (citations omitted)).
Walton claims that there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether
Ortho acted reasonably to prevent Mykytiuk’s sexually harassing behavior. With
respect to Ortho’s efforts to reasonably prevent the harassing behavior, Walton
points out that: (1) Ortho failed to check Mykytiuk’s references or contact his
current employer before hiring him; (2) Ortho discontinued its practice of leasing
office space; and (3) Ortho’s complaint procedure was defective because it failed
to name the person to whom grievances should be submitted.
The district court properly rejected each of these contentions. It is a
common practice for employers to refrain from contacting a prospective
employee's current employer before hiring that person. Should a company contact
a candidate's current employer and then decide not to give that person an offer, the
prospective employee might be out of a job altogether. Ortho did, however, talk to
two employees who knew of Mykytiuk through their previous jobs at Eli Lilly.
31
And, the company did conduct a criminal background check. Under the
circumstances, we cannot say that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to
whether Ortho acted reasonably to prevent harassing behavior based on Ortho's
failure to conduct a more thorough investigation. We also note that there is no
evidence that Mykytiuk was ever subjected to a claim of sexual harassment at his
previous job and that a more diligent search, therefore, would have put Ortho on
notice that Mykytiuk was likely to engage in such behavior in the future.
We also find no merit in Walton's contention that Ortho acted unreasonably
by failing to secure office space for its employees. There were any number of
public accommodations in which employees could (and often did) meet to discuss
business matters. The fact that the company did not secure office space, therefore,
does not suggest that it acted in an unreasonable manner to prevent harassment
from occurring.
Finally, we do not believe that the policy was defective because it failed to
name the specific person to whom a grievance should be submitted. There is no
dispute that Ortho promulgated an anti-harassment policy that was distributed to
Walton. In pertinent part, the policy provided that:
Complaints of discrimination or harassment will be investigated and
resolved by the Human Resources Department. If an associate feels
he/she is the victim of discrimination or harassment, he/she should
32
report it to their supervisor/manager. If this is not appropriate, the
associate should request a confidential discussion with the
appropriate Organizational Effectiveness representative.
Upon impartial investigation, any associate found to have
discriminated against or harassed another associate will be subject to
immediate disciplinary action up to and including termination.
(emphasis added). The company’s anti-harassment policy provides an alternative
channel for making complaints other than the harassing supervisor. Cf. Montero
v. Agco Corp., 192 F.3d 856, 862 (9th Cir. 1999) (concluding that company
exercised reasonable care to prevent harassment where its policy identified only an
employee’s supervisor and the company’s human resources department as the
proper outlets for sexual harassment complaints), cited in Madray, 208 F.3d at
1299. Though the policy does not designate a specific “Organizational
Effectiveness” representative, it clearly indicates that all complaints will be
handled by the “Human Resources Department.” If Walton had question as to
who the "Organizational Effectiveness" representative referred to in the policy
was, she could have contacted Human Resources and asked them. We think the
policy sufficiently informs harassment victims that complaints should be
addressed to that department.13
13
In addition, Ortho claims that it sent a slightly different copy of its anti-harassment
policy to its employees each year. A January 25, 1999 letter, addressed to “ALL OMP
ASSOCIATES” notes that:
33
Walton also contends that a triable issue of fact exists as to whether Ortho
acted reasonably to correct the harassing behavior. Specifically, she claims that
Ortho’s failure to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of her allegations
excludes the possibility that the company acted reasonably in correcting the
complained of harassment. We disagree. Walton first contacted Ortho’s human
resources department on September 3, 1999. After a follow up conversation a few
days later, a member of that department arranged a meeting with Walton in Tampa
on September 10, 1999. At that meeting, she indicated that Mykytiuk was paying
too much attention to her and that he had attempted to kiss her and fondle her in
June of 1999. Three days later, on September 13, 1999, the company’s
Associates are encouraged to report incidents of harassment to their immediate
supervisor. In instances where a supervisor may be involved in the incident,
misconduct should be reported to a higher level of management or to a Human
Resources Representative. We have an employee complaint procedure for
investigating and resolving such complaints.
To the extent that the policy manual created any confusion as to where complaints should be
lodged, we believe this policy clears up that confusion.
In her brief, Walton claims that she never received this letter. Her actual testimony is
much more ambiguous, however. When asked why she never received a copy of the company’s
harassment policy, Walton said “if [Ortho officials] mail something out, they probably mail it out
with a bunch of other stuff, easily to be thrown away. Who knows? Who knows if I even got
it?” Walton also introduced testimony from another sales representative who did not recall
getting such a letter. The fact that neither Walton nor another employee remember receiving the
policy (as opposed to being able to definitely testify that they never received it), is not
particularly probative of whether Walton did in fact receive a copy of the policy. In any event,
we believe the policy manual provided employees with sufficient guidance about filing a
complaint.
34
investigative staff met with Mykytiuk. He informed them that he and Walton had
been involved in a consensual affair and that they had engaged in sexual
intercourse on numerous occasions. At the end of the interview, Mykytiuk was
immediately suspended from active service, where he remained until his discharge
on December 31, 1999.
According to the EEOC, “[r]emedial measures should be designed to stop
the harassment, correct its effects on the employee, and ensure that the harassment
does not recur.” EEOC Notice No. 915.002, Enforcement Guidance: Vicarious
Employer Liability for Unlawful Harassment by Supervisors, at § V.C.1.f. (June
18, 1999), available at http://www.eeoc.gov/docs/harassment.html. Ortho’s
remedial measures did just that. Immediately after Walton filed a complaint with
Ortho’s human resources department, Ortho suspended Mykytiuk and took
measures to ensure Walton would not have to work under him again. And, after
conducting an investigation, the company ultimately discharged Mykytiuk.
Walton was given an opportunity to return to active service, and she does not
claim that she lost any benefits during the time in which she was employed at the
company as a result of the alleged harassment.
Walton points to a number of claimed inadequacies in the investigation,
such as the company’s failure to interview critical witnesses and its failure to
35
reconcile inconsistent statements from the witnesses who were interviewed. Had
the company not taken reasonable measures to correct the harassment, Walton’s
complaints might have some merit. Cf. Dhyne v. Meiners Thriftway, 184 F.3d
983, 988 (8th Cir. 1999) (concluding that an issue of fact existed as to whether
employer’s response to complaint of harassment was reasonable where the
employer waited nearly two months after the employee’s initial complaint before it
transferred the alleged harasser). But where the substantive measures taken by the
employer are sufficient to address the harassing behavior, complaints about the
process under which those measures are adopted ring hollow. 14 We thus agree
with the district court that there is no genuine issue of fact as to whether Ortho
14
Walton also claims that Mykytiuk made harassing phone calls to her even after he was
suspended and that Ortho failed to adequately address that conduct. Walton, however, was
unable to present Ortho with evidence of such calls prior to the date on which Mykytiuk was
terminated. Thus, we cannot say that Walton made out a triable issue of fact on this question.
Walton's chief complaint with Ortho's investigative process is that the company did not
appear to believe her version of the events. The company, however, had good reason to doubt
her version of the events. Walton initially informed company officials that Mykytiuk made
inappropriate advances and tried to fondle her in June of 1999. After interviewing Mykytiuk, the
company learned that Walton and Mykytiuk had engaged in sexual intercourse. Walton
subsequently amended her story and added multiple claims of rape, including her claim that she
returned to the very same apartment where she was raped on multiple occasions. Given these
facts, as well as the Tampa Police Department's decision not to charge Mykytiuk, the employer
could have reasonably concluded that Walton, who is married, had been involved in a consensual
affair with her supervisor. At the very least, the company could have reasonably concluded that
they would not be able to exclude the possibility of a consensual relationship and that the safest
course of action might be to terminate Mykytiuk for poor judgment and keep Walton in her
former position. Because the employer quickly removed Mykytiuk from active service and
ensured that he would not work with Walton in the future, we conclude that Walton failed to
create a question of fact as to the reasonableness of the employer's conduct.
36
acted reasonably to prevent and correct sexually harassing behavior.
2. Whether Walton Unreasonably Failed To Take
Advantage of Ortho’s Remedial Measures or
Otherwise Avoid Harm.
In order to succeed on the Faragher defense, the employer also bears the
burden of proving the second element of that defense, “that the plaintiff employee
unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective
opportunities provided by the employer, or to otherwise avoid harm.” Frederick v.
Sprint/United Mgmt. Co., 246 F.3d 1305, 1313 (11th Cir. 2001) (“Both elements
[of the Faragher defense] must be satisfied for the defendant-employer to avoid
liability, and the defendant bears the burden of proof on both elements.”).
“[W]hile proof that an employee failed to fulfill the corresponding obligation of
reasonable care to avoid harm is not limited to showing an unreasonable failure to
use any complaint procedure provided by the employer, demonstration of such
failure will normally suffice to satisfy the employer’s burden under the second
element of the defense.” Faragher, 524 U.S. at 807-08, 118 S.Ct. at 2293.
In the court below, Ortho argued that Walton unreasonably failed to take
advantage of the employer’s anti-harassment policy by failing to report the alleged
harassment, which began in mid-June of 1999, until September 3 of that same
37
year. Walton responded in three ways. First, she claimed that she advised her
supervisor that his advances were unwelcome. Second, she argued that she waited
a mere five days after the last act of harassment to file a complaint and that there
was, therefore, no unreasonable delay. Finally, she claimed that to the extent
there was a delay in reporting the alleged harassment, that delay was reasonable
because (a) she feared that she would not get the hospital representative position
Mykytiuk had discussed with her, (b) she feared that she might lose her current job
given Mykytiuk’s purported connections to upper management, and (c) she feared
for her safety after Mykytiuk showed her his gun while she was in his apartment.15
The district court correctly rejected these arguments. The fact that Walton
advised her supervisor that his advances were unwelcome is relevant, of course,
but she did not argue in the district court that, based on these warnings, she had
reason to believe that the advances would stop, particularly after those warnings
15
Walton also argues that Ortho was on notice of the harassment in August of 1999
because her friend, Kim Van Goidstnoven, told officials at Ortho's parent company that Walton's
supervisor had made inappropriate advances. We agree with the district court that this argument
lacks merit. Neither Van Goidstnoven, nor the officials she talked to at Johnson & Johnson,
were charged with the responsibility of addressing such complaints, and the communication was
not reasonably calculated to reach the responsible officials (i.e., Ortho's human resources
department). See Madray, 208 F.3d at 1302 (holding that amorphous complaints to persons not
authorized to accept complaints does not constitute a reasonable effort to take advantage of
employer's complaint procedures). Indeed, as Van Goidstnoven's testimony makes clear, she did
not file a complaint with the individuals at the sister company; she instead asked them what her
friend, who worked at a related but distinct company, should do under the circumstances.
38
had already proven to be unsuccessful.16 Furthermore, the fact that Walton waited
five days after the last alleged incident of harassment is not very significant in
assessing the reasonableness of her failure to report the harassment after it began
in June. Had Walton notified Ortho officials in June, when the harassment
initially began, most of the incidents complained of could have been avoided.
Instead, after Mykytiuk groped her breasts and buttocks and tried to kiss her the
day after he promised to behave, Walton claims that she went back to his
apartment over a week later, knowing that he was intoxicated, had wine with him,
and was then subjected to the more serious incident of sexual assault. Indeed, she
admits returning to the apartment the following week, accepting wine again, and
lying down on the floor to be massaged, whereupon she alleges that she was
sexually assaulted again.
We are mindful of the fact that severe harassment such as that which is
alleged to have occurred here can be particularly traumatic. As we have pointed
out before, however, “the problem of workplace discrimination . . . cannot be
[corrected] without the cooperation of the victims.” Madray, 208 F.3d at 1302
16
If anything, the facts suggest the contrary. Walton warned Mykytiuk on June 14 that his
advances, which included inappropriate comments and an attempt to kiss her, were unwelcome.
Yet, just a day later, Mykytiuk allegedly committed a more egregious infraction when he fondled
Walton's breasts and buttocks while attempting to kiss her.
39
(alteration in original) (quoting Coates v. Sundor Brands, Inc., 164 F.3d 1361,
1366 (11th Cir. 1999)). Thus, the victim of the alleged harassment has an
obligation to use reasonable care to avoid harm where possible. See Faragher, 524
U.S. at 807, 118 S.Ct. at 2292 ("If the victim could have avoided harm, no liability
should be found against the employer who had taken reasonable care, and if
damages could reasonably have been mitigated no award against a liable employer
should reward a plaintiff for what her own efforts could have avoided.”). As the
First Circuit recently noted,
Reporting sexually offensive conduct by a supervisor would for many
or most employees be uncomfortable, scary or both. But because this
will often or ordinarily be true, as the Supreme Court certainly knew,
its regime necessarily requires the employee in normal circumstances
to make this painful effort if the employee wants to impose vicarious
liability on the employer and collect damages under Title VII.
Reed v. MBNA Mktg. Sys., Inc., 333 F.3d 27, 35 (1st Cir. 2003). Here, Walton
could have avoided most, if not all, of the actionable harassment by reporting
Mykytiuk's behavior to Ortho officials. By failing to do so, Walton did not give
Ortho an opportunity to address the situation and prevent further harm from
occurring.
We also agree with the district court that absent a credible threat of
retaliation, Walton’s subjective fears of reprisal do not excuse her failure to report
40
Mykytiuk’s alleged harassment. See Caridad v. Metro-North Commuter R.R., 191
F.3d 283, 295 (2d Cir. 1999) (concluding that plaintiff’s failure to report
harassment for several months was not based on a "credible fear" that her
complaint would fall on deaf ears or that she would suffer an adverse employment
action as a result of her decision to file a complaint); Shaw v. Autozone, Inc., 180
F.3d 806, 813 (7th Cir. 1999) (holding that plaintiff’s subjective fear that she
would suffer retaliation for filing a complaint not sufficient to excuse delay in
reporting incidents of harassment). Subjective fears of reprisal may exist in every
case, but, as we discussed supra, those fears, standing alone, do not excuse an
employee's failure to report a supervisor's harassment. Here, Mykytiuk never told
Walton that her job was in jeopardy, nor did he threaten her with physical harm. 17
We therefore conclude that Walton did not reasonably avail herself of the
protections afforded by Ortho’s anti-harassment policies, and the district court
thus correctly held that Ortho was entitled to the Faragher defense as a matter of
law.
17
Walton did not indicate that Mykytiuk threatened her in any way when he showed her
his gun. She merely indicated that the gun “intimidated” her. We have no quarrel with that
claim, but we are unwilling to say that her subsequent failure to report Mykytiuk, when she was
out of his presence, was reasonable due to her subjective fear that Mykytiuk might physically
harm her. Indeed, the second prong of the Faragher defense would be rendered meaningless if a
plaintiff-employee could escape her corresponding obligation to report sexually harassing
behavior based on an unsupported subjective fear that the employee would suffer physical harm
at the hands of her alleged harasser.
41
On appeal, and for the first time, Walton argues that even if she acted
unreasonably by failing to report many of these incidents after they occurred, she
could not have avoided the sexual assaults on June 29, 1999. She thus contends
that Ortho, at the very least, should be liable for the harassment that occurred on
that date.
At least three other circuits have addressed, in some form, the practical
difficulties of applying Faragher in cases involving claims of “sudden sexual
harassment.” The question faced in those cases is whether an employer is liable
for the harassment committed by its supervisors where neither party is at fault –
i.e, where the employer acts reasonably to prevent and correct any sexually
harassing behavior, and where the employee avails herself, to the extent that she
can do so, of any protections afforded by her employer. One circuit has held that
an employer is liable for any harassment that occurred prior to the corrective
action. See Greene v. Dalton, 164 F.3d 671, 674-75 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (holding
that the defendant could avoid liability in connection with a claim that a
supervisor sexually assaulted a subordinate only if the defendant could show that
the plaintiff failed to act reasonably in reporting the supervisor's behavior prior to
the sexual assault). Two other circuits have addressed the issue but have not
rendered a definitive holding. See Todd v. Ortho Biotech, Inc., 175 F.3d 595, 598
42
(8th Cir. 1999) (explaining that the Faragher defense, which was “adopted in cases
that involved ongoing sexual harassment in a workplace, . . . may not protect an
employer from automatic liability in cases of single, severe, unanticipatable sexual
harassment” and that the district court should address that issue on remand”) &
599 (Arnold, J., concurring) (noting that the affirmative defense in Faragher
affects both liability and damages, and that in cases of sudden sexual harassment,
the defense merely lessens the defendant’s damages, it does not “erase the tort
completely.”); Indest v. Freeman Decorating, Inc., 164 F.3d 258, 267 (5th Cir.
1999) (opinion by Jones, J. with the other two panel members concurring in the
judgment only, Judge Wiener concurring specially, see infra)) (Judge Jones
assumed arguendo that a hostile environment claim had been stated, albeit a
dubious one, and concluded that the employer is not vicariously liable for
actionable harassment where both the employee and the employer act reasonably
and promptly to address the situation); 168 F.3d 795, 804 n.52 (Wiener, J.,
specially concurring) (arguing that under Faragher and Ellerth, where a supervisor
engages in “sufficiently severe conduct,” such as rape, an employer may be
vicariously liable even though the employer took prompt remedial action based on
an employee’s equally prompt complaint). The EEOC takes the position that an
employer is liable where both parties act reasonably to prevent and correct any
43
sexually harassing behavior. See EEOC Notice No. 915.002, Enforcement
Guidance: Vicarious Employer Liability for Unlawful Harassment by Supervisors,
at § V.B. (June 18, 1999), available at http://www.eeoc.gov/docs/harassment.html.
("In some circumstances, . . . unlawful harassment will occur and harm will result
despite the exercise of requisite legal care by the employer and employee. . . . In
these circumstances, the employer will be liable because the [Faragher/Ellerth]
defense requires proof that it exercised reasonable legal care and that the employee
unreasonably failed to avoid the harm.").
We need not weigh in on this debate because Walton failed to raise this
theory below. In moving for summary judgment, Ortho argued that Walton had
unreasonably failed to take advantage of its anti-harassment policies or otherwise
avoid harm by failing to report Mykytiuk. According to Walton, the first incidents
of sexually harassing behavior occurred on June 14 and 15 of 1999, when
Mykytiuk allegedly fondled her and made inappropriate comments in her
presence. Walton argued, among other things, that the delay in filing her
complaint was reasonable due to her fear that she might lose her job. As we noted
supra, that argument is simply not tenable here. Walton did not suggest in the
court below that her failure to complain prior to the sexual assault was reasonable
44
because she had no reason to believe that there would be additional harassment.18
The district court, therefore, had no occasion to decide whether a genuine issue of
material fact existed as to the reasonableness of Walton's failure to report the
earlier fondling incidents. As a general rule, we do not consider arguments raised
for the first time on appeal. See Wright v. Hanna Steel Corp., 270 F.3d 1336,
1342 (11th Cir.2001). Though there are exceptions to this rule, particularly in
cases involving pure legal questions, see, e.g., United States v. One Single Family
Residence Located at 18755 North Bay Road, Miami, 13 F.3d 1493, 1498 (11th
Cir. 1994) (addressing issue not raised below because it involved a pure legal
question and failure to address it would have resulted in a miscarriage of justice),
those exceptions do not apply here.19 Consequently, we decline to consider
18
Walton did not, for instance, cite any of the cases discussed supra (Greene, Todd, or
Indest) for the proposition that Ortho should be held liable for the sexual assault because that
harassment was unavoidable.
19
Walton did argue below that her delay was reasonable because she told her supervisor
that his advances were unwelcome. However, she did not focus in the district court on her
protests with respect to Mykytiuk’s June 14 pass at her nor her protests when his harassment
escalated the very next day into groping of her breasts and buttocks. She did not argue that she
was reasonable in believing that her protests as of that time would be sufficient to prevent any
further harassment. Indeed, Walton made no specific argument with respect to the
reasonableness of her actions before June 29. In other words, Walton made no argument singling
out Ortho’s liability for the alleged rape that occurred on June 29. Had Walton made such
arguments below, defendants and the district court could have addressed the reasonableness of
Walton’s actions as of that time to avoid harm. Indeed, it is possible that defendants might have
been able to adduce additional evidence relevant to that discrete issue (e.g., additional evidence
relevant to the reasonableness of Walton's accompanying an intoxicated Mykytiuk to the
apartment that June 29 evening). Because Walton did not press this theory in the district court,
we decline to entertain it for the first time on appeal.
45
Walton's claim that her employer is liable for any actionable harassment that
occurred prior to and including the initial sexual asault. We conclude that Ortho is
entitled, as a matter of law, to the Faragher defense and that, at least under the
circumstances of this case, that defense is a complete one.
The judgment of the district court is hereby AFFIRMED.20
20
We also affirm the district court's judgment with respect to Walton's other federal and
state law claims. Because we conclude that her arguments in support of those claims are lacking
in merit, an extended discussion of those claims is unnecessary.
46