PUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
COMMISSION,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 07-1123
SUNBELT RENTALS, INC.,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt.
Peter J. Messitte, District Judge.
(8:04-cv-02978-PJM)
Argued: January 30, 2008
Decided: March 31, 2008
Before WILKINSON and GREGORY, Circuit Judges, and
Patrick Michael DUFFY, United States District Judge for the
District of South Carolina, sitting by designation.
Reversed and remanded by published opinion. Judge Wilkinson wrote
the opinion, in which Judge Gregory and Judge Duffy joined.
COUNSEL
ARGUED: Daniel Travis Vail, U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Washington, D.C., for Appellant.
Patricia J. Hill, SMITH, GAMBRELL & RUSSELL, L.L.P., Jackson-
ville, Florida, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Ronald S. Cooper, General
2 EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS
Counsel, Carolyn L. Wheeler, Acting Associate General Counsel,
Lorraine C. Davis, Assistant General Counsel, U.S. EQUAL
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Washington,
D.C., for Appellant. Colin A. Thakkar, SMITH, GAMBRELL &
RUSSELL, L.L.P., Jacksonville, Florida, for Appellee.
OPINION
WILKINSON, Circuit Judge:
This case arises from a Title VII action brought by the United
States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of
Clinton Ingram, a Muslim American, against Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.
The EEOC alleges that Ingram, while working at Sunbelt, was sub-
jected to a religiously hostile work environment in violation of Title
VII. The district court granted summary judgment for Sunbelt and
dismissed the claim.
Title VII extends the promise that no one should be subject to a
discriminatorily hostile work environment. In the wake of September
11th, some Muslim Americans, completely innocent of any wrongdo-
ing, became targets of gross misapprehensions and overbroad
assumptions about their religious beliefs. But the event that shook the
foundations of our buildings did not shake the premise of our found-
ing — that here, in America, there is no heretical faith. Because the
evidence, if proven, indicates that Ingram suffered severe and perva-
sive religious harassment in violation of Title VII, we reverse the dis-
trict court’s grant of summary judgment and remand with directions
that this case proceed to trial.
I.
A.
Sunbelt is a company that rents and sells construction equipment.
In October 2001, a month after the September 11th attacks, it hired
Ingram to work at its Gaithersburg, Maryland store. After initially
working as a truck driver, Ingram was later promoted to the position
EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS 3
of rental manager, a position he held until his termination in February
2003. As a rental manager, Ingram primarily worked at a rental
counter located inside the store’s showroom and was responsible for
assisting customers with equipment rentals.
Ingram worked in close quarters with several other Sunbelt
employees. In addition to Ingram, there were three other rental man-
agers at the Gaithersburg location: David Gray, John "Hank" Parater,
and Barry Fortna. Gray and Parater had work stations on either side
of Ingram at the office’s rental counter, and Fortna, the "lead rental
manager," worked at a desk behind the counter.
In addition to his fellow rental managers, Ingram frequently inter-
acted with Mike Warner, the store’s shop foreman, and Steve Riddle-
moser, the overall manager of the Gaithersburg office. When
Riddlemoser was not in the office, Warner served as the "acting man-
ager." If both Riddlemoser and Warner were absent, then Fortna was
left in charge. The regional manager for the Gaithersburg location
was Eddie Dempster.
Prior to joining Sunbelt, Ingram, who is an African American, con-
verted to Islam while serving in the United States Army. It is undis-
puted that Sunbelt, as well as Ingram’s coworkers, knew Ingram was
a Muslim. In fact, Sunbelt permitted Ingram to use a private, upstairs
room for short prayer sessions that were required by Ingram’s faith.
In addition, Sunbelt allowed Ingram to attend a weekly congrega-
tional prayer session that took place from 1:00-1:45 p.m. on Friday
afternoons. Ingram also observed tenets of his faith at the workplace
by keeping a beard and wearing a kufi, a traditional headgear worn
by Muslim men. Notably, Ingram was the only Muslim employee at
the Gaithersburg office.
During his time at Sunbelt, Ingram claims he was subjected to a
hostile work environment on the basis of his religion. According to
Ingram, the abusive environment was marked by a steady stream of
demeaning comments and degrading actions directed against him by
his coworkers — conduct that went unaddressed and unpunished by
Sunbelt supervisors.
For instance, coworkers used religiously-charged epithets and often
called Ingram names such as "Taliban" and "towel head." In addition,
4 EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS
fellow employees frequently made fun of Ingram’s appearance, chal-
lenged his allegiance to the United States, suggested he was a terror-
ist, and made comments associating all Muslims with senseless
violence. Sometimes Ingram’s supervisors personally participated in
the harassment. Sunbelt responds, in turn, that Ingram also used pro-
fane and derogatory language in the workplace.
Additionally, Ingram was the victim of several religiously charged
incidents. For instance, on one occasion, Gray held a metal detector
to Ingram’s head and, after the detector did not go off, called Ingram
a "fake ass Muslim want-to-be turbine wearing ass." In a separate
incident, Gray showed Ingram a stapler and said that "if anyone
upsets you pretend this stapler is a model airplane [and] just toss it
in the air, just repeatedly catch it, [and] don’t say anything." Ingram
understood this to be a reference to the September 11 attacks and
another attempt by Gray to equate Ingram with terrorists. Finally, a
cartoon was posted in the store’s dispatch area depicting persons
"dressed in Islamic or Muslim attire" as suicide bombers. Taking
offense, Ingram complained about the cartoon to the dispatcher and
eventually tore it down.
In addition to these explicitly religious incidents, Ingram suffered
from other forms of harassment. For example, his timecard, which
was used to punch time in and out, was frequently hidden, especially
on Fridays when he went to congregational prayer. Likewise,
coworkers constantly unplugged his computer equipment and, on one
occasion, defaced his business card by writing "dumb ass" over his
name.
After nearly every incident of harassment, Ingram verbally com-
plained to Riddlemoser, and sometimes Dempster and Warner as
well. Indeed, according to Gray, "[w]henever anything that [Ingram]
believed to be inappropriate was said or done to him, he immediately
took his complaint to Steve [Riddlemoser]." However, these com-
plaints proved futile, and the religious harassment persisted.
On Friday, November 15, 2002, after discovering his timecard was
missing, Ingram confronted Warner, who he believed was responsible
for the hidden timecard. After a heated exchange, Ingram was sent
EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS 5
home for the day and told that Riddlemoser, who was absent, would
deal with the issue when he returned the following Monday.
Later that day, Ingram contacted Sunbelt’s Human Resources
Department and spoke with HR Specialist Stephanie Wilson. During
two phone conversations with Wilson, Ingram expressed his frustra-
tion about the ongoing harassment and explained that he believed it
was because of his religion. Wilson told Ingram to fax her a written
complaint detailing some specific incidents of the alleged harassment.
After receiving Ingram’s written complaint, Wilson emailed Rid-
dlemoser to inform him of the situation. She outlined Ingram’s com-
plaint of harassment, noting that Ingram alleged that someone was "1)
leaving rude written messages (profanity) on his paperwork, 2)
unplugging his monitor, 3) misplacing his timecard, [and] 4) voicing
physical threats against him to other employees, etc. He believes that
this harassment is based on his religion ([M]uslim). He tells me that
he has voiced his concerns to you on several occasions and nothing
has been done." Wilson also emphasized that these were serious alle-
gations and that discrimination on the basis of religion could not be
tolerated under Sunbelt’s personnel policies.*
Riddlemoser forwarded the email to Dempster, and both informed
Wilson they would look into the matter. The following week Riddle-
moser talked with Ingram and his coworkers about the issues alleged
in Ingram’s written complaint. After investigating the various inci-
dents, Riddlemoser refused to take any disciplinary action because of
what he believed to be insufficient evidence about who was responsi-
ble for the acts alleged. However, Riddlemoser did tell Ingram’s
coworkers to avoid making comments about Ingram or Muslims in
general.
*Sunbelt’s anti-harassment policy states that "Sunbelt is committed to
maintaining a work environment that is free of discrimination." It also
observes that "Sunbelt will not tolerate harassing conduct that affects
tangible job benefits, that interferes with an individual’s work perfor-
mance or that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working envi-
ronment."
6 EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS
On November 19, 2002, Riddlemoser reported to Wilson that he
had determined the basis of the complaints and that "none of these
allegations are religious based." Rather, "they are personal. Clinton’s
performance and personality are the only cause for the problems.
We’ve allowed him to leave every Friday for an hour to pray due to
his religion so I believe we’ve been very accommodating to him."
When asked whether he had spoken to Ingram about these supposed
"performance issues," Riddlemoser informed Wilson that he talked
with Ingram about his manner and how he should not "take things so
personal." Riddlemoser also told Ingram that so long as Ingram
"maintains a positive attitude," then the issues with "Sunbelt would
roll right off his shoulder and [he] could leave work with the same
positive attitude."
Dempster also met with Ingram to discuss the incidents in the writ-
ten complaint. According to Ingram, Dempster "pre-judg[ed] the situ-
ation" and did not even "ask [Ingram] what happened." Rather,
Dempster simply informed Ingram that the coworkers alleged to be
responsible for the harassment were "denying everything."
After a short period of relative improvement, the religious harass-
ment and pranks "just basically started up again." For instance, Gray
continued to harass Ingram about his appearance and his faith. After
Ingram informed Dempster that the harassment was "starting to hap-
pen again," Dempster accused Ingram of "being paranoid," "seeing
things," and "trying to build a case against" Sunbelt. The harassment
allegedly continued until Ingram’s termination in February 2003.
B.
On May 13, 2005, the EEOC filed an amended complaint on behalf
of Ingram alleging that Sunbelt had violated Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 by sub-
jecting Ingram to a hostile work environment based on his religion.
Specifically, the EEOC claimed that Ingram suffered "pervasive,
unwelcome harassment based on his religion," including "demeaning
comments about his religious beliefs and practices by Sunbelt
employees." In addition, the EEOC alleged that Sunbelt and its man-
agers had notice of the harassment but failed to take corrective action
with respect to the hostile working environment.
EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS 7
On December 1, 2006, the district court held a hearing on the
motion for summary judgment filed by Sunbelt. At the conclusion of
the hearing, the district court issued an oral ruling in favor of Sunbelt.
The court held that based on the facts alleged, it did not believe the
harassment was severe or pervasive enough to establish a prima facie
case of a hostile work environment.
In making this finding, the court emphasized several factors. First,
it noted that "[t]here’s a lot of coarse behavior that goes on in the
workplace," and Sunbelt was "a little more rough and ready than, let
us say, the Century Club of New York of which fine ladies are mem-
bers." Second, the court stated that several of the incidents that
Ingram complained about, such as the hiding of his timecard, lacked
a direct "nexus with religion." Third, the court explained that if the
explicitly religious incidents involving his coworkers were suffi-
ciently severe or pervasive, Ingram would have included them in his
written complaint to Human Resources. Because he did not, the dis-
trict court presumed they must not have been sufficiently severe or
pervasive.
In the alternative, the court held that even if the conduct was suffi-
ciently severe or pervasive for the purpose of Title VII, the EEOC had
failed to establish a basis for holding Sunbelt liable. The court found
that in fact Sunbelt had attempted to address the problems noted in
the written complaint. Furthermore, the court dismissed Ingram’s con-
tention that he frequently made verbal complaints to Riddlemoser and
others but to no avail. According to the district court, "[t]he problem
with [allowing] this [argument] is that any number of employees
could come in and say, I complained again and again and again.
There’s a record of a complaint and they didn’t do anything, and
therefore I made my prima facie case."
The district court entered a final judgment dismissing the EEOC’s
claims on December 4, 2006. The EEOC appealed the grant of sum-
mary judgment on the hostile work environment claim, which we now
consider.
II.
Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer "to discriminate
against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, condi-
8 EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS
tions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s . . .
religion." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1) (2000). "Since an employee’s
work environment is a term or condition of employment, Title VII
creates a hostile working environment cause of action." EEOC v.
R&R Ventures, 244 F.3d 334, 338 (4th Cir. 2001) (citing Meritor Sav.
Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 73 (1986)).
In order to prove that Ingram suffered from a "discriminatorily hos-
tile or abusive work environment," Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc.,
510 U.S. 17, 21 (1993), the EEOC must demonstrate that the harass-
ment was (1) unwelcome, (2) because of religion, (3) sufficiently
severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of employment and create
an abusive atmosphere, and (4) imputable to the employer, see Gil-
liam v. South Carolina Dep’t of Juvenile Justice, 474 F.3d 134, 142
(4th Cir. 2007) (citing Spriggs v. Diamond Auto Glass, 242 F.3d 179,
183-84 (4th Cir. 2001)). Because the EEOC "seeks here to reverse a
grant of summary judgment, it must establish a material dispute of
fact with respect to each of the four requirements." R&R Ventures,
244 F.3d at 338.
A.
The "gravamen" of any hostile work environment claim is that the
harassment was "unwelcome." See Meritor, 477 U.S. at 68. A reason-
able jury could determine that the religious harassment here was
unwelcome indeed.
To begin, Ingram complained, both verbally and in writing, about
the alleged harassment to his supervisors. In fact, according to Gray,
Ingram complained to Riddlemoser "[w]henever anything that
[Ingram] believed to be inappropriate was said or done to him."
Ingram even asked Dempster, the regional manager, whether he could
transfer from the Gaithersburg location because of the harassment he
endured. Likewise, in his written complaint to Human Resources,
Ingram concluded by noting that he was "tired of [the harassment]"
and that Sunbelt was "an unhealthy environment to work in."
In addition to lodging these complaints, Ingram made clear to his
coworkers that the harassing comments about his religion were
unwelcome. For instance, when fellow employees called him "Tali-
EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS 9
ban" or made fun of his beard or headwear, Ingram consistently
defended himself and his religion, explaining that he was "not with
the Taliban" and that such statements made him "feel very uncomfort-
able." In fact, Gray explained that part of the reason why coworkers
gave Ingram such "a hard time" was "[b]ecause he took it so person-
ally."
But of course the conduct was aimed at Ingram — personally —
and it is difficult to see how any employee would welcome derisive
behavior directed at his faith. Because Ingram indicated to both man-
agement and his coworkers that he found the religiously demeaning
conduct to be offensive, the EEOC "has sufficiently alleged that [the]
harassment was unwelcome." Smith v. First Union Nat’l Bank, 202
F.3d 234, 242 (4th Cir. 2000).
B.
The EEOC must next establish that the harassment was based on
Ingram’s religion. In order for a Title VII plaintiff to survive sum-
mary judgment, he must present sufficient evidence that the harassing
conduct "was motivated by [religious] animosity." Gilliam, 474 F.3d
at 142-43. Here again the EEOC has met its burden.
Coworkers frequently used religious epithets or other religiously
derogatory terms when referring to Ingram. For instance, other Sun-
belt employees repeatedly called Ingram "Taliban" or "towel head."
These same nicknames would not have been applied to a non-Muslim
employee. Moreover, Ingram was consistently teased about his
appearance, particularly his kufi and beard. In addition, Ingram testi-
fied that Gray often harassed him about his short prayer sessions dur-
ing work hours. Put simply, there is overwhelming evidence that, as
even Gray subsequently admitted, Ingram’s "work associates had no
respect for [him] being a Muslim" and this was the basis of their con-
duct.
C.
The main area of contention here is whether the harassment alleged
by Ingram was "sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions
10 EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS
of [his] employment and create an abusive working environment."
Harris, 510 U.S. at 21 (quoting Meritor, 477 U.S. at 67). Viewed on
summary judgment, the evidence establishes that Ingram persistently
suffered from religious harassment of the most demeaning, degrading,
and damaging sort. The district court erred when it held the EEOC
had failed to satisfy this requirement.
1.
The "severe or pervasive" element of a hostile work environment
claim "has both subjective and objective components." Ocheltree v.
Scollon Prods., Inc., 335 F.3d 325, 333 (4th Cir. 2003) (en banc) (cit-
ing Harris, 510 U.S. at 21-22). First, the plaintiff must show that he
"subjectively perceive[d] the environment to be abusive." Harris, 510
U.S. at 21-22. Next, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the conduct
was such that "a reasonable person in the plaintiff’s position" would
have found the environment objectively hostile or abusive. Oncale v.
Sundowner Offshore Servs., Inc., 523 U.S. 75, 81-82 (1998). Because
Sunbelt does not, and could not, challenge the EEOC’s contention
that the harassment seemed severe and pervasive to Ingram person-
ally, we focus our attention on the element’s objective component.
This objective inquiry "is not, and by its nature cannot be, a mathe-
matically precise test." Harris, 510 U.S. at 22. Rather, when deter-
mining whether the harassing conduct was objectively "severe or
pervasive," we must look "at all the circumstances," including "the
frequency of the discriminatory conduct; its severity; whether it is
physically threatening or humiliating, or a mere offensive utterance;
and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work per-
formance." Id. at 23; Ocheltree, 335 F.3d at 333. "[N]o single factor
is" dispositive, Harris, 510 U.S. at 23, as "[t]he real social impact of
workplace behavior often depends on a constellation of surrounding
circumstances, expectations, and relationships which are not fully
captured by a simple recitation of the words used or the physical acts
performed," Oncale, 523 U.S. at 81-82.
While this standard surely prohibits an employment atmosphere
that is "permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and
insult," Harris, 510 U.S. at 21 (internal quotations omitted), it is
equally clear that Title VII does not establish a "general civility code
EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS 11
for the American workplace," Oncale, 523 U.S. at 80. This is because,
in order to be actionable, the harassing "conduct must be [so] extreme
[as] to amount to a change in the terms and conditions of employ-
ment." Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 788 (1998).
Indeed, as the Court observed, "simple teasing, offhand comments,
and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not amount to
discriminatory changes in the terms and conditions of employment."
Id. (internal quotations and citations omitted); see also Clark County
Sch. Dist. v. Breeden, 532 U.S. 268, 270-71 (2001).
Our circuit has likewise recognized that plaintiffs must clear a high
bar in order to satisfy the severe or pervasive test. Workplaces are not
always harmonious locales, and even incidents that would objectively
give rise to bruised or wounded feelings will not on that account sat-
isfy the severe or pervasive standard. Some rolling with the punches
is a fact of workplace life. Thus, complaints premised on nothing
more than "rude treatment by [coworkers]," Baqir v. Principi, 434
F.3d 733, 747 (4th Cir. 2006), "callous behavior by [one’s] superi-
ors," Bass v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 324 F.3d 761, 765 (4th
Cir. 2003), or "a routine difference of opinion and personality conflict
with [one’s] supervisor," Hawkins v. PepsiCo, Inc., 203 F.3d 274, 276
(4th Cir. 2000), are not actionable under Title VII.
The task then on summary judgment is to identify situations that
a reasonable jury might find to be so out of the ordinary as to meet
the severe or pervasive criterion. That is, instances where the environ-
ment was pervaded with discriminatory conduct "aimed to humiliate,
ridicule, or intimidate," thereby creating an abusive atmosphere. Jen-
nings v. Univ. of North Carolina, 482 F.3d 686, 695 (4th Cir. 2007)
(en banc) (citing Meritor, 477 U.S. at 65). With these principles in
mind, we examine whether a reasonable person in Ingram’s position
would have found the environment to be sufficiently severe or hostile.
2.
The evidence indicates that Ingram suffered religious harassment
that was "persistent, demeaning, unrelenting, and widespread." Harris
v. L & L Wings, Inc., 132 F.3d 978, 984 (4th Cir. 1997). It is impossi-
ble as an initial matter to ignore the context in which the harassment
took place. In the time immediately following September 11th, reli-
12 EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS
gious tensions ran higher in much of the country, and Muslims were
sometimes viewed through the prism of 9/11, rather than as the indi-
viduals they were. Sunbelt’s Gaithersburg office was no exception.
After the terrorist attacks took place, there was lots of talk amongst
Sunbelt employees, especially by Gray, about how the "Muslim reli-
gion is bad." Likewise, after it was publicized that the D.C. snipers
were Muslim, anti-Islam sentiment rose in the Sunbelt workplace.
Ingram, the lone Muslim employee, was left to bear the verbal brunt
of anti-Islamic sentiment.
Specifically, Ingram was subject to repeated comments that dispar-
aged both him and his faith. Several coworkers, including one with
supervisory authority, referred to Ingram in harshly derogatory terms.
Mike Warner, the store’s shop foreman, called Ingram "Taliban"
"over and over again," as well as "towel head." Likewise, Sal Rin-
done, a Sunbelt mechanic, told Ingram that he thought Ingram was a
member of the Taliban. This same coworker also challenged Ingram’s
allegiance to the United States, asking Ingram "are you on our side
or are you on the Taliban’s side," and telling him that if "you don’t
like America or where we stand, you can just leave." Ingram, a vet-
eran of the United States Army, responded that he was not a member
of the Taliban but rather "an American and a Muslim."
In addition, Ingram was persistently harassed about his appearance,
particularly his kufi and beard. For example, Warner, when making
fun of Ingram’s appearance, "would make it known that" he thought
Ingram actually "look[ed] like a Taliban." On at least one occasion,
Gray called Ingram a "fake Muslim" because of his beard. As Gray
later admitted, such "comments were made often." According to
Ingram, the harassment by Gray was "an ongoing thing, daily."
Ingram was also harassed about his short, Sunbelt-sanctioned
prayer sessions. Gray told Ingram "several times" that he had a "prob-
lem" with Ingram leaving his desk to pray. In addition, Ingram’s time-
card was often hidden on Fridays, the day he went to congregational
prayer. Even more severe was a comment made by Warner to another
coworker, which was later related to Ingram. Warner said that if he
ever caught Ingram praying upstairs, that would be "the end of him."
In addition to the abusive comments made to and about Ingram
personally, several coworkers made hostile remarks about Islam gen-
EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS 13
erally. For instance, rental manager Hank Parater told Ingram that the
United States should go to Saudi Arabia and "kill them all," referring
to Muslims in the Arab world. Parater also said that he wanted to be
a Muslim so he could have eight wives. After it was announced on
a television in the store’s showroom that the D.C. snipers had been
apprehended, another coworker stared at Ingram and shouted, "I
should have known they were Muslims." Gray admitted that the treat-
ment of Ingram likely stemmed from "the events of September 11th
and the sniper attacks in our area."
Ingram was also the object of anti-Muslim crudities that associated
Ingram, and the Muslim faith, with violence and terrorism. For
instance, one time Gray was carrying a metal detector and, as Ingram
walked by, he raised the metal detector to Ingram’s head garment.
Presumably because the detector did not go off, Gray called Ingram
a "fake ass Muslim want-to-be turbine wearing ass." On another occa-
sion, Gray, while holding a stapler in his hand, told Ingram that "if
anyone upsets you pretend this stapler is a model airplane [and] just
toss it in the air, just repeatedly catch it, just don’t say anything." For
Ingram, the implication was clear: Gray was trying "[t]o connect me
and my religion as terrorists [and] the ones who . . . took the planes
that smashed into the buildings September 11th." Finally, a cartoon
posted in a main work area depicted several persons "dressed in
Islamic or Muslim attire" as suicide bombers. In the cartoon, an
instructor with a bomb strapped to his body tells the others: "okay,
pay attention" because "I’m only showing you . . . how this works
once."
While we must focus primarily "on [Ingram’s] personal experi-
ence," Honor v. Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc., 383 F.3d 180, 190 (4th
Cir. 2004), comments made to others are also "relevant to determin-
ing whether [Ingram] was subjected to" severe or pervasive religious
harassment, Jennings, 482 F.3d at 695. For "[w]e are, after all, con-
cerned with the ‘environment’ of workplace hostility, and whatever
the contours of one’s environment, they surely may exceed the indi-
vidual dynamic between complainant and his [coworkers]." Spriggs,
242 F.3d at 184; Jennings, 482 F.3d at 696. Relevant therefore is the
testimony of two Sunbelt customers who support Ingram’s assertion
that the workplace was permeated with anti-Muslim hostility. Abol-
hassan Nejati, a Muslim customer of Sunbelt’s Gaithersburg office,
14 EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS
testified that Sunbelt employees called him a litany of derogatory
names, including "Bin Laden," "Hezbullah," "Ayatollah," "Kadaffi,"
"Saddam Hussein," "terrorist," and "sun nigger." Nejati also testified
that he was called these names "many times," usually by Gray.
Another Muslim customer, Aboulaye Komara, explained that during
one visit, a Sunbelt employee said "very derogatory things about
Muslim people in general," and expressed his belief that "all Muslims
are associated with violence."
Ingram also was forced to endure harassment lacking a direct reli-
gious nexus. Coworkers frequently hid Ingram’s timecard, unplugged
his computer equipment, and defaced his business card with terms
such as "dumb ass." Although similar pranks were played on other
Sunbelt employees, there is evidence suggesting that Ingram suffered
such harassment more often than others and more likely because of
his religion. For instance, Ingram’s timecard was hidden most fre-
quently on Fridays, the day he went to congregational prayer. On the
Friday before Ingram filed the written complaint, his timecard was
hidden on at least five separate occasions. In light of the extensive,
explicitly religious harassment by the same coworkers, a reasonable
jury could infer that other harassing incidents were also motivated by
a disdain for Ingram’s faith.
Sunbelt makes much of the fact that those who participated in the
harassment were merely Ingram’s coworkers, and not anyone with
supervisory authority over him. However, the evidence presented
creates at least a triable issue in that regard. Warner, the store’s shop
foreman and a primary harasser of Ingram’s, served as the acting
manager whenever Riddlemoser was absent. At the very least, he was
viewed as a "higher up" within the office. Similarly, Fortna, the lead
rental manager, supervised Ingram’s work and even signed the "su-
pervisor" line on Ingram’s disciplinary forms. As a result, a jury could
infer that the harassment by Warner and Fortna had a greater impact
given their supervisory status. See Faragher, 524 U.S. at 803.
Likewise, Sunbelt insists the harassment could not have been suffi-
ciently severe because, inter alia, it was never "physically threaten-
ing." While the presence of "physical threats undeniably strengthens
a hostile work environment claim," we have not held that such evi-
dence is required. White v. BFI Waste Servs., 375 F.3d 288, 298 n.6
EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS 15
(4th Cir. 2004). Names can hurt as much as sticks and stones, and the
Supreme Court has never indicated that the humiliation so frequently
attached to hostile environments need be accompanied by physical
threat or force.
While the district court suggested that the harassment might be dis-
counted because the environment was inherently coarse, Title VII
contains no such "crude environment" exception, and to read one into
it might vitiate statutory safeguards for those who need them most. Of
course, if Sunbelt’s environment was somehow so universally crude
that the treatment of Ingram was nothing out of the ordinary, the jury
would be entitled to take that into account. However, the evidence
here suggests that the jury could also take the opposite view — that
the harassment of Ingram was unique.
Any of the above incidents, viewed in isolation, would not have
been enough to have transformed the workplace into a hostile or abu-
sive one. No employer can lightly be held liable for single or scattered
incidents. We cannot ignore, however, the habitual use of epithets
here or view the conduct without an eye for its cumulative effect. Our
precedent has made this point repeatedly. See Amirmokri v. Baltimore
Gas & Elec. Co., 60 F.3d 1126, 1131 (4th Cir. 1995) (finding the
alleged harassment was sufficiently severe or pervasive because an
Iranian plaintiff was called "names like ‘the local terrorist,’ a ‘camel
jockey’ and ‘the Emir of Waldorf’" on an almost daily basis); White,
375 F.3d at 297-98 (same); Spriggs, 242 F.3d at 182, 185-86 (same);
see also EEOC v. WC&M Enters., Inc., 496 F.3d 393, 400-01 (5th
Cir. 2007) (same).
Companies cannot, of course, be charged with cleansing their
workplace of all offensive remarks. Such a task would be well-nigh
impossible, and would encourage companies to adopt authoritarian
traits. But we cannot regard as "merely offensive," and thus "beyond
Title VII’s purview," Harris, 510 U.S. at 21, constant and repetitive
abuse founded upon misperceptions that all Muslims possess hostile
designs against the United States, that all Muslims support jihad, that
all Muslims were sympathetic to the 9/11 attack, and that all Muslims
are proponents of radical Islam.
If Americans were forced to practice their faith under the condi-
tions to which Ingram was subject, the Free Exercise Clause and the
16 EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS
embodiment of its values in the Title VII protections against work-
place religious prejudice would ring quite hollow. Title VII makes
plain that religious freedom in America entails more than the right to
attend one’s own synagogue, mosque, or church. Free religious exer-
cise would mean little if restricted to places of worship or days of
observance, only to disappear the next morning at work. In this
regard, Title VII helps ensure the special nature of American unity,
one not premised on homogeneity but upon the common allegiance
to and customary practice of our constitutional ideals of mutual
respect.
D.
Fourth, and finally, the EEOC must establish "some basis for
imposing liability on" Sunbelt. Gilliam, 474 F.3d at 142. Because
Ingram notified supervisors about the alleged harassment on numer-
ous occasions, both verbally and in writing, and because Sunbelt
failed to take prompt corrective action, we find the agency has satis-
fied this requirement.
An employer is liable for harassment by the victim’s coworkers
only "if it knew or should have known about the harassment and
failed to take effective action to stop it." Howard v. Winter, 446 F.3d
559, 565 (4th Cir. 2006) (quoting Ocheltree, 335 F.3d at 334).
"Knowledge of harassment can be imputed to an employer if a rea-
sonable person, intent on complying with Title VII, would have
known about the harassment." Ocheltree, 335 F.3d at 334 (internal
quotations omitted). Once the employer has notice, then it must
respond with remedial action "reasonably calculated to end the
harassment." Amirmokri, 60 F.3d at 1131-32; see also Howard, 446
F.3d at 570-71.
A reasonable jury could determine that Sunbelt had notice of the
religious harassment. Ingram verbally complained to Riddlemoser,
the store’s manager and Ingram’s supervisor, after most of the harass-
ing incidents. Indeed, according to Gray, "[w]henever anything that
[Ingram] believed to be inappropriate was said or done to him, he
immediately took his complaint to Steve [Riddlemoser]." In fact,
Gray thought that, if anything, Ingram complained too much: "I don’t
EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS 17
think [Ingram’s] complaints were really taken seriously because he
complained so much."
In addition to these frequent complaints to Riddlemoser, Ingram
also complained to Dempster, the store’s regional manager. At one
point, Ingram even asked Dempster to be transferred to a different
location because of the continual harassment he experienced.
Ingram also filed a written complaint with the company’s Human
Resources Department. This written complaint referenced his earlier
verbal complaints ("I made it very clear to the manager this is harass-
ment and I am tired of it.") and provided some examples of harassing
conduct. Sunbelt, like the district court, makes much of the fact that
the incidents highlighted in the written complaint lacked a direct reli-
gious nexus. But this fact is not dispositive for several reasons.
First, when filing the complaint, Ingram made very clear to HR
Specialist Wilson that he believed the harassment was because of his
religion — a fact Wilson passed on in her report to Riddlemoser and
Dempster. Second, Ingram explained that the examples provided in
the written complaint were never intended to be an exhaustive list.
Rather, given his limited time and his understanding of the directions,
he simply wrote about incidents that had happened near the time of
the complaint. Third, the written submission cannot be viewed in iso-
lation, but rather in conjunction with the repeated oral complaints.
Based on the evidence presented, and in light of Gray’s corroborat-
ing testimony, we believe that any doubts espoused by the district
court about whether Sunbelt had sufficient notice were misplaced.
Evidence of repeated complaints to supervisors and managers creates
a triable issue as to whether the employer had notice of the harass-
ment. See L & L Wings, 132 F.3d at 982.
We must next determine whether Sunbelt responded with reason-
able corrective action. We believe a rational jury could find that it did
not. While the requirement of remedial action should not lead an
employer to impose baseless sanctions upon its employees, a jury
could have reason to believe that this employer in the close quarters
of the Gaithersburg office was practicing something akin to willful
blindness.
18 EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS
There is scant evidence that Sunbelt, and specifically Riddlemoser,
did anything meaningful in response to Ingram’s verbal complaints.
Despite promises to "get to the bottom" of it, Riddlemoser allowed
the harassment to continue. Indeed, there were no sanctions or even
reprimands for the religious harassment directed at Ingram. The lone
response appears to be Riddlemoser’s request that each employee sign
a form stating that he would not tamper with Ingram’s, or anyone
else’s, timecard.
Though Sunbelt supervisors did take more corrective action after
the written complaint, their response was not sufficient on these facts
to warrant summary judgment. Admittedly, there were corrective
steps undertaken by Sunbelt. For instance, Riddlemoser warned
Ingram’s coworkers not to comment on Ingram or Muslims in gen-
eral. Likewise, both Riddlemoser and Dempster conducted investiga-
tions about the specific incidents referenced in Ingram’s written
complaint.
At the same time, however, Riddlemoser and Dempster failed to
take additional action that a rational juror might consider reasonably
calculated to end the harassment. Instead, Dempster informed Ingram
that everyone was "denying everything" and, thus, there was little he
or Riddlemoser could do. Riddlemoser offered little more in the way
of comfort, advising Ingram that he simply needed to adopt a more
"positive attitude" and let his problems at Sunbelt "roll right off his
shoulder."
After Ingram complained to Dempster about the religious harass-
ment starting up again, he was met with accusations of paranoia and
litigation. Rather than investigating the matter further or taking any
form of corrective action, Dempster dismissed Ingram’s complaint
and accused him of "being paranoid," "seeing things," and "trying to
build a case against" Sunbelt.
The mere existence of an anti-harassment policy does not allow
Sunbelt to escape liability. While the "adoption of an effective anti-
harassment policy is an important factor in determining whether it
exercised reasonable care," the policy must be effective in order to
have meaningful value. Smith, 202 F.3d at 244; White, 375 F.3d at
299-300. Here the existence of the policy might still leave a jury
EEOC v. SUNBELT RENTALS 19
unconvinced that Sunbelt worked in a serious fashion to combat the
rampant harassment in its midst — harassment of which it was repeat-
edly made aware and which nonetheless continued unabated.
III.
Because the EEOC has established a genuine dispute of fact with
respect to each element of its hostile work environment claim, we
reverse the grant of summary judgment and remand the case with
directions it proceed to trial. The evidence is such that a jury could
see the matter Ingram’s way, and it shall have the chance to do so.
REVERSED AND REMANDED