Sexual Harassment Case Summary

1.) What were the essential facts in Rabidue? (1 point)

The essential facts presented in Rabidue are that the plaintiff (Rabidue) and the defendant (Henry) worked for the same company and Rabidue filed for sexual harassment charges because of their bitter work relationship. The plaintiff is described as an independent, aggressive, intractable, and opinionated character who her supervisors found as abrasive, rude, antagonistic, and uncooperative. Also, Rabidue is described as someone who constantly argues with co-workers, jeopardizes the company’s business relationships, and does not follow policy or instruction whenever they conflict with personal reasons. The defendant, on the other hand, is the supervisor of Osceola Refining Company who is

Quid pro quo, also referred to as “this for that”, occurs when an employee is expected to give into sexual demands in exchange for an employee raise or promotion. If the employee fails to accept the employer’s offer, he/she risks losing some sort of benefit and potentially could even lose his/her job. In regard to the case of Theresa Rock v. Joe Roberts, the type of sexual harassment expressed is hostile environment. Hostile environments are generally created when one person’s vulgar behavior leads to an uncomfortable atmosphere for others to work in. Rock argues that she was a victim of a hostile work environment while working for Roberts. She claims that during her time working as an electrician, the men at work would take her equipment and torment her. When she confronted Roberts about the problems she was facing, she felt that she was being picked on and that the men were not only jealous of what she was capable of, but also discouraged by the fact that she was a woman performing a man’s job. Roberts asks Rock out to dinner in order to figure out what is going on, which potentially made Rock uncomfortable pushing her to the breaking point of quitting her job as an electrician. Personally, I would not consider this as an example of quid pro quo because Roberts did not impose any threats towards Rock if she declined the invitation. On the other hand, if Roberts’s had threatened Rock stating that she would lose her job or not receive a raise for declining the invitation, then the circumstances of the situation would be different. Despite Roberts’s offer, Rock’s last straw is when a crane operator drops a stack of pallets from a great height onto the ground in front of her, which brought Rock to tears causing her to never return back to the construction company. In all, this event can be considered as a hostile work environment because it is made