You Make The Call: Woman sexually harassed by customer sues her employer

“I find it hard to believe that we could be held legally responsible for a customer’s inappropriate behavior,” said Supervisor Margie Brunton.

“Janet, one of our employees, thinks we retaliated against her for reporting a disturbing interaction with one of her customers,” said HR Manager Alan Frankel. “She’s suing us.”

“I can understand why Janet was upset when a male customer invited her into his office and locked the door behind him,” said Margie. “The customer asked whether he could date Janet, and she said no, pointing out that she was already married. The customer then unlocked the door and let her leave.”

“Did Janet report the incident to her boss?” asked Alan.

“She did,” said Margie. “Her boss reassigned her, and she had no further contact with the customer. We thought the matter was closed.”

“It wasn’t closed in Janet’s mind,” said Alan. “As you know, shortly after the incident with the customer, Janet was one of 23 employees included in a reduction-in-force. Janet now contends that she was really fired in retaliation for reporting her awkward interaction with the customer.”

“Keep in mind that the senior-level executive who made the decision to fire the 23 workers didn’t even know about Janet’s allegations,” said Margie.

“Janet claims that he should’ve known about her accusations because they should’ve been kicked up the chain of command,” said Alan.

“We didn’t kick them up the chain of command because we thought the problem was resolved,” said Margie. “We should challenge this lawsuit.”

Did the company win?

Yes. The company won. The court said the woman failed to show that she was terminated for telling her boss that a customer had sexually harassed her.

While employers can be held responsible for sexual harassment committed by a supervisor or, in some cases, by a coworker, they’re not typically liable for the inappropriate behavior of a customer – unless the victim can demonstrate that his or her employer wanted the harassment to take place. Here, there was no evidence that the company sought to have the woman harassed by a customer. In fact, she was reassigned right away so she would no longer have to deal with the troublesome male customer.

And the organization offered a solid reason for the crew member’s dismissal – a reduction-in-force that affected 23 staffers, including the woman.

What it means: Respond quickly and effectively

It’s always in your best interest to take quick and effective action when a member of your crew alleges sexual harassment, even when a customer is involved. In this case, the organization won in court because it reassigned the woman so she would no longer have to deal with the male customer who was sexually harassing her.

Key: After you’ve taken action to address alleged harassment, follow up with the victim a short time later to confirm that the remedial steps you took are working.

Based on Bivens v. Zep.

(From the September 5, 2025, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)