Facts[]
Baylis-Flannery is a black woman who worked as a secretary for DeWilde. He continually harassed her on the basis of her being a black woman. He showed her pictures of black women, talked about liking black women, stripped in front of her, asked her about her sexual activities, and touched her. She told him to stop, and was fired.
Issue[]
- How do you deal with intersecting grounds of discrimination?
Decision[]
Finding for the complainant; damages for discrimination on the basis of sex and of race as well as for mental anguish.
Reasons[]
The administrator talked about the facts in great detail and finds that the harassment was based on both the fact that the plaintiff was black and that she was a woman. He held that this intersection of grounds makes the mental anguish more pronounced and should be dealt with accordingly. If one were to look at this case solely through one ground then they would miss the true outcome of the actions. The decision recognizes this and deals with it as if two grounds of discrimination were piled on top of each other. The administrator says that she should be given restitution for all of the infringed grounds. Thus, she was awarded damages for the sex discrimination and the race discrimination as well as extra damages for mental anguish. She is also paid for a raise that she was entitled to, but not given due to the discrimination.
Ratio[]
- In cases where prohibited grounds intersect in the discrimination the case must be dealt with as if the two acts were piled on top of each other.
- Damages will be awarded for each protected ground that is violated; only giving damages for one ground would not respect the severity of the discrimination.