Sexual Harassment
Charges of sexual harassment in the workplace have resulted in suits against employers. But, the Indiana Court of Appeals has held that a person's exclusive remedy against an employer who condones, encourages, or participates in sexual harassment is a worker's compensation claim.
In the case of Fields v. Cummins Employees Federal Credit Union, the court held that sexual harassment in the workplace was an "accident" and thus, the employer could not be sued for damages. The court stated in its ruling that it was up to the Indiana General Assembly to make sexual harassment an exception to the Worker's Compensation statute.
The Indiana State AFL-CIO strongly urges the Indiana General Assembly to pass legislation allowing victims of sexual harassment the ability to seek statutory or common law remedies through the court system.
Employment Discrimination
In May 1989, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion, in Paterson v. McClean Credit Union, that brought a chilling effect in the interpretation of the Civil Rights Act of 1966. The Supreme Court held that the provisions of the Act, which prohibits the formation of a discriminatory contract, apply to conduct which occurs after the formation of a contract and does not interfere with the right to establish contractual obligations.
In the opinion, Justice Scalia invited state legislatures to explicitly identify racial harassment as a breach of an employment contract.
In the past few years, such legislation has been introduced and passed out of the Indiana House of Representatives, but has not passed in the Indiana State Senate.
Opponents of this legislation allege that victims of racial harassment may already seek redress through the Indiana Civil Rights Law and the Federal Civil Rights Law. The fallacy of this argument is that the state and federal laws only cover employers with at least six and fifteen employees, respectively. Both laws limit a victim's recovery to back pay, lost wages and benefits. Thus, they provide no compensatory damages for egregious cases of intentional harassment.
The Indiana AFL-CIO urges the enactment of legislation to make discrimination, by any employer, on the basis of race, sex, color, religion or national origin a breach of an employment contract. |
