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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
SAN FRANCISCOA television sales manager who took too long to voice a complaint of sexual harassment by his supervisor, and then refused to cooperate with a subsequent investigation, may not pursue his case, said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In its 2-1 decision Tuesday in Hardage vs. CBS Broadcasting Inc., the appellate panel upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss Hugh Hardage's sexual harassment and retaliation claims against CBS Broadcasting Inc., Viacom Television Stations Inc. and Viacom Broadcasting of Seattle Inc.
According to the panel's decision, Mr. Hardage, who was a local sales manager in Seattle, complained that the station's Tacoma-based general manager, Nancy Sparks, sexually harassed him both in the workplace and outside the office.
Mr. Hardage complained to his manager in October 2000 about the harassment, which allegedly began in April 2000, court papers show. He then failed to tell a human resources representative, who was sent in response to his complaint, any details about the harassment, insisting instead on handling it himself, according to the decision. He subsequently resigned from his position after his work performance was called into question.
"In addition to waiting half a year to make a complaint, when Hardage finally made his complaint he specifically asked the company not to investigate it," the opinion states. "By specifically requesting the company not make use of its remedial and preventative procedures, Hardage unreasonably failed to make use of CBS' anti-harassment policies and procedures."
In addition, although he complains of retaliation in the form of adverse performance memoranda and being placed on a 30-day probation period, "it is undisputed that Hardage failed to meet sales goals," says the opinion.