Outten & Golden co-led Equal Rights Advocates’ filing of an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

The brief urges the court to reverse a district court’s dismissal of a sexual harassment lawsuit that alleged that a woman was repeatedly sexually harassed by co-workers at an El Milagro tortilla factory in the Chicago area.

The amicus brief argues that the district court applied an overly restrictive standard for what constitutes a hostile work environment. It details how the court failed to properly consider the totality of circumstances, including repeated physical touchings and “near daily” sex-based comments Ms. Sanchez experienced that created an environment where she felt unsafe and humiliated, exacerbated by Ms. Sanchez’s supervisor’s inaction when she reported the harassment.

The vast majority of women who experience workplace harassment neither file a formal complaint nor informally report misconduct, and those who do often face inaction, ineffective responses, or retaliation by their employers.

“By prematurely dismissing Ms. Sanchez’s claims of egregious sexual harassment, the district court normalized the defendant’s behavior and ignored prevailing, established standards of acceptable workplace conduct,” said Moira Heiges-Goepfert, Counsel at Outten & Golden. “We are proud to join this coalition to safeguard women’s fundamental right to a jury trial in sexual harassment cases.”