Ault v. Oberlin College

The plaintiff-appellants, three female dining services department employees, sued Oberlin College, the defendant alleging that they suffered various acts of sexual harassment at the hands of the executive chef of the private contractor, Bon Appetit, that operated the dining facilities. The plaintiffs brought this suit under Chapter 4112 of the Ohio Revised Code, which prohibits sexual harassment in the work place and holds employers responsible for sexual harassment committed by employees or nonemployees in the work place, where the employer knows or should have known but fails to intervene. The plaintiffs initially sued in state court, and the defendants removed. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, and the Sixth Circuit affirmed on all but one count. The court held that, with respect to one of the plaintiffs but not the other two, there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the conduct the employee endured was sufficiently severe or pervasive enough to affect the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.

Topics

• Employment discrimination
• Sexual harassment

Geographical location

• North America
• United States
• Ohio

Keywords

• employer responsibility
• employer liability

Year

• 2015

External URL

• Ault v. Oberlin College

Court

• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• United States