Jokes About Rape May Create a Sexually Hostile Work Environment

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against an airline, which it alleges subjected one of its female employees to a sexually hostile work environment and then retaliated against her after she complained.  The EEOC's lawsuit claims that company created an environment in which sexually explicit conversations occurred regularly.  Male employees also suggested that she perform demeaning sexual acts, and they made repeated jokes about rape.  After the employee complained about this hostile work environment, the airline retaliated against her by putting her on an indefinite leave, which lasted months before she finally resigned, seeing no option to return to work.  This alleged conduct is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment and retaliation for complaints of sexual harassment.  See Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. SkyWest Airlines, Inc., No. 3:22-cv-1807 (N.D. Tex.).