Each year across the United States, nearly 1,200 men are sexually harassed in the workplace. A twenty-year veteran Wayne County, Michigan, sheriff’s officer claims he is one of those men. A judge at the U.S. District Courthouse in Detroit has been tasked with hearing how the officer’s female supervisor not only sexually harassed him, but how his male supervisors failed to take action in response to his allegations as well.
In the officer’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit filed on Nov. 28, 2016, he claims that he was subjected to repeated sexually-charged taunting and sexual innuendos coming from his female sergeant starting in early November 2014. Among the female supervisor’s lewd behavior, it included her offering to perform oral sex on him and hinting to him that he get his wife drunk so that they could have a threesome.
She also is alleged to have fabricated tasks for officers to complete so she and the officer could be alone, drove by the officer’s home and to have sent him non-work related texts to his personal cellphone. His filing of a formal complaint on Oct. 24, 2015 with his employer resulting in his female superior hinting that he picked the wrong person to mess with.
The male officer alleges the female sergeant soon retaliated against him, accusing him of having sexually assaulted her. Although an internal investigation found her accusations to be unsubstantiated, the officer was demoted to desk duty, resulting in a $10,000 annual pay reduction.
The officer has sued his employer, Wayne County, instead of his female superior. In his filing, he cites the male-dominated administration’s unwillingness to take his allegations of sexual harassment seriously respond accordingly.
A male employee being sexually harassed by a female employee, is thought to be heavily underreported in this country, making it seem like a rare occurrence. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual harassment by either a co-worker or superior, it is important to speak with an attorney with whom you can discuss this details of your case and your prospects for filing an EEOC claim.
Source: Detroit Free Press, “Cop says female boss sexually harassed him, sues Wayne County,” Tresa Baldas, Jan. 02, 2017