MHR 6401
Unit III Case Study
Columbia Southern University
MHR 6401 Employment Law
Unit III Case Study
The case of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Magneti Marelli of Tennesse, LLC,
is centered around sexual harassment in the workplace. This case study will discuss the actions of Jamil
Degraffenreid towards four female employees-Rebecca Crouch, Ariana Baker, Amanda Huckaba
Campbell, and Christy Parson. There will be an analysis of the use of the complaint procedure and the
employer’s response, a discussion of preventative steps that could have been used to prevent the
harassment, and a summary of the costs to the employer stemming from the lawsuit and the underlying
conduct. Sexual harassment in the workplace is often more about control or power than sex and the
individuals performing these behaviors and actions need to be held accountable – every time.
Conduct and Title VII
Jamil Degraffenried was an assembly supervisor at Magento Marelli, LLC, an international
exterior lighting manufacturer for the automotive industry (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, 2020). According to the case, Jamil had frequently “massaged” women’s shoulders,
whispered in their ears, sang sexually explicit song lyrics towards specific female employees and he
would also make comments about female employee’ appearance and would run his fingers through
Ariana Baker’s hair (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2020). The environment
became so toxic to work and reports to supervisors and HR were not changing anything.
Analysis
Sexual harassment in the workplace is something that most organizations say they have zero
tolerance for, but it still occurs for many different reasons. 19% of adults have been sexually harassed at
work and 75% of the victims who spoke out when they were harassed experienced retaliation at work
(Creighton, 2018), despite organizations often having a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment.
Unit III Case Study
Columbia Southern University
MHR 6401 Employment Law
Unit III Case Study
The case of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Magneti Marelli of Tennesse, LLC,
is centered around sexual harassment in the workplace. This case study will discuss the actions of Jamil
Degraffenreid towards four female employees-Rebecca Crouch, Ariana Baker, Amanda Huckaba
Campbell, and Christy Parson. There will be an analysis of the use of the complaint procedure and the
employer’s response, a discussion of preventative steps that could have been used to prevent the
harassment, and a summary of the costs to the employer stemming from the lawsuit and the underlying
conduct. Sexual harassment in the workplace is often more about control or power than sex and the
individuals performing these behaviors and actions need to be held accountable – every time.
Conduct and Title VII
Jamil Degraffenried was an assembly supervisor at Magento Marelli, LLC, an international
exterior lighting manufacturer for the automotive industry (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, 2020). According to the case, Jamil had frequently “massaged” women’s shoulders,
whispered in their ears, sang sexually explicit song lyrics towards specific female employees and he
would also make comments about female employee’ appearance and would run his fingers through
Ariana Baker’s hair (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2020). The environment
became so toxic to work and reports to supervisors and HR were not changing anything.
Analysis
Sexual harassment in the workplace is something that most organizations say they have zero
tolerance for, but it still occurs for many different reasons. 19% of adults have been sexually harassed at
work and 75% of the victims who spoke out when they were harassed experienced retaliation at work
(Creighton, 2018), despite organizations often having a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment.
