Single-incident sexual harassment
Many plaintiffs who assert hostile work environment claims will base their claims on a series of incidents which they allege were sufficiently pervasive to alter the terms and conditions of their employment. In some cases, however, a plaintiff maintains that a single incident was severe enough, in itself, to have that effect. Courts have been generally reluctant to find for such plaintiffs except in the most extreme circumstances. The Supreme Court addressed such an incident in Clark County Sch. Dist. v. Breeden, 532 U.S. 268 (2001) (per curiam). The Supreme Court this single incident of alleged sexual harassment was not severe enough to violate Title VII. In some cases, however, especially ones involving sexual assault or a particularly inappropriate touching, courts have found sexual harassment in single instances of conduct.
Sourse: Sexual Harassment Law: A Brief Introduction for New Practitioners by David J. Marshall and Justine F. Andronici.
See also: Anti-discrimination law; Discrimination; Harassment; Hostile Environment; Reasonable Person Standardant; Same-sex harassment; Sex; Sexual Harassment; Sexual harassment policy; Sexual misconduct; Sexual orientation; Stereotype; Tangible employment action; Third-party sexual harassment; Timeliness