Williamson V Houston Case Study

Williamson v. The City of Houston, Texas, 148 F.3d 462 (1998)
Facts:
Linda W illiamson was a police officer with the Houston Police Department. After 6
years with the department, she was assigned to the Organized Crime Squad. She was
partnered with a male officer, Doug McLeod, they often rode in the same vehicle, and
their desks were close to each other. McLeod continually sexually harassed W illiamson
for nearly two years. McLeod would make comments about Williamson’s appearance
and touch her in an unwanted manner. Williamson told McLeod to stop several times
and notified their immediate supervisor. About 18 months in Williamson told their
supervisor Sergeant Bozeman that she was tired of the sexual harassment and wanted
a transfer out of

the unit. It was not until Williamson said the words sexual harassment
that Bozeman told Williamson to file a complaint with the internal affairs division. After
filing the complaint, the department took prompt action to separate Williamson and
McLeod. McLeod was immediately transferred out of the Organized Crime Squad, but
Williamson was also reassigned to Research and Analysis Squad where she lost the
ability to gain overtime.
Main Issue:
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The question the appeal seeks to answer is whether Bozeman’s knowledge of the
harassment constitutes notice and thus opens the city to the liability for damages arising
from failing to take the proper remedial action.

Court Deciding:
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Decision:
The United States District Court Southern District of Texas ruling was affirmed granting
the judgment to Williamson.
Principle of Law:
When an organizations policy defines the process for filing a sexual harassment
complaint and the employee follows the process the organization will be liable even if a
supervisor does not follow the policy.
Notes and Comments:
Joanna L. Grossman wrote an article entitled The First Bite is Free: Employer Liability
for Sexual Harassment, in this article she talks about the old common law where a dog’s
owner would not be held liable for the first bite of their dog. The first bite, however, was
counted a notice and any subsequent bite would hold liability. The same logic has been
applied to work place harassment (Grossman, 2000). If it occurs, the organization has
one chance to fix the problem after being notified. This case argued the notification
aspect to attempt to vacate the judgment. The court found that an employee

would
have to abide by policy to make notification, but that they would not have to jump
through hoops to ensure the agency knew of the violation. Once a policy is enacted
then both the organization and the employees are bound to it. Notification is made
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when anyone given the responsibility to take complaints receives the information. At
that point the agency has received its notice.