Working in the pressroom at the U.S. Mint in Denver is a tough job. It’s hot, and workers strain to push carts laden with hundreds of pounds of metal destined to become coins.
That, April Garcia Kaas knew. But what the former worker at the federal coin factory didn’t expect, she testified recently in federal court, were the comments, the groping, the complete disrespect.
“They would throw coins in front of you and say, ‘Hey, girl. Pick that up,”‘ Garcia Kaas said in court.
She sued the Mint in federal court – and won a judgment that ended up totaling just under $400,000. Her case is among recent plaintiff victories in sexual harassment cases in Denver.
The cases, experts said, illustrate the difficult landscape involved in Title VII sex harassment cases, a complicated and evolving area of civil rights law.
“Typically the cases that make their way to courts and get before juries are going to involve some pretty egregious facts,” said Anne Coughlin, a University of Virginia law professor. “At the same time, I do view these recent victories for plaintiffs as a sign that consciousness-raising is working.”
The 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibited sex discrimination, but it wasn’t until 1986 that the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a “hostile work environment” could be a form of sexual discrimination.
Coughlin and others say the real debate began in the 1990s, with Anita Hill’s accusations that Clarence Thomas, who was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, sexually harassed her.
Public awareness of the issues has been raised by changes in law and societal attitudes, said Lynn Feiger, a Denver lawyer who recently negotiated a nearly $9 million settlement in a separate case against the Mint.
But that hasn’t diminished the prevalence of the behavior or the personal costs suffered by victims, she said.
“It takes a lot of courage to bring these cases,” Feiger said. “You’re attacked in every way. They are difficult to prove. Often, you have to relive the experience, and that’s painful.”
In the Mint case, officials agreed last month to settle claims of sexual harassment and retaliation. Roughly half the Mint’s 132 female workers are expected to share in the settlement.
The process, say those who’ve been involved, is rarely easy.
Dana Ruehlman, a University of Colorado lab assistant who sued the university over being forced to have sex with her boss in order to keep her job, said the legal process was traumatic.
“The university has tortured me for five years,” Ruehlman said recently after winning $285,000 from a jury in federal court. “It has been an emotional roller coaster.”
Ruehlman, who said former professor Igor Gamow raped her repeatedly, agreed to make her name public. She said the university knew that Gamow had sexually harassed other women before her but failed to take action. Gamow said he had not engaged in sex with Ruehlman.
Mark Schickman, a San Francisco lawyer who typically represents employers, said that once sex harassment cases get to court, they are tough to defend.
He said that anything lawyers say in defense of the company – if only to show mitigating factors – would be used.
“The plaintiff lawyer will say, ‘See, they still haven’t learned their lesson,”‘ Schickman said.
It’s better, he said, to have strong anti-harassment policies in place. But even those pose difficulties. Should employers, he asked, regulate workplace romances in an effort to eliminate potential conflicts that could occur when couples break up?
Marisa Williams, who represented Garcia Kaas in federal court, said the typical sexual harassment case she sees happens in a small office of five to 10 people in which the harasser – typically a man – thinks he’s above the law or doesn’t think that the behavior offends the woman.
She said she hoped the recent victories for harassed women will draw attention to the issue.
“I think it sends a message that people are going to be held accountable,” Williams said.
Staff writer Alicia Caldwell can be reached at 303-820-1930 or acaldwell@denverpost.com.
