One of the largest sexual harassment lawsuits ever brought against a corporation was filed January 9, 2006 in the United States District Court in Manhattan. The suit was filed by six women bankers at Dresdner Klienwort Wasserstein Services; the American investment bank is part of Dresdner Bank of Germany, a global investment banking company. The $1.4 billion suit asks for economic damages, emotional distress, harm to reputation and punitive damages.
"The importance of this lawsuit is not just in the sum of money involved," says Judith Lindenberger, a human relations consultant who specializes in sexual harassment training. "The suit also makes it clear that sexual harassment occurs at all levels of business." The women involved in the Dresdner case are all high level executives: three are directors and three are vice presidents.
The complaint cites lewd behavior toward women, entertainment of clients at a strip club, and reduced opportunities for women who returned to the job after maternity leave. The lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of 500 women who work at the U.S. branch. A spokesperson for the company said that Dresdner would fight the suit.
"Every business, no matter how large or small, blue collar or white collar, needs to be aware of sexual harassment issues," says Lindenberger. The suit points out the ever-growing need to train employees at all levels, from the lowest to the highest, in what constitutes sexual harassment.
The charges in the Dresdner case appear to be obvious violations, such as bringing prostitutes into the office, entertaining at a strip club, and denying bonuses and raises based on the fact that the employee was a woman with a child. But sexual harassment can be much more subtle and harder to detect.
The Supreme Court has ruled that company-wide training of employees is one of the best ways to protect against a law suit. Lindenberger ´s company, The Lindenberger Group, based in Titusville, NJ, specializes in training employees about sexual harassment issues and has developed a web-based training program to aid employers in this task. Lindenberger has 20 years of experience as human resources executive in the federal government and Fortune 100 companies. Her work in the area of sexual harassment dates to the 1980´s. In response to a sexual harassment lawsuit by an employee against the Federal Aviation Administration, she developed the first training program for the U.S. government, a program that was rolled out to air traffic controllers in seven East Coast states.
