Meritor Savings Bank vs Vinson 477 US 57 - Assignment Example

1. Mechele Vinson said that she had been sexually harassed a number of times during her four years at a job with the bank. She points out to Sidney Taylor as the one responsible for this harassment and that the accused raped her on various occasions. The charges sought by the plaintiff are punitive damages, compensation and injunctive relief against Taylor and the bank.
2. ISSUE: Whether the respondent was a victim of sexual harassment?

3. DECISION: Yes, affirmed.
4. HOLDING: If the respondent and Taylor did engage in sexual activity as stated in the case, the action may have been a voluntary one, but the fact that the respondent did the act voluntarily is not a defense to a suit on sexual harassment and the fact remains that the sexual advances were unwelcome as claimed by the respondent.
5. RATIONALE: the court focused on the voluntariness of the action while delivering a verdict there should have been an inquiry in regards to her conduct if they showed that the advances were unwelcome so as to establish if it was a sexual harassment case or not. Read More