When revenge porn is a company concern

For more than a decade, a United Airlines pilot posted online sexually explicit photos of his ex-girlfriend, a flight attendant at the airline. She complained to United and authorities — and now the company is facing a federal lawsuit for, the Government says, allowing the pilot’s behaviour to go unchecked.

In its complaint, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that by failing to take action when the flight attendant reported the pilot’s behaviour, United tolerated the harassment and created a hostile work environment.

United disagrees with the EEOC’s description of the situation and says it “does not tolerate sexual harassment in the workplace”.

The case suggests US employers may be liable for what happens during a workplace relationship — or after it ends.

The case centres on pilot Mark Uhlenbrock, who took photos of his girlfriend while they were together and posted them after they broke up.

Commonly known as “revenge porn”, this is a criminal offence in most states, and the flight attendant went to the authorities. Uhlenbrock, 64, eventually pleaded guilty to “internet stalking” and is serving a 41-month prison term.

The posts, which identified the flight attendant by name and employer, were meant to affect the woman’s conditions at work, the EEOC argues. In one, Uhlenbrock told passengers to “look for her when you fly”, saying she was a “new reason to ‘Fly the Friendly Skies’”.

The flight attendant was awarded monetary damages. But in spite of her repeated complaints to United Airlines officials, the pilot kept his job until he was arrested in 2016.

The EEOC argues that a company has the responsibility to protect its employees from harassment, even if that harassment happens online. By effectively allowing Uhlenbrock to continue to post images without consequence, the Government alleges, it failed to stop the victimisation of its other employee.

This case puts employers on notice, says New York lawyer Carrie Goldberg. “While revenge porn laws don’t directly address workplace concerns, companies should feel compelled to draft and implement policies that do – and stick to them.”