HIGH-PROFILE CASES HIGHLIGHT WIDESPREAD PROBLEM

Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly cases highlighting problem of workplace sexual harassment

Attorney Mary Jane Trapp is a principal at Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan in Chardon and Cleveland, as well as a former 11th District Court of Appeals judge.

But despite her impressive credentials, Trapp has not been immune to sexual harassment on the job in the past.

“We’ve all experienced it,” said Trapp, who is married to Russell Township lawyer Michael Apicella. “I used to have trouble getting opportunities to sit first or second chair on cases. Certain judges who shall remain nameless publicly and privately treated you horribly, and you had to put up with it. One judge, who is now retired, introduced me to a jury as, ‘Mary Jane Trapp. But her last name really isn’t Trapp. It’s Apicella, and I don’t know why she won’t take her husband’s last name.’

“I won the case. Another judge left his radio on while I was making my legal argument in chambers and said, ‘Hey, Mary Jane. Do you want to dance?’

“I’ve been lucky. Unlike some of my other women lawyer friends, I haven’t had that overt sexual propositioning from colleagues. But sexual harassment comes in all shapes and forms. It will never go away. It’s been around forever. I’m very happy though that some very powerful people are getting called on the carpet for it.”

From Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein to Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes, recent high-profile workplace scandals have put sexual harassment in the national spotlight.

Jonathan Entin, a David L. Brennan professor emeritus of law at Case Western Reserve University, believes the increased publicity is a good thing.

“One of the reasons we don’t necessarily hear of these incidents is some people are reluctant to come forward,” Entin said. “They think people won’t believe them or people in the workplace won’t take them seriously anymore. The Weinstein stories may encourage folks who may have been reluctant to say anything to come forward. When you have highly publicized things like Harvey Weinstein and some of these other recent developments, that gives people hope that they’re not alone and may be taken more seriously.

“It takes a certain amount of courage to come forward and file a complaint. Some of these cases lose, and a lot settle, so plenty of meritorious claims never get brought. The law is very clear that you cannot retaliate against someone for filing a complaint, but a lot of people don’t want to relive it.”

It is estimated that between 40 percent and 70 percent of women and 10 percent to 20 percent of men have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

But up to 75 percent of victims never report it. Of those claims

that are brought, about 10 percent are settled and 53 percent are found to be without cause, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission estimates.

“Some of these incidents are more of the order of ‘This person is a jerk,’ but it’s not harassment,” Entin said.

Sexual harassment can include unwelcome verbal or physical force, lewd jokes, gender-based slurs or sexual contact from either the same sex or opposite sex. Although the majority of cases involve harassment by a supervisor or employee senior to the victim, claims are occasionally filed against coworkers at the same or junior levels.

“I think we will see something of an increase in filings,” Entin said. “What’s actually going on out there? It’s not just the really obnoxious frat house atmosphere. There is also subtle harassment or mistreatment.”

The EEOC reports that claims by men increased from 8 percent of all sexual harassment filings in 1990 to 17 percent in 1995.

Trapp said she had two male clients who were the victims of unwanted sexual advances by their female bosses.

“It’s not only women,” she said. “Sexual harassment happens in all fields and cuts across all socioeconomic backgrounds. Being blackballed is always the concern.”

According to the EEOC, $52.3 million in damages were awarded from sexual harassment claims in 2011.

“I’ve had some pretty horrendous sexual harassment cases where clients get compensated for the loss of their job and other damages,” Trapp said. “One client was an older woman who had pornographic pictures being left on her desk and overt statements at work. She was afraid to report it because was at an age where she felt she was not going to find another job, and she had cancer, so she needed the health insurance. The story has a happy ending though. While she lived that purgatory, she was eventually fired. I was able to work out a settlement for her. She did have to sign a confidentiality agreement though.

“Those confidentiality agreements can enable people in power to continue victimizing others in that workplace. But ultimately, you have to do what is in your client’s best interest. How do they pay the bills while all this is going on? I’ve had clients over the years who have been victims of sexual harassment who are still suffering from PTSD. No amount of money or apologies takes the pain away.”