United to settle sex abuse lawsuit
United Airlines will pay $321,000 in back pay and compensatory damages to a female flight attendant to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the federal government.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had sued Chicago-based United in 2018 in San Antonio, alleging the airline failed to protect the flight attendant from a pilot who had posted nude photos and videos of her on the internet.
The flight attendant, identified as Jane Doe, later filed her own complaint in the case. She lived in San Antonio.
The woman alleged that the online postings by pilot Mark Joseph Uhlenbrock were harassing and created a hostile work environment.
In the settlement, approved Dec. 19 by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, United denied it engaged in any unlawful conduct or discrimination.
United agreed to pay an undisclosed amount in attorneys’ fees to the flight attendant’s lawyers.
In addition, United must distrib
ute its anti-harassment/anti-discrimination policy to all employees within 90 days. The company was required to revise the policy to address harassing conduct affecting the workplace, whether on or off duty, and perpetrated through the internet or social media.
The company also must provide training on the policy to flight operations and in-flight management employees based at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for any type of harassment in the workplace and expect our employees to treat each other with dignity and respect,” United spokesman Charles
Hobart said in an emailed statement Friday. “We strongly disagree with the EEOC’s allegations and will continue to reinforce the procedures and training we have in place to protect our employees from sexual harassment.”
Uhlenbrock, 65, pleaded guilty in 2016 in San Antonio federal court to a stalking charge and was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Records show he was released in August.
United stated Uhlenbrock was removed from his position in late 2015 following his arrest by the FBI. He retired in lieu of termination in 2016, the company added. The EEOC alleged he was allowed to retire with benefits despite the criminal case.
The flight attendant dated Uhlenbrock for about five years beginning in 2002 and allowed him to take
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for any type of harassment in the workplace and expect our employees to treat each other with dignity and respect.” United spokesman Charles Hobart
nude photos and videos of her, court documents in his criminal case indicated. He also took a video of her sunbathing without her permission, documents stated. He later posted them to the internet, the EEOC said.
The EEOC alleged United failed to prevent and correct Uhlenbrock’s behavior, even after the flight attendant made numerous complaints and provided substantial evidence of his conduct to the airline. She first complained in 2011.
“United decided to protect the harasser Uhlenbrock,” the flight attendant alleged in her complaint.
In its response to her lawsuit, United said it concluded Uhlenbrock’s conduct stemmed from a “private consensual relationship.” It also noted the flight attendant filed civil lawsuits against him.
Those suits, filed in state District Court in San Antonio, were settled for $110,000, records show.
Nevertheless, United found Uhlenbrock had violated its workforce guidelines and counseled him.
The flight attendant said she subsequently discovered in 2013 that Uhlenbrock still was posting sexually explicit photos of her on the web. United responded that it was unable to confirm Uhlenbrock was the source of the postings.
The flight attendant later turned to the FBI and the EEOC for help. Her attorneys didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case highlights the issues of employer accountability for harassment in the workplace, said Robert A. Canino, an EEOC regional attorney in Dallas.
“Employee workdays and job sites are no longer defined by time cards and the walls of a building, but by the breadth of a digital day and the reach of electronic communications,” he said in a statement.