A jury found an employee who works for the Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau was subjected to a hostile work environment and failed to take prompt and effective steps to end the harassment.
(Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian)
A federal jury this month awarded $14,080 to a city of Portland employee who claimed she was repeatedly harassed by a co-worker because of her Christian religious beliefs.
The jury found that city officials subjected KellyMarie Griffin, an employee with Portland Parks & Recreation, to a hostile work environment and failed to take prompt and effective steps to end the harassment.
The city should pay Griffin $14,080 for non-economic damages, commonly known as pain and suffering, according to the jury’s Nov. 8 verdict.
The co-worker who harassed Griffin, Theresa Lareau, should pay $5,300 in economic damages, according to the verdict. The jury found that Lareau wrongfully continued a civil proceeding against Griffin by seeking a permanent stalking protective order.
Daniel Snyder, who represented Griffin, declined to say how Griffin reacted to the jury’s decision.
“I think it would feel natural for someone to feel they’re vindicated,” Snyder said generally.
A judge has yet to sign the final judgment. Portland City Attorney James VanDyke said he's not aware of any plan by the city to appeal.
"The City appreciates the jury's service and respects its determination," he told The Oregonian in an email. "We respectfully disagree, however, with its verdict."
According to her lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in September 2012, Griffin claimed that Portland officials subjected her to a hostile work environment. Griffin began working for Portland in 1991 and is a self-described Christian with “strong religious convictions,” her lawsuit stated.
But problems began in October 2009, when Griffin transferred to the park bureau’s Mt. Tabor facility, where a co-worker began harassing her.
“I am tired of your Christian attitude,” the lawsuit quotes the coworker, Lareau, as saying. Griffin also claimed the co-worker told her, “I’m going to file a complaint against you the next time I sneeze and you say ‘bless you.’”
Griffin’s victory also means Portland will be responsible for her legal bill, which is likely to exceed the verdict against the city.
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-- Brad Schmidt