Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co.
Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. | |
---|---|
F. Supp. 847 (D. Minn. 1993) | |
Subsequent history | Rehearing en banc denied, February 18, 1998 |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Theodore McMillian, Floyd Robert Gibson, Donald P. Lay |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Lay, joined by a unanimous panel |
Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., 130 F.3d 1287 (8th Cir. 1997),[1] was the first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit in the United States. It was filed in 1988 on behalf of Lois Jenson and other female workers at the Eveleth Taconite mine in Eveleth, Minnesota on the state's northern Mesabi Range, which is part of the Iron Range.
Facts
Jenson first began working at the site in March 1975 and, along with other women, endured a continuous stream of hostile behavior from male
It is infrequently noted that women who were not seen as “desirable” by these men still faced harassment whether sexual or not. Oftentimes, in male-dominated workplaces, when men do not look at a certain woman sexually, they will harass her in other ways to try and get her to leave, because they believe she is taking the place of a man.[4]
Their union, USW, did nothing to stop it. They worked with Eveleth's management to create a divide between the female workers in a successful attempt to get them to testify in opposition of these accusations against Eveleth.
It is evident that females working in male-dominated workplaces are treated differently than their male co-workers. This is suspected to be due to sex-role spillover, a theory suggesting the carryover or spillover of gender roles or expectations into the workplace where it is not relevant. When there is an uneven gender ratio in a workplace, sex-role spillover will take place.[4] Sex-role spillover theory is relevant to the Jenson v. Eveleth case as it was the only expert testimony allowed in the case.[8]
On August 15, 1988, attorney
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The first half of the trial for damages began in Duluth on January 17, 1995 and lasted until February 10. After a break, it resumed on May 22 and ended on June 13.
On March 28, 1996, McNulty released a 416-page report that called the women "histrionic," made public details about their private lives, and awarded them an average of $10,000 each. However, the judgment was appealed and reversed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals on December 5, 1997.[1] A new jury trial on damages was ordered.
This case is not unique in that several other companies have had lawsuits against them for similar and almost identical behavior. There are many parallels between this case and other blue collar workplace cases to securities and grocery store cases. Specifically, a lawsuit made against the Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois had many similarities other than the fact that the Jenson v. Eveleth case went to trial whereas the Mitsubishi case did not.[10] The main similarities between these two cases are the hostile sexual behavior that the women working for both companies faced; women at both companies reported to have experienced unwanted sexual advances, sexual graffiti, and more.[10]
Settlement
On December 23, 1998, just before the trial was set to begin, fifteen women settled with Eveleth Mines for a total of $3.5 million. One of the original plaintiffs, Pat Kosmach, died partway through the case, on November 7, 1994.
The case was documented in the 2002 book Class Action and a 2005 fictionalized film version, North Country.
See also
- Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story movie about Ellison v. Bradywhich set the "reasonable woman" precedent in sexual harassment law
- Hostile work environment
- List of class action lawsuits
- Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson
- Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services
- Oglebay Norton Corporation
References
- ^ 8th Cir.1997).
- OCLC 53969370.
- ^ Baker, Carrie. The Women's Movement Against Sexual Harassment. Cambridge University Press. p. 67.
- ^ .
- ^ a b c Hart, Melissa (2003). "Litigation Narratives: Why Jensen v es: Why Jensnn v. Eveleth Didn't Change Sexual Harassment Law, but Still Has a Story Worth Telling". Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
- ^ "Minnesota Department of Human Rights". Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2006. Archived 2013-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Oglebay Norton Archived June 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- S2CID 141996512.
- D. Minn.1993).
- ^ a b Selmi, Michael (2005). "Sex Discrimination in the Nineties, Seventies Style: Case Studies in the Preservation of Male Workplace Norms". Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
Notes
- U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals case documents
- Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law (2003) ISBN 0-385-49613-3
- North Country at IMDbshlyuha
External links
- Text of Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., 130 F.3d 1287 (8th Cir. 1997) is available from: CourtListener Google Scholar Justia
- Class Action: What Happens When Employers Refuse To Remedy Sexual Harassment, plus interviews