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British company must pay
$75,000 to a
former manager in sexual
harassment case
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
The Magistrates of the Second
Chamber of the Labor Court,
issued a ruling that grants
$75,000 to a former manager of a
multinational company of British
origin, for moral damage in a
case of sexual harassment in the
workplace.
The labor lawsuit filed with the
Labor Court of the Second
Judicial Circuit of San José*
was filed by an industrial
engineer against the company she
worked for in Costa Rica.
The woman requested that it be
acknowledged that she was the
victim of sexual and labor
harassment by a superior (her
boss) and the company did not
conduct a formal investigation
of the case; and that her
dismissal was discriminatory,
illegitimate and arbitrary and
that she suffered labor
discrimination as a result of
the complaint of sexual
harassment.
The woman began work in 1996 as
general manager in the
multinational based in the
United Kingdom.
In 2004, a restructuring process
began. In that year she argued
that she experienced incidents
of sexual and labor harassment
with one of her bosses and in
May of that year, she filed a
formal complaint with the head
office in London.
She said that she was exposed to
degrading and abusive treatment
from the man without the company
taking the necessary measures to
make it stop.
On November 2005, the company
dismissed her with labor
responsibility.
The woman filed a complaint
based on the case of workplace
harassment.
As a result of that lawsuit, the
court partially declared the
suit and ordered the company to
pay $50,000 for subjective moral
damages, as well as amounts for
unpaid wages, bonuses,
differences in bonuses for the
entire employment relationship
for salary, and vacations.
The Labor Court of the Second
Judicial Circuit of San José
confirmed the judgment of the
first instance.
Both parties upheld the
proceedings before the Second
Chamber, which in the case study
said "The woman reported the
indecorous acts of her superior
and this was duly communicated
to the headquarters in London,
however, there is no doubt that
the acts of the action taken
after her complaint are mere
subterfuges that sought to
isolate and reproach her for her
courage and determination to
denounce and demand behaviors
that many victims endure, under
penalty of being dismissed or
reduced to unworthy positions in
their work; more unfair in an
employment relationship".
The Labor Court amended the
judgment appealed in the amount
awarded for moral damages and
raised it to the amount of $
75,000 and confirmed the
judgment in the other aspects.
"The compensation of this type
of damage is intended to
compensate for the pain,
anguish, suffering or
humiliation caused. For its
estimation, different parameters
were assessed, including the
condition of the injured person,
her social position, the
proportionality, equity, and
prudence,” said the judge in his
ruling.
The
decision of the magistrates
of the Labor Court showed
that it analyzed the
particular case of an
industrial engineer, who
worked for a multinational
company.
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A.M.
Costa Rica wire
services photo
The
Labor Court
amended the
judgment
appealed in the
amount awarded
for moral
damages and
raised it to the
amount of
$75,000.
In the
sentence it
was indicated
that "the
indemnification
cannot produce
illicit
enrichment,
but neither
should it be
symbolic, it
should be
adapted to the
seriousness of
the offense,
to the
disturbance,
pain, and
suffering
caused, to the
conditions of
the offended
person and
even to the
public reaches
of the
perpetrated
grievance".
In the first
instance, an
amount of
$50,000 had
been proposed
but the judge
considered
that the
amount was not
enough.
The Court
determined
that the woman
experienced
"great
suffering,
uneasiness,
anxiety, fear,
and
uncertainty.
This caused an
affectation in
her
extra-patrimonial
sphere that
should be
granted to
her, which is
why this Court
estimates that
the amount of
$ 50,000 is
insufficient,
making it more
reasonable and
objective to
grant a sum of
$75,000 for
this concept".
The decision
was made by
considering,
within the
scenario, some
additional
circumstances
such as that
the worker was
a successful
person, who
assumed
essential
functions in
the field of
transportation
of securities,
a matter that
is particular
and complex,
the salary
remuneration
that she
received in
the company to
assume as a
manager, so
her experience
was highly
valued in the
company.
"In the case
of the woman,
it has been
proven that
she suffered
for a long
time the
harmful
effects of the
behavior of
her superior,
who had
inappropriate
sexual
behaviors that
led him to
harass her and
affect her
work,
depriving her
of enjoyment
and enjoyment
that every
human being
She deserved
to be
developed in
her work, so
the woman had
to tolerate
him shouting,
belittling,
degrading and
submitting to
a sort of
systematic and
offensive
behaviors that
damaged the
most basic
human moral
and dignity,"
said the
Second
Chamber's
ruling.
As it is a
private case,
information on
the ex-manager
and British
company were
not published.
---------------
Do
you know of any
case of
workplace
harassment? We
would like to
know your
thoughts on this
story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
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