Jury Finds For Gender Justice Client In Workplace Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2023

CONTACT
Rachel Perrone
[email protected]

Saint Paul, Minn.—A Becker County District Court jury found in favor of Gender Justice client Margaret “Molly” Campbell, agreeing that her former employer Honor The Earth not only failed to take “prompt and appropriate corrective action” against sexual harassment and abuse within the organization, but also retaliated against her for reporting the harassment and abuse.

“Sexual harassment remains a widespread problem that affects people of every background and in every type of workplace, including social change organizations,” said Gender Justice Senior Staff Attorney Christy Hall. “No matter who we are or where we work, we all deserve a workplace that is free from discrimination, harassment or abuse.”

The 2019 complaint filed by Gender Justice describes ongoing sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior toward Campbell by then-coworker Michael Dahl, as well as community concerns brought to Campbell’s attention regarding Dahl’s inappropriate behavior towards minors. Campbell made repeated efforts to bring the harassment and community concerns to Honor the Earth’s leadership, but the organization chose not only to disregard her, but also to retaliate against her for bringing the issues to their attention. Campbell brought a complaint against Honor the Earth for sexual harassment and retaliation, and on every count the jury sided with Campbell, awarding a total of $750,000 in damages.

“We applaud Molly for refusing to stay silent,” said Hall. “She reported the harassment to her boss, but rather than protect her the organization protected her harasser at her expense. But Margaret did not back down. Her lawsuit, and the jury’s findings, are an important reminder of the responsibility every employer has to end workplace harassment and abuse.”

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