Houston, TX employment law attorney Gregg M. Rosenberg shares the story of a memorable sexual harassment case he handled. He remarks that sexual harassment cases are often less about sex and more about power than any other type of case he handles. He has seen egregious violations occur frequently, often involving women in vulnerable situations. A common scenario involves a single mother trying to support her children, needing to do whatever she can to maintain her job.

He recalls one of the most egregious cases he has encountered. His client was a highly qualified pharmaceutical salesperson representing a drug that outperformed its competition and could only be used in emergency rooms. The buyer in charge of a chain of hospitals essentially demanded inappropriate favors in exchange for placing the drug. His client, a single mother with two high school-aged children and college obligations, initially complied to perform her job. But a few days later, she realized she could not go through with it and reported the incident to her company—the appropriate step.

Although the company initially assured her of support, the buyer retaliated by refusing to purchase the drug. When the company attempted to sell the drug directly and failed, his client was written up, placed on a performance improvement plan, and faced imminent termination. She came to him, and they filed a claim against the company for retaliation and against the individual for tortious interference with her employment. The case was resolved confidentially, but successfully.

He uses this example to illustrate the profound imbalance of power that often underlies sexual harassment cases. In his experience, sexual harassment frequently involves executives exerting power over subordinates, and the central issue is almost always the abuse of that power, rather than sexual desire.