John Vering of the firm’s Employment & Labor Department represented our client Cintas in a female on female same sex sexual harassment lawsuit.
Plaintiff Terri Pedroza alleged that a female co-worker’s conduct amounted to unlawful sexual harassment and sought back pay, front pay, actual and punitive damages and attorneys fees. The Honorable Richard E. Dorr, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri granted summary judgment in favor of Cintas after concluding that there was insufficient evidence that the harassing conduct was based on sex and that the harassing conduct was not so pervasive as to constitute a hostile work environment. Pedroza then appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the summary judgment in favor of Cintas and ruled that the plaintiff had failed to produce evidence that the harassment was based on sex.