The Customer Is (Not) Always Right: Costco to Pay Female Worker $250,000

A female worker at Costco was fired after taking a lengthy medical leave. Her absence was caused by a male customer who repeatedly harassed her. When she complained to management, she was told to “be friendly” to her harasser. Recently, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $250,000 verdict against Costco for failing to do more to shield the worker from this customer.

Some details make this more clear. Dawn Suppo worked at the Glenview, Illinois Costco. A customer named Thad Thompson took a great interest in her, calling her “beautiful,” “pretty,” and “exotic.” He repeatedly tried to hug her; he stalked her inside and outside the store. Suppo complained more than once to her managers. They told Thompson to stay away from Suppo but after that they shrugged it off. Eventually, she went to court and received a No-Contact Order against Thompson. When he violated the order, she stopped coming to work. Eventually, Costco fired her.

Costco argued that Suppo subjectively perceived harassment, but her claim was not provable by an objective standard. A jury disagreed. So did a panel of federal judges.

The court offered this explanation:  “Actionable discrimination can take other forms, such as demeaning, ostracizing, or even terrorizing the victim because of her sex.”

The case is here: https://www.manatt.com/Manatt/media/Media/PDF/Newsletters/Employment/Equal-Employment-Opportunity-Commission-v-Costco-Wholesale-Corp.pdf.