Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co.: A Legal Standard for Class Action Sexual Harassment Comment 19 Journal of Corporation Law 1993-1994

19 J. Corp. L. 417 (1993-1994)
Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co.: A Legal Standard for Class Action Sexual Harassment

handle is hein.journals/jcorl19 and id is 427 raw text is: Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co.: A Legal Standard for
Class Action Sexual Harassment
Marcy O'Brien
I. INTRODUCTION
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids employer discrimination against
any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of
employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.'
The objective of Title VII is to achieve equality in the workplace.2 The prohibition of
discrimination on the basis of sex, however, was a last minute addition Inclusion of
sex discrimination as an unlawful employment practice has led to a litigious and ex-
panding area of law.
Title VII actions, in pursuit of workplace equality, are by their very nature class
complaints.5 The class action suit, at times, has been used effectively in employees'
efforts to remedy employment discrimination.6 Recently a district court helped further
the use of class actions for employees in Title VII sexual harassment suits.7
This Comment addresses the standard provided by Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co.'
Part II discusses the established standards of individual sexual harassment claims and
class action sex discrimination claims.9 The decision of the court is outlined in Part
I. Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-352, 78 Stat. 253 (1964), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(l)
(1988).
2. See, e.g., Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 429-31 (1971) (stating that the primary objective
of Title VII is to achieve equality and eliminate discriminatory burdens by removing artificial, arbitrary, and
unnecessary barriers to employment).
3. Sex was added to the list of unlawful classifications in an effort to prevent the Civil Rights Act of
1964 from passing. Legislators opposed to the Act, in particular Rep. Howard Smith, hoped the inclusion of
sex would strengthen opposition to the Act. See 110 CONG. REc. 2577-2584 (1964).
4. See, e.g., Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 114 S. Ct. 367 (1993) (deciding that a sexual harassment claim
may be extended to include harassment that does not allege severe psychological harm).
5. H.R. REP. No. 1746, 92d Cong., 1st Sess. § (3)(e) (1971). See also Judith J. Johnson, Rebuilding the
Barriers: The Trend in Employment Discrimination Class Actions, 19 COLUM. HUM. RTs. L. REV. 1, 5 (1987)
(proposing that a failed 1971 Title VII amendment, which would cut off the use of class actions by requiring
all plaintiffs be named, represents Congress' approval of and the courts' effective use of Title VII class ac-
tions).
6. See, e.g., Shipes v. Trinity Indus., 987 F.2d 311 (5th Cir. 1993) (ruling a class of black federal DEA
agents had proven a pattern or practice of employment discrimination); Segar v. Smith, 738 F.2d 1249 (D.C.
Cir. 1984) (finding in favor of black employees in a suit alleging employment discrimination in violation of
Title VII).
7. See Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., 824 F. Supp. 847 (D. Minn. 1993) (holding each class member
must establish personal harassment by showing she was as affected as a reasonable woman).
8. 824 F. Supp. 847 (D. Minn. 1993). See infra notes 107-121 and accompanying text (analyzing the
Jenson standard for a class action alleging hostile environment).
9. See infra notes 12-67 and accompanying text (describing the distinct standards of an individual claim
417

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