Question:
A flight attendant worked a flight from New York to Rome. Staying in a motel room provided by the airline, she accepted an invitation from a male flight attendant on the same crew to come to his hotel room for some wine. After drinking some wine, she lost consciousness. She believes she was repeatedly raped by the coworker and that he had drugged her wine. She reported the rape to her employer a few weeks later. While her report was being investigated, another flight attendant came forward and wrote a memo to the airline stating that she, too, had been invited by the coworker to have a glass of wine, passed out, and was raped. The airline had previously received reports from two other flight attendants, the earliest of which was five years before the incident in question, of rapes by the same coworker under virtually identical circumstances. The airline also had received a formal complaint from a flight attendant who, after having refused the male flight attendant’s invitation to dinner, was subjected to highly abusive and threatening behavior—some of which occurred in front of passengers. Her report to the airline included his statement to her that he was using illegal steroids. None of these other reports were acted upon by the airline. The investigation of the Rome incident led to suspension of the male flight attendant. With termination pending, he resigned. Is the airline liable for sexual harassment of the flight attendant? Why or why not?