Caroline Stevens worked in a physicians' office at the Saint Elizabeth Medical Center as a nurse and personal assistant to Dr. Donald Saelinger. Stevens and Saelinger (both of whom were married to others) became romantically and sexually involved. Stevens eventually divorced, although Saelinger did not. The relationship ultimately ended when Stevens learned that Saelinger had never filed for divorce, as he had claimed. At around this time, Saelinger reduced his patient load, allegedly to tend to a pending merger with another entity. Stevens complained in a letter to Saelinger and to medical center management that she was being pressured to take a job at another site and indicated that she wanted to continue working with Saelinger. The letter prompted an independent investigation, which revealed that Stevens and Saelinger had had sex in the office a number of times. The medical center then terminated both parties' employment. Saelinger agreed to a severance package. Stevens could have resigned with benefits, but refused to resign and was terminated for having sex on the premises and because the relationship was a workplace disruption.
Stevens then sued the medical center alleging, among other claims, a hostile work environment. She stated that Saelinger had sexually harassed her after the relationship ended, although she had tried to avoid him. According to Stevens:
He would close his office door or a patient door when I was in a room . . . and say I love you and different things and put his arms around me and kiss me. At times he would text me or call me repeatedly. If I would not respond, I was paged several times in the office. . . . He just wanted to hear from me. He . . . was more careful about what he typed or what was documented but he would still on occasion try to pursue me.
What elements are required to establish a prima facie case of hostile work environment based on sexual harassment? Do the above allegations meet this criteria? Why or why not? Would the result be the same if both Saelinger and Stevens had been single? If you were the human resources manager at the medical center, what, if any, policies would you enact concerning office romances?