In Alatorre v. Ole Mexican Foods, Inc., Case No. CIV-21-01057-JD, 2023 WL 7308117 (W.D.Okla. Nov. 6, 2023), the court, inter alia, held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged hostile work environment sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and thus denied defendant’s motion to dismiss.
From the decision:
Here, Alatorre has pled facts sufficient to state a claim for hostile work environment based on sex. Perez made sexual comments about Alatorre’s appearance, kissed Alatorre without her consent, and attempted to touch Alatorre sexually to the point that Alatorre had to push Perez off. These allegations support an inference that Perez’s actions were motivated by sexual desire. They are also severe enough to demonstrate that the environment would subjectively and objectively be considered abusive. Alatorre’s complaint is not entirely clear whether the incident with the male employee who pushed her against a car and tried to kiss her took place at work. However, given the severity of Perez’s alleged conduct, this is not dispositive of whether Alatorre has successfully pled a claim for relief. Although Alatorre does not enumerate how many of these encounters she had with Perez, she alleges with great detail one instance of sexual assault in addition to alleging that “Perez repeatedly made sexual advances toward Alatorre to the point that Alatorre had to prepare for it daily.” Am. Compl. ¶ 32. Therefore, Alatorre has successfully pled a claim for hostile work environment based on sex for which Ole may be liable.
The court, however, held that plaintiff failed to sufficiently plead her claims for racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation under Title VII and 42 U.S.C. § 1981.