ARTICLE
31 December 2012

No Negligent Hiring For Sexual Assault Where Employee’s Prior Misconduct Was Improper But Not Sexual In Nature, New Jersey District Court Holds

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Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart

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Ogletree Deakins is a labor and employment law firm representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. Ogletree Deakins has more than 850 attorneys located in 53 offices across the United States and in Europe, Canada, and Mexico. The firm represents a range of clients, from small businesses to Fortune 50 companies.
In Gargano v. Wyndham Skyline Tower Resorts, a manager of a cleaning services company assigned to a Wyndham casino sued Wyndham for negligent hiring after she was sexually assaulted by a Wyndham employee.
United States Employment and HR

In Gargano v. Wyndham Skyline Tower Resorts, a manager of a cleaning services company assigned to a Wyndham casino sued Wyndham for negligent hiring after she was sexually assaulted by a Wyndham employee. 2012 WL 5388949 (D.N.J., November 2, 2012). Wyndham allegedly learned during the hiring process that the accused had two prior workplace incidents (shoving a linen bin and, allegedly, an elevator attendant out of anger; and defying a supervisor) but proceeded to hire him anyway. Several months later, the sexual assault allegedly occurred. The district court rejected the plaintiff's negligent hiring claim because the incidents of aggression and defiance—assuming Wyndham was aware of them—were not sexual in nature and therefore did not make the unfortunate sexual assault foreseeable.

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