01-3829 Gema Salvadori v. Franklin School District, et al.

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“Salvadori’s first argument is that the School District subjected her to a racially hostile work environment by ignoring her complaints that students were harassing her. Salvadori complained in 1993 that middle school students referred to her as “green card.” She also argues that the School District did nothing when it received complaints about her accent in 1995. A hostile work environment exists where the employee is subject to conduct so severe and pervasive that a reasonable person would find the work environment abusive or hostile. See Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Serv., Inc., 523 U.S. 75, 81 (1998). The mere utterance of a racial epithet that engenders offensive feelings does not sufficiently affect the conditions of employment to create a hostile work environment. See Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 21 (1993). Here, the isolated offensive comments made in 1993 and 1995 were not severe and pervasive enough to alter the conditions of Salvadori’s employment, and so she cannot establish an equal protection claim on this ground. Salvadori also contends that she was subjected to a hostile work environment because high school students harassed her in the halls between classes. An employer has a duty to take reasonable steps to discover and rectify acts of harassment against its employees. See Baskerville v. Culligan Int’l Co., 50 F.3d 428, 432 (7th Cir. 1995). But in a school situation, especially a high school full of pumped-up teenagers, there are obviously limits on what any administration can do to ‘control’ inappropriate behavior. Nevertheless, after Salvadori complained, Principal Schwichtenberg told students that harassment of Salvadori was unacceptable and must cease immediately. Schwichtenberg and her associate principals then began monitoring the halls to determine who was engaging in the harassment so that they could discipline the offenders. This response was both reasonable and swift. Therefore, Salvadori fails to establish an equal protection claim based on the School District’s alleged tepid response to harassment by students at the high school.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Stadtmueller, J., Evans, J.