Sexual harassment in the workplace has been a problem since long before Anita Hill filed her case against Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991.

That lawsuit addressed one of the biggest obstacles in sexual harassment lawsuits: proving the allegations. Twenty years later, that obstacle remains. A coffee shop owner in Camden, New Jersey, is refusing to accept a settlement ruling this week in connection with a sexual harassment case filed more than four years ago.

The suit claimed that the owner had sexually harassed six of the coffee shop's employees and even fired one after she reported the owner's conduct. The women said that he often lured or followed them to areas of the coffee shop beyond the range of the business' surveillance camera. Several of the female employees ended up quitting, alleging a hostile work environment.

It wasn't until three years later, in 2010, that the owner was found guilty of sexual harassment of one of the women. Due to "improprieties" in that case, the deputy attorney general ordered a retrial, which was scheduled for June 2011.

On the night before that trial, the deputy attorney general said, a verbal agreement was reached with the coffee shop owner, but he refused to sign the drafted settlement the next day, claiming all the allegations were false and that his accusers had no witnesses. The judge assigned to the case later ruled that the agreement was, in fact, binding, and the shop owner has been ordered to comply with its terms.

Both Hill's case and that of the coffee shop employees may leave victims of workplace harassment wondering whether reporting the misconduct is worth the risk of termination and public scrutiny, especially in a job market where employers are looking for any way to filter hundreds of applicants for a single position. Decades after Hill's landmark case, the decision is hardly easier, but seeking legal advice may be a good first step.

Source: Philly.com, "Camden coffee-shop owner vows to fight harassment ruling," Claudia Vargas, 8 Nov 2011