United States District Judge Helen Gillmor recently held that a Clinical Manager for a Community Dialysis Center could proceed on a gender-based harassment claim due to actions and comments by a dialysis patient.  During a treatment session, the patient became angry and directed gender-based profanities at her.  He did so again on a second occasion after company managers met with him to discuss what had happened.  Thereafter, the patient filed a complaint with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs in an attempt to have her license revoked.  The employer subsequently sought permission to have the patient's treatment time changed.  When her request was denied, she changed the treatment time anyway.  She was placed on suspension and went out on stress leave.  Upon her return, she was terminated.  She filed suit against the employer alleging hostile work environment harassment.

In concluding that trial was proper on this claim, the court reasoned that there were genuine issues of material fact as to whether the patient's harassment was based on the employee's gender and was sufficiently severe to alter the terms and conditions of her employment.  There were also genuine issues of material fact as to whether the employer failed to take adequate remedial action to remedy a hostile work environment, as there was no evidence showing that the employer counseled the patient on his conduct toward the employee or that it was receptive to the employee's attempt to change the harassing patient's treatment time.  Wilson v. Fresenius Medical Care Oahu LLC