In June 2024, a Texas megachurch settled a sexual harassment and hostile work environment lawsuit, filed by a former employee in 2023.

Gateway Church hired the plaintiff in May 2018 as a temporary administrative assistant to a pastor at the church's North Richland Hills campus.

The plaintiff alleged the pastor subjected her to sexual harassment and that other Gateway pastors failed to act on her accusations. The pastor allegedly made "unwanted sexual overtures" to her; commented on her appearance and how she smelled; asked if she was dating anyone; and brought her gifts.

She claimed she "was forced" to be alone with him in his office with the blinds closed, and he would complain about his marriage and his wife during weekly oversight meetings.

On one occasion, the pastor allegedly said the two of them could do "physical touch" in his office while making a physical advance on her. She claimed she rejected his advances and told him she was uncomfortable, but he continued to sexually harass her.

She claimed church leaders told her to give the pastor another chance and that she was being insubordinate.

She allegedly received a written warning for challenging authority and a "Probation & Employment Commitment" document that blamed her for the situation. When she refused to sign the document, she was allegedly asked to either sign it or resign.

According to the allegations contained in the lawsuit, the church fired the pastor because of the woman's accusations, and he received two years' pay for signing a non-disclosure agreement.

Shortly thereafter, the church fired the plaintiff over a Zoom meeting. She received six months' pay and benefits.

The church settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount. Sheila Stogsdill "Gateway Settled Lawsuit Alleging Sexual Harassment, Hostility At Church Robert Morris Founded" julieroys.com (Jul. 11, 2024).

Commentary and Checklist

When an allegation of sexual misconduct is made, the organization must respond with an immediate investigation. If the facts discovered in the investigation reveal sexual misconduct occurred, the organization must take appropriate steps in response.

To avoid creating a second, independent claim – for retaliation – care must be taken to not punish the victim, even if the investigation reveals no sexual misconduct occurred. Retaliation stands alone as a claim, and does not depend on the merit of the underlying sexual harassment claim.

What other steps can your organization take to prevent sexual harassment risk?

• Incorporate into your mission that workplace participants be treated equally, fairly, and respectfully
• Establish policies, procedures, and standards that promote equality, require civility, and respect boundaries and adhere to policies, including policies that prohibit sexual harassment
• Enforce your organization's policies, procedures, and standards, including those that prohibit sexual harassment
• Encourage all workplace participants to report sexual harassment that they view, discover or reasonably suspect is occurring
• Avoid hiring or selecting applicants or workers with a history of sexual harassment
• When hiring require work and personal references and ask the references if the applicant has a history of sexual harassment, sexual harassment complaints, uncivil or disrespectful behavior, and/or ignoring boundaries. If the answer is yes, move onto another applicant
• Review the public social media pages of applicants to determine if they engage others in a civil and respectful manner and if they respect the boundaries of others
• Make certain all workplace participants go through an orientation program, which includes policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment
• Discipline any employee — regardless of title, status, or duties — who engages in, encourages, or promotes sexual harassment, is uncivil to workplace participants, and/or ignores boundaries of others and/or the organization
• Discipline any employee — regardless of title, status, or duties — who makes a knowingly false claim of sexual harassment
• Make certain all terminations are based on provable and documented objective factors, related to job performance, and not based on subjective, arbitrary, or illegal factors, including terminations for reporting, complaining, and/or providing testimony about sexual harassment
• Make certain that new leadership treats existing employees equally, fairly, and legally prior to hire or transfer and does not have a history of sexual harassment, sexual harassment complaints, uncivil or disrespectful behavior, and/or complaints regarding respecting boundaries of others
• Document all actions related to termination or discipline of workers, including workers accused of sexual harassment
• Require all workplace participants to take sexual harassment prevention training in a language they understand
• Require all workers to take diversity equality and inclusion and civility training in a language the trainee can understand
• Provide several safe and effective means for workplace participants to report sexual harassment
• Consider prohibiting sexual and/or intimate relationships between coworkers
• Clearly communicate, through policies, procedures and postings, the means and process by which workplace participants can report sexual harassment
• Allow for a means by which workplace participants can report sexual harassment anonymously without fear of retaliation
• Investigate all reports and reasonable suspicions of sexual harassment in a thorough, prompt, and objective manner
• Consider the use of third-party investigators for sexual harassment investigations that involve executive management, more than one complainant, charges of sexual assault or abuse or where there is a conflict of interest with investigators that are workplace participants
• Prohibit retaliation against workplace participants who report or complain about sexual harassment or who are involved in investigations regarding sexual harassment
• Provide a safe and effective means for workplace participants, who report or complain about sexual harassment or who are involved in investigations regarding sexual harassment