Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Craig Snethen obtained a complete dismissal of a sexual harassment action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia after filing a motion to dismiss arguing the West Virginia court lacked personal jurisdiction over the corporate and individual defendants.
The plaintiff was employed as a sales director and worked out of her home in Charleston, West Virginia. The corporate defendant was a Delaware corporation headquartered in Texas. The individual defendant was a resident of Texas. The action arose out of an incident in Chicago, where the plaintiff alleged she was sexually harassed. Following an investigation, the corporate defendant concluded that there were insufficient bases to terminate the alleged harasser. Dissatisfied with this outcome, the plaintiff ultimately resigned, claiming constructive discharge.
Although the corporate defendant was aware that the plaintiff would be working from her home in West Virginia, and had provided her necessary supplies with which to do so, the Court concluded that the plaintiff was the “only true connection” that the corporate defendant had with the State of West Virginia and that “[m]ere accommodation of an employee’s choice to work remotely cannot alone form the basis of asserting … jurisdiction.” Because the plaintiff was unable to establish that the litigation arose out of any contacts that the corporate defendant itself created with the State of West Virginia, the Court concluded that it did not possess personal jurisdiction and dismissed the case.
This decision highlights an important weapon in the arsenal of employers of remote workers, particularly as the prevalence of remote work continues to rise.