Case Study: Ashley Alford V. Arron's Inc.

This case study will explain the lawsuit related to sexual harassment of Aaron’s Inc. Arron’s Inc. is a national rent-to-own furniture store, but had a large lawsuit against it in 2011. The following will be explained: a description of the case and how Title VII plans against the case. An analysis of the complaint procedure and the employer’s response to such complaints. A brief description of the preventive steps that could have been used to prevent such harassment. And lastly, what the cost was to Aaron’s Inc.
Conduct that Precipitated the Case
To start, we will describe the conduct that caused this lawsuit. And how it goes against Title VII. This is the Ashley Alford v. Aaron Rents case, in which Ashley Alford sued Arron’s in a sexual harassment lawsuit, where Ashley was awarded $95 million by the jury (Reuters Staff, …show more content…
The Aaron’s website provides the public with a “Contact Aaron’s” form. Stating if one has a question about a product, or need to speak with a representative about a customer service concern, they are there to help (Aaron Owns it, 2017). The form consists of the type of service help you are seeking, name, email address, phone number, best time to call, address, and the comment of what the issue is (Aaron Owns it, 2017). If one is looking for immediate assistance there is an “800” number to call (Aaron Owns it, 2017). They state that they are there to help, Reuters Staff (2011) doesn’t make it look that way based on the interview with Alford. Alford called the company’s sexual harassment hotline, but leaving a message was her only option, and her message was never returned (Reuters Staff, 2011). Due to the lack of assistance, Alford sued Aaron’s in 2008, stating to the court that she had called the company’s harassment hotline, had left a message, had never received a call back, and no action was taken for what had happened to her (Reuters Staff,