Melissa Neale v. Gary Ginn, Coroner, 2020 CA 001104

Gary Ginn was elected Fayette County Coroner (an independent constitutional office) and has authority to hire, fire, and supervise his own staff; LFUCG funds payroll but does not control coroner employees.
Melissa Neale began as a deputy coroner in 2015 and reported experiencing a persistently unprofessional work environment caused by Ginn’s sexual comments and ribald jokes.
Neale resigned in June 2017 (twice, after briefly rescinding the first resignation); she reported Ginn’s conduct to a city councilwoman and then filed a complaint with LFUCG Human Resources on June 26, 2017.
Human Resources substantiated four instances of Ginn’s sexual innuendo/banter but concluded LFUCG lacked authority over the Coroner’s Office and could only recommend policy/training.
Neale sued in Fayette Circuit Court alleging sexual harassment under KRS 344.030 and that LFUCG was a joint employer; the circuit court granted summary judgment for Ginn and LFUCG.
On appeal, Neale argued (1) LFUCG was her employer (joint employer liability) and (2) Ginn’s conduct created a sexually hostile work environment; the Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for both defendants.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Ginn’s conduct created a sexually hostile work environment under KRS 344.030	Neale: pervasive "men’s locker room" comments and jokes by Ginn made workplace hostile	Ginn: comments were vulgar/offensive but not directed at or physically threatening to Neale; not severe or pervasive enough	No hostile work environment; comments were inappropriate but "merely offensive" and insufficient as a matter of law
Whether LFUCG can be held liable as Neale’s employer or joint employer for Ginn’s conduct	Neale: LFUCG is a joint employer and therefore vicariously liable for Ginn’s harassment	LFUCG: Coroner’s Office is independent per KY Const. §99 and KRS 67A.210; LFUCG lacked control over hiring/supervision	Court found no need to resolve employer status because Ginn’s conduct failed to state a hostile work environment; LFUCG not liable on merits

Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998) (factors for evaluating hostile work environment: frequency, severity, humiliating/threatening nature, interference with work)
Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Servs., Inc., 523 U.S. 75 (1998) (sexual content alone does not automatically constitute discrimination)
Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17 (1993) (harassment must be more than "merely offensive" to be unlawful)
Gallagher v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., 567 F.3d 263 (6th Cir. 2009) (illustrative locker-room banter facts that supported hostile-work-environment finding)
Black v. Zaring Homes, Inc., 104 F.3d 822 (6th Cir. 1997) (observing statutes not designed to purge workplace of vulgarity)
Hammons v. Hammons, 327 S.W.3d 444 (Ky. 2010) (standard of review for summary judgment)