KAREN KOESTER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v CITY OF NOVI and LEE BEGOLE, Defendants-Appellees., 458 Mich. 1

Summary

The employee was a police officer who alleged sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and pregnancy discrimination. The trial court granted the city's motion for summary disposition as to the employee's HCRA claims. Her Michigan Civil Rights Act (CRA) claims went to the jury. The jury found that plaintiff failed to prove sex discrimination, but awarded plaintiff $ 5,000 for her sexual harassment claim. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's grant of summary disposition regarding the HCRA claims, remanded the case for a new trial with regard to the sex discrimination claim under the CRA and reversed the jury verdict on the sexual harassment claim. The court held that pregnancy, by itself, was not a handicap because it was not a substantial limitation of a major life activity. The court held that harassment on the basis of a woman's pregnancy is sexual harassment under the CRA. The court held that harassing comments and conduct relating to a woman's pregnancy could give rise to a ...