Texas jury says male aerospace worker was sexually harassed

A Texas federal jury sided with a former jet engine parts maker for Howmet Aerospace, finding he was sexually harassed by his co-workers and that the company didn't do enough to address his complaints. The unanimous jury told U.S. Magistrate Judge Hal R. Ray Jr. on Wednesday that Quran Bryant should receive $50,000 in compensatory damages. The trial began Tuesday and the jury returned its verdict in the foundry worker's favor around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, after deliberating for about three hours, according to Bryant's counsel. Bryant sued for harassment and retaliation under state and federal civil rights law on New Year's Eve 2018, saying his co-workers — mostly male, according to court papers — solicited him for sex, talked about his body, grabbed his penis and inserted their thumbs into his buttocks.

When he reported the behavior, his supervisor asked him a sexually explicit question in response and said the workplace was "like a prison," according to the complaint. Arconic Inc. is listed as the defendant throughout the case and verdict, but was separated last year from Arconic Corp. and now goes by Howmet Aerospace, according to a spokesperson at Arconic Corp. The location in Wichita Falls, Texas, where Bryant worked is run by Howmet, the spokesperson said. According to the docket, Howmet had moved earlier Wednesday for a judgment as a matter of law. The company argued that Bryant's case didn't fall into any of the four categories for determining same-sex harassment established by the Fifth Circuit. "The specific comments or conflicts alleged by plaintiff were not sufficient to create a hostile work environment claim as they were isolated and amount to no more than offensive utterances, horseplay, teasing and did not involve physically threatening or humiliating conduct," the company argued. Bryant is represented by Megan Dixon and Elizabeth Beck of Braziel Dixon LLP.