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On January 16, 2026, a federal jury in Atlanta awarded $5.5 million to a security guard who alleged that her security company's vice president of operations sexually harassed her.
The plaintiff, Makita Bryant, sued both the security company and the vice president in his individual capacity. For her claims against the security company, Bryant was awarded approximately $1.5 million for her emotional distress and mental anguish and $2.2 million for punitive damages. She was awarded $1.75 million in punitive damages against the vice president. Bryant testified that for months the vice president of operations made sexual advances toward her, including making unwanted sexual comments and inviting her to a strip club and hotel. On one occasion, while in the workplace, he pinned Bryant against a wall and exposed himself to her. Bryant recorded the incidents with the vice president and reported his behavior to the company's owner and CEO. After making the report, she was reassigned to a different location and her hours were reduced. The EEOC found there was reasonable cause to conclude that Bryant was subjected to a hostile work environment based on her sex and that she was discharged for reporting harassment.
Bryant sued both the security company and the vice president for negligent retention and supervision, hostile work environment, discrimination, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Prior to the trial, the defendants stipulated to liability in October 2025, and the jury was tasked with deciding the amount of compensatory and punitive damages to be awarded to Bryant.
Takeaways
- Employers should ensure that managers and executives are properly trained on how to respond to complaints of sexual harassment when they are received and to avoid actions against the reporting employee that are retaliatory or could be perceived as retaliatory.
- The CEO and owner of the defendant security company in Bryant was accused of receiving the complaint of harassment and failing to properly remedy the harassment. This highlights the importance of company leadership being properly trained in responding to harassment complaints and setting a positive example for non-executive level supervisors.
- Failing to properly act on complaints of sexual harassment can lead to massive financial penalties and harm to an organization's reputation and brand image.
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