Reference no: EM133547310

Case Study: After three weeks as assistant administrator of a medical group practice, Jessica Montgomery spends the weekend ponderinghow to deal with some events that happened at work. The job was all she hoped it would be-she worked in a highly regardedpractice and felt professionally challenged and up to the job. She was disturbed, however, by some of the interactions with oneof the physicians in the practice, Dr. Curtis Sanford. Dr. Sanford is a well-respected physician who has been with the practicefor almost 20 years. During Jessica's first week, he made a number of sexually suggestive remarks to Jessica that she felt wereunprofessional and demeaning. Because she did not want to stir up trouble or seem overly sensitive, she chose to remain silent.On Friday of her third week, Jessica had lunch with two female coworkers, Maria and Denise, who verified that Dr. Sanfordtends to pick on new female employees. "When the next female employee is hired, Dr. Sanford will stop this behavior andtransfer it to the new girl. Just give it some time," said Maria. However, Maria and Denise also noted that several highlycompetent female employees had left after only two weeks on the job. Although Jessica understands that this may be a form ofsexual harassment, she believes that she can live with the situation until it ends. However, she also feels a legal and ethicalobligation to put an end to this physician's behavior. As of Sunday night, going into her fourth week, Jessica is still not surehow to deal with this situation.

Question: How does Dr. Curtis Sanford's behavior towards Jessica Montgomery align with legal definitions of sexual harassment? Discuss the potential legal implications for the medical group practice and the importance of preventing and addressing such behavior in the workplace.