Making Female Receptionist Get Coffee Is Not Sexist

A receptionist fired for refusing to serve coffee to the men in her office failed to show that the activity was so sexist it amounted to sexual harassment, according to a federal judge in Philadelphia.

Plaintiff Tamara Klopfenstein claimed that she was subjected to a hostile work environment because she was "compelled to perform servile tasks for her male supervisors."

"The act of getting coffee is not, by itself, a gender-specific act," U.S. District Judge Berle Schiller said.

National Sales & Supply hired Klopfenstein as a part-time receptionist in 2006.

She claims that she was subjected to "unfavorable treatment" shortly after she began the job.

Klopfenstein said she was expected as part of her job to serve coffee to her two supervisors, Jason Shrager and Richard Blum, at 3 p.m. each day.

Although she did not object to getting coffee for visitors in the office, Klopfenstein objected to performing that task for her supervisors.

Shrager allegedly told her in an e-mail that the issue was "not open for debate."

"Please don't make an easy task a big deal," the e-mail said, according to the opinion.

Klopfenstein still refused to "serve and wait on" Shrager and Blum, who then fired her.

She sued National Sales in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging sexual harassment and gender discrimination in violation of federal civil rights law and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

The company countered that Shrager and Blum had planned to fire Klopfenstein for poor performance as early as one week before she actually was terminated.

National Sales moved for summary judgment, and Judge Schiller granted the motion.

The judge rejected Klopfenstein's argument that she was subjected to a hostile work environment because she was compelled to perform "servile tasks."

He said she failed to support her claim of sexual harassment with evidence of other indicators of sexism.

The lack of spoken or written comments, physical gestures intended to intimidate her, or any other evidence that she was asked to conform to traditional "gender-specific stereotypes" doomed her hostile-environment claim, Judge Schiller said.

He said Klopfenstein also failed to establish a case of gender discrimination because she could not show that she was treated differently from male employees in similar circumstances.

There was only one receptionist in the office, and no men have held that job at National Sales, the judge noted.

Because there were no men in similar jobs, Klopfenstein was unable to show disparate treatment, Judge Schiller said.

"In sum, while the behavior of Klopfenstein's supervisor and co-workers may have been rude, gauche or undesirable, their actions do not violate federal or state anti-discrimination laws," the judge said.

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Klopfenstein is represented by Timothy Kolman, Rufus Jennings and Wayne Ely in Langhorne, Pa.Counsel for the company is Brian Jackson of McNees, Wallace & Nurick in Harrisburg, Pa.