On the other hand, the victim suffers from repeated abuse regardless of whether the actions are intentional or unintentional. This scenario arises when a co-worker or supervisor, engages in unwelcome and/or inappropriate behavior and ultimately renders the atmosphere of the workplace as intimidating, offensive, or hostile. An example of this form of sexual harassment was in the case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson. In this case, Vinson was hired as a bank trainee, and her supervisor, Sidney Taylor, continuously propositioned her. In fear of losing her job, she eventually gave in to her supervisor. Over the next four years of employment as trainee, teller, and eventually assistant branch manager, her supervisor followed her in public and even into the women's lavatory, fondled her, and engaged in sexual intercourse with her over forty times. Vinson never received employment benefits nor was she fired as a result of the harassing activity. But she was eventually terminated for excessive absenteeism. After, being terminated she charged her immediate supervisor and the bank with sexual harassment resulting from a "hostile work environment.""(Kohl)]. Although the bank had a procedure for reporting harassment, Vinson had not used it because it required her to report the alleged offenses to her supervisor---Taylor. The critical issue was whether the sexual advances were welcome. If sexual advances are unwelcome, the inequality of power between a supervisor and subordinate strongly suggests that the employee engages in sexual relations out of fear (West Legal Dictionary)."".
The Meritor case extended what is considered sexual harassment to include conduct that does not actually cause psychological injury. The court stated, "Title VII comes into play before the harassing conduct leads to a nervous breakdown Certainly Title VII bars conduct that would seriously affect a reasonable person's psychological well-being, but the statute is not limited to such conduct.