Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law [Paperback]

Clara Bingham (Author), Laura Leedy Gansler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2003

A petite single mother, Lois Jenson was among the first women hired by a northern Minnesota iron mine in 1975. In this brutal workplace, female miners were relentlessly threatened with pornographic graffiti, denigrating language, stalking, and physical assaults. Terrified of losing their jobs, the women kept their problems largely to themselves—until Lois, devastated by the abuse, found the courage to file a complaint against the company in 1984. Despite all of the obstacles the legal system threw at them, Lois and her fellow plaintiffs enlisted the aid of a dedicated team of lawyers and ultimately prevailed. Weaving personal stories with legal drama, Class Action shows how these terrifically brave women made history, although not without enormous personal cost. Told at a thriller’s pace, this is the story of how one woman pioneered and won the first sexual harassment class action suit in the United States, a legal milestone that immeasurably improved working conditions for American women.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1997, in reversing a lower court decision, federal appellate Judge Donald Lay wrote in a sexual-harassment class-action lawsuit, Jenson v. Eveleth, "The emotional harm, brought about by this record of human indecency, sought to destroy the human psyche as well as the human spirit.... The humiliation and degradation suffered by these women is irreparable." Journalist Bingham's (Women on the Hill: Challenging the Culture of Congress) and attorney Gansler's deeply felt and disturbing narrative is the story of what informed Judge Lay's decision. In 1975, Lois Jenson became one of the first women to work in the iron mines of Minnesota and the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. Eveleth Mines was Jenson's employer. The center of the story is the 25-year ordeal Jenson and other women miners underwent: the harshness and callousness of the abuse directed at the women in the uncivilized and misogynist atmosphere of the mine will outrage readers. The equally brutal treatment class members received in the civilized venue of the federal court system, especially by the lawyers for Eveleth, will shock them. The matter-of-fact description of Eveleth's lawyers' assault on Jenson's character during a deposition that inquired about the most intimate details of her life has tremendous immediacy. Because of the personal price the plaintiffs pay, and despite the success of the litigation, this account falls somewhere between a cautionary tale about the dangers facing those who challenge entrenched institutions and a bittersweet celebration of the ultimate effectiveness of the justice system.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A collaboration between a journalist and a lawyer, this volume describes in elaborate detail the tortuous path of the first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit, Jenson v. Eveleth Mines. In 1975, the Minnesota mine hired its first four women as the result of a consent decree; Lois Jenson took one of the jobs. Subjected to disgusting and relentless sexual harassment, Jenson went in turn to the company, the union, the state department of human rights, and finally, in 1988, to private counsel. With Title VII expert Paul Sprenger at the helm, the case took another 11 years, as the company's attorneys waged an intense "nuts and sluts" defense, a strategy that cost the mine $15 million. Although ultimately vindicated, the complainants suffered not only from harassment but from the brutalizing process of the litigation. Jenson herself became disabled by stress from the harassment, the hostility of female co-workers, the length of the legal process, and the invasive interrogations connected with the claim for damages. Excessive detail, compelling though it is, diminishes the book's utility. Recommended for large public and academic libraries. Cynthia Harrison, George Washington Univ., Washington, DC
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; First Edition edition (October 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385496133
• ISBN-13: 978-0385496131
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Law > English Law > Employment
  • #9 in Books > Law > Perspectives on Law > Gender & the Law
  • #9 in Books > Law > Specialties > Labor Law

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Difficult Topic handled humanely and fascinating, August 23, 2005

By 

E. Karas "Eric" (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law (Paperback)

I could not put this book down. From the horrific working conditions of the women, the lack of respect from the unions and utter denial of management each page makes you madder than the next.

Then pile on top of it the lengthy courtroom battle, a truly evil judge (almost someone from Dickens) and a trial as horrific as the abuse itself you just root for Lois all through the book.

It also exceeds your expectations because it also shows how women can be each other's "worst enemy" in the workforce. Working against one another instead of supporting each other. The other women are victims but also vitimizers of Lois for taking a stand.

Lois' story shows how being a whistleblower can ruin your whole life. Financially, emotionally and healthwise. Doing the right thing for the future but ruining your own life is truly something that only martyrs do. Everyone who makes a difference in this world pays some kind of price for it. That is surely shown in this story.

I highly recommend!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 15 YR LAWSUIT WITH CONTINUAL TENSION, June 13, 2003

By 

Brady Buchanan (Henderson, NV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law (Hardcover)

CAUTION: if you are a fingernail biter, read this book with your gloves on as the contents may cause you "finger" problems. This book reveals employee conduct that is unbelievable, yet true. The authors present a complex case with simplicity that should keep you reading through the night. I read this aloud to my wife and she loved it. There are more twists and turns in this story than any body of fiction. Read it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Class Action. Review from a reader, April 16, 2006

By 

TJ8506 "A reader and author" (Mobile, Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law (Paperback)

This is a must read for anyone considering a civil suit. Unlike the other reviewers, I did not feel this book glorified the lawyers. On the contrary, Bingham and Gangsler went further than any other writer by exposing the cost of litigation - the abuse and exploitation of injured litigants by lawyers and judges who make their living off our courts. Lori Jenson is the only heroine in this story. Through the authors I felt her pain and realized her sacrifice for all of us.

But, the screenwriters of North Country made a mistake by concentrating on the sexual harassment part of this story in their version of this book. It is as if they did not read past the first few chapters. The screen writers either missed the message or underestimated the fears of litigants in the over 100 million cases filed each year in American courts. The wider scope of injustice, the legal and judicial wrongs exposed in this book, would have made a better story. But, even if you appreciated the movie, North Country, you need to read this story. The truths it reveals about America's justice system demands that Class Action be a part of everyone's personal library.