The State - News from Sept. 22, 1985

The state Supreme Court granted a hearing to a woman who sued her employer for sexual harassment and then was ordered to undergo a psychological examination that could include questions about sex. A lawyer for Kathleen Vinson of Oakland said allowing women to be questioned about matters of “sexual privacy” would discourage them from suing for sex harassment. According to the suit, Vinson, a 59-year-old widow, held a technical job in a program that was transferred from a nonprofit agency to the Peralta Community College District in 1979. When she applied for the same job with the district, she said, the program manager made advances which she rejected. After the manager refused to hire her, she said, she sued the district for sexual harassment and was asked to undergo an examination by a psychologist.