Even rarer is EEOC not trying to contact the person who allegedly instigated the harassment, Heimbach added.

An attorney with the Allentown law firm of Heimbach, Spitko & Heckman, he regularly defends companies in sexual harassment cases.

"At any given time we have 50 to 100 EEOC cases pending in our office,'' Heimbach said. "In the 10 to 15 years we've been doing this I can count on one hand the number of cases of any kind where EEOC has found cause.''

But he cautioned an EEOC finding is just one piece of evidence that can be used in a civil case and a jury can't act on just the agency's findings. Also, it isn't known how vigorously FNB tried to defend itself when EEOC conducted its investigation, he added.

"There's a lot of factors that go into what the agency found what it did,'' Heimbach said.

Still, an EEOC report will have an impact on the jury, he added.

"It's not a good thing to have from a defendant's position,'' Heimbach said.

After a complaint is filed with the federal agency a company and person accused of the alleged misconduct is usually notified by mail within 10 days. Typically, no response is requested at that time but within a month or two EEOC mails a packet with paper work for the defendants asking for a position statement and other documents allowing them to give their side of the story, he said.

"At that point they frequently ask for a one-on-one interview,'' Heimbach said.

He was unaware of any case where EEOC didn't try to contact a person who was accused of sexual harassment.

In almost every workplace there's some degree of banter when it comes to sex and dating, he added.

"That's a far cry from what's alleged here,'' Heimbach said.

Companies and individuals accused of sexual harassment have tools to defend themselves, he added.

"There's some defense available to an employer if they can show they have policies against sexual harassment, they investigate complaints and take action,'' Heimbach said. "But if an employer was aware and didn't do anything about it and the harassment continues they will likely lose those defenses.''

Items useful in a defense, he said, could include cordial notes, greeting cards, letters and other messages written by accusers to supervisors or co-workers named as harassers.

"That would be the kind of stuff I would like to see,'' Heimbach said.

Like any courtroom battle, it's up to the plaintiff to prove the case.

"The key issue in harassment cases is there's frequently some level of comment and maybe even contact that's been going on,'' Heimbach said. "That in and of itself isn't unlawful. The key is to show it was unwelcomed and created a hostile environment.''