Ellen’s immediate supervisor repeatedly required her to have “closed door”meetings with him, in violation of company policy. As a consequence, rumors began to spread that the two were having an office...

Ellen’s immediate supervisor repeatedly required her to have “closed door”meetings with him, in violation of company policy. As a consequence, rumors began to spread that the two were having an office romance, although the meetings in fact involved her boss’s trying to convince Ellen to loan him money, again in violation of company policy. When Ellen asked her immediate supervisor to try to stop the rumors, he said he found them somewhat amusing and refused to do anything to stop them. As a consequence of the rumors, she began to be treated as an “outcast”by her coworkers and received low evaluations from other supervisors in the areas of “integrity” and “interpersonal relations.”She was passed over for two promotions for which she had applied. She filed an action against her employer on the ground that her supervisor had created a hostile environment by his refusal to stop the rumors. Do you believe she has a valid claim under Title VII? Why or why not? Are there any other causes of action she might raise?