A federal appeals court has reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit alleging Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto created a sexually hostile work environment by hugging and kissing a female employee while on the job.

The reversal sends the case back  for trial in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto. Courtesy photo

Former correctional Sgt. Victoria Zetwick accused Prieto in the 2012 suit of violating her civil rights by “greeting her with unwelcome hugs and kisses on more than one hundred occasions over a 12-year period.”

Zetwick, who has since retired from the Sheriff’s Office, also claimed that her supervising lieutenants failed to forward her complaints about Prieto’s conduct for investigation.

U.S. District Court Judge Troy Nunley dismissed the lawsuit two years ago at the defense’s request for summary judgment, ruling that Prieto’s conduct “does not rise to the level required to establish a hostile work environment.”

“Not only do courts consider hugs and kisses on the cheek to be within the realm of common workplace behavior, but the facts of this case indicate that this behavior was common in (the) plaintiff’s own workplace,” Nunley wrote.

Zetwick’s attorney, Johnny L. Griffin III, appealed the ruling with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal in San Francisco, which on Wednesday issued a five-page memo reversing Nunley’s decision.

“Because a reasonable jury could find that Prieto’s conduct, particularly the alleged number and frequency of unwelcome hugs and kisses from a supervisor, was sufficient to create a hostile or abusive work environment, we reverse the grant of summary judgment,” a three-justice panel wrote in the memo.

Prieto declined to comment and referred questions to his attorneys, who say the appellate court “merely held that a jury should decide whether or not this conduct was severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment.”

“While we are disappointed with the court’s decision, we are prepared to vigorously defend this case through a trial before a jury and believe that Sheriff Prieto will ultimately be vindicated,” said Cori Sarno of the Sacramento law firm Angelo, Kilday & Kilduff, which represents both Prieto and Yolo County in the lawsuit.

Griffin, meanwhile, said both he and Zetwick were pleased with the decision, “and look forward to having a trial date in federal court.”

“She’s indicated she was saddened that she had to end her employment with the Sheriff’s Department sooner than expected, but she’s glad she will have her day in court,” Griffin added.

Griffin also has represented Robin Gonzalez, a Yolo County sheriff’s deputy whose similar lawsuit against Prieto was dismissed through summary judgment in July 2015.

Gonzalez also alleged being subjected to unwanted hugs and kisses from the sheriff and claimed he requested sexual favors from her in exchange for remaining in the department’s investigations division.

— Reach Lauren Keene at [email protected] or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene