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Corporate Counsel Hostile Environment

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Doing Nothing in Response to a Report of Sexual Harassment Could Cost You Millions – the LAPD Recently Learned the Hard Way

If an employee complains about a sexually suggestive picture circulating in the workplace that looks like her but is not, is that a hostile work environment complaint? It might be. In Lillian Carranza v. City of Los Angeles,...more

Whiteford

Employment Law Update: Federal Judge Rules Attorney Was Fired for Legitimate Workplace Behavior Concerns, not Due to Alleged...

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A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington highlights the importance of clear, documented reasons for employee terminations. In Kang v. The Boeing Company, a case involving a former...more

Gould + Ratner LLP

Coldplay Gate: What if It Happened at Your Company?

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The internet lit up recently with viral footage from a “kiss cam” at a Coldplay concert in Boston, Massachusetts. The clip, now dubbed by some as “Coldplay Gate,” depicts the married CEO of Astronomer, Inc., having an...more

Perkins Coie

Employers See Wins in Title VII Suits Over DEI Trainings

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Key Takeaways - - Employers have recently prevailed in several cases across the country in which plaintiffs attacked diversity training and other DEI-related initiatives in the workplace. Decisions have indicated that many...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Failure to Follow Policies Prevents Early Dismissal of Discrimination Claims

Earlier this month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) vacated the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the employer in Wannamaker-Amos v. Purem Novi...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

One Use of the “N-word” Lands an Employer in a Jury Trial – Lessons to Learn

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One instance of a coworker directing the “N-word” to a Black employee can rise to the level of being so severe as to make for a racially hostile work environment in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Sex-Plus X – What’s That? Discrimination

Here’s a refresher: Discriminating against a subclass of a sex (e.g., older women or black women) is still discrimination. In McCreight v. AuburnBank, the Eleventh Circuit clarified a few things for the lawyers related to the...more

Miller Nash LLP

California Supreme Court Holds Single Allegation of Racial Slur by Coworker Sufficient to Form Basis of Hostile Work Environment...

Miller Nash LLP on

Recently, the California Supreme Court found that a plaintiff’s claim based on a single (disputed) racial epithet by a non-supervisory coworker was sufficient to form the basis of a hostile work environment claim—it was...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

California Supreme Court Affirms Single Comment Can Constitute Harassment and Addresses Standard for Retaliation

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In a July 29, 2024, opinion, the California Supreme Court reaffirmed that a single use of a racial epithet can be severe enough to be actionable harassment under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)....more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

The Ninth Circuit Reminds Employers of Obligations When Addressing Social Media Posts Affecting Workplace

A recent Ninth Circuit decision clarifies employers’ obligations to address hostile work environment complaints arising out of employees' off-premises social media activity. In Okonowsky v. Garland (No. 23-55404; Jul. 25,...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Get with the Pronoun: Eleventh Circuit Rules Pervasive Misgendering Is Harassment

If an employer or coworker persistently uses a transgender worker’s wrong name or identified pronoun, can that constitute a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII? In Copeland v. Georgia Department of Corrections,...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

Second Circuit Ruling Could “Impact” Discrimination Claims Brought by Remote Workers under NYS Human Rights Law

In King v. Aramark Services, Inc., No. 22-1237 (March 20, 2024), a Second Circuit panel affirmed the dismissal of claims under the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”), concluding that under New York’s “impact test,”...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

10th Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms that Mandatory Diversity Training does not Constitute Unlawful Discrimination

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Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, there has been in increase in litigation challenging employers’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies and practices. In one recent...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Claims of Hostile Work Environment Happened Over Too Long a Period, Court Rules

Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims from a university professor that she had been subjected to a series of retaliatory acts in the two- and one-half year period following her filing an Equal...more

BakerHostetler

EEOC’s Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Workplace Harassment - What Should Employers Be Doing as a Result?

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On Oct. 2, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released proposed enforcement guidance on harassment in the workplace, and the proposed guidance has been receiving quite a bit of attention. This begs the...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Recognizes 'Equal Opportunity Harasser' Defense

We often hear claims from employees who threaten to sue their employer for creating a “hostile work environment.” When we dig into the complaints, often the employee is alleging that their manager is mean or unfair to them,...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

OSHA Says Workplace Violence Injuries are Work-Related, Even When Sustained Outside the Workplace

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Seyfarth Synopsis: To increase enforcement concerning workplace violence incidents, OSHA published a Standard Interpretation Letter concluding injuries resulting from workplace violence are recordable, even if the incident...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

Second Circuit Clarifies Federal Law on Employment Retaliation Claims

In a recent decision, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appeals court covering New York and adjacent states, sought to clarify the federal law standard for evaluating retaliation claims under the principal...more

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

DC Lawsuit Against the Commanders Signals Expansion of Consumer Protection Laws

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Last week, Attorney General Karl Racine announced a new lawsuit against the Washington Commanders, team owner Dan Snyder, the NFL, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for “colluding to deceive DC residents about an...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Racial Slur From Owner's Six-Year-Old Son is Evidence of Offensive Working Environment

​​​​​​​Over the past decade, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) has substantially lowered the bar for demonstrating racial harassment in cases where a racial...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Reading the Riot Act: $100 Million Settlement in Gender Discrimination Class Action

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A California Superior Court judge recently preliminarily approved a $100 million settlement in connection with a class action brought on behalf of a class of current and former female employees at video game studio Riot...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Concludes That Non-Sexual Hugs and Kisses Don't Constitute a Hostile or Offensive Work Environment

The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that federal courts will not serve as a super HR department for employees who complain about unpleasant work conditions. Every worker is expected to tolerate a certain level of obnoxious...more

Genova Burns LLC

Glass Houses: Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed Due to Employee’s Own Unprofessional Conduct

Genova Burns LLC on

On April 19, 2022, in Bouziotis v. Iron Bar, LLC, the New Jersey Appellate Division upheld a trial court’s dismissal of a former bartender’s hostile work environment and gender discrimination claims partly on the grounds that...more

Genova Burns LLC

Employer Documentation Saves the Day & Earns Dismissal of Age Bias Lawsuit

Genova Burns LLC on

On April 4, 2022, in the matter of Jane Rocks, et al. v. PNC Investments LLC, et al., a three-judge Appellate Panel affirmed the Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of PNC Investments LLC and dismissing the...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Tesla Still Liable for Racially Hostile Work Environment

In October 2021, a California federal jury awarded $137 million to a former contract employee who worked for Tesla. The jury found Tesla liable for creating a racially hostile work environment and awarded the employee $6.9...more

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