News & Analysis as of

Corporate Counsel Hostile Environment Title VII

Gould + Ratner LLP

Coldplay Gate: What if It Happened at Your Company?

Gould + Ratner LLP on

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

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

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

Husch Blackwell LLP on

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

BakerHostetler

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

BakerHostetler on

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

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fifth Circuit Agrees That One Use of the "N-Word" Can Create a Racially Hostile Work Environment

Over the past decade, a growing number of federal appellate circuits have heard cases asking whether a single use of a racially offensive epithet is enough to clear the bar for a hostile environment racial harassment claim...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Federal Court Denies Employer’s Motion To Dismiss EEOC-Initiated Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: In EEOC v. Konos, Inc., Case No. 1:20-CV-973 (W.D. Mich. June 3, 2021), the EEOC filed a lawsuit on behalf of a claimant against her employer, alleging it subjected to her to a hostile work environment and...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

End of the Road: Eighth Circuit Upholds $3.3 Million Fee Award Against The EEOC For Frivolous Claims

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: After over a decade of litigation between the EEOC and trucking company CRST Van Expedited, the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a federal district court’s order requiring the EEOC to pay $3.3 million in...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Seventh Circuit Says One Use of "N-Word" Insufficient for Racial Harassment Claim

In recent years, a number of federal appellant courts, including the Fourth Circuit, have issued opinions finding that a single use of a racial slur can be enough to constitute a hostile and offensive working environment...more

McAfee & Taft

Transgender harassment lawsuit goes forward

McAfee & Taft on

Courts around the country are split on the question of whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects individuals against discrimination based on sexual orientation. A recent Arizona federal court recognized the ability...more

Miles & Stockbridge P.C.

Has the Fourth Circuit Set the Stage for LGBTQ Protections Under Title VII?

The Fourth Circuit’s recent decision in Evangeline Parker v. Reema Consulting Services, Incorporated, 915 F.3d 297 (4th Cir. 2019) grabbed headlines for its controversial ruling that workplace gossip can support a sex...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

The Americans with Disabilities Act Prohibits Hostile Work Environments, Second Circuit Rules

On March 6, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided Fox v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, eliminating any uncertainty concerning whether an employee can assert a hostile work environment claim under the...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Seventh Circuit Says ‘Hellish' Work Environment Is Not Necessary to Prove Title VII Harassment

Over the past decade, federal courts have gradually reduced the evidentiary burden necessary for a plaintiff to reach a jury trial on claims involving sexual or racial harassment. The relevant legal standard calls for the...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Court Confirms Employer Can Be Liable For Harassment By Non-Employee

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Faced with a question not yet addressed by the Third Circuit, a federal judge in Pennsylvania found an employer, as well as individual managers, may be held liable for an employee’s claim of a hostile work environment based...more

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

Recent Federal Decisions Highlight Breadth of Employers’ Obligations Under Title VII

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

Recent federal court decisions serve as a timely reminder of an employer’s obligations under Title VII to protect employees from all unlawful harassment in the workplace, even if that harassment is perpetrated by someone...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Seventh Circuit Says Employer Liable for Customer Stalking Employee

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from workplace harassment. As most employers know, these protections apply not only to behavior by co-workers and supervisors but also to harassment by customers,...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Don’t Ignore the Kissing Supervisor—Court Rules that Employer’s Knowledge of Past Behavior Negates Faragher-Ellerth Defense

Employment lawyers and most HR professionals are familiar with the Faragher-Ellerth defense to a claim of sexual harassment. In short, if an employer can show that (1) it exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Same-Sex Harassment of Male Employee in Mixed-Gender Workplace Violated Title VII

In its 1998 Oncale decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that same-sex sexual harassment can violate Title VII’s gender discrimination prohibitions. However, the court noted that in order to demonstrate violation of the...more

Snell & Wilmer

#MeToo Era Settlements...$3.5 Million at a Time

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Recently, a California company settled a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) sexual harassment lawsuit by consent decree for $3.5 million. Additionally, and as part of the settlement, the company will hire a...more

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