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Corporate Counsel Sexual Harassment Title VII

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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Take it Back – A Federal Court in Texas Vacates Portions of the EEOC’s Sexual Harassment Guidance  

Recall that just last year, the EEOC updated its Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace for the first time in 30 years. We blogged about it here. Earlier this year, President Trump issued Executive Order 14168...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

EEOC Issues Annual Report, Faces Future in Flux

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On January 17, 2024, just days before the new presidential term began, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published its annual performance report for the preceding Fiscal Year 2024. The Report highlights a year...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

"Tighty whitey" case has 4 good lessons about workplace retaliation

You can't make this stuff up. I hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving. A federal judge just down the road from me ruled this week that a woman’s retaliation case should go to a jury, even though her sexual harassment...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

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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

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

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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

Littler

Eleventh Circuit Opinion Provides Insight into the Reach of Third-Party Title VII Retaliation Claims

Littler on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently issued an opinion concerning the Title VII retaliation protections afforded to third parties. Tolar v. Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP, No. 19-11546 (11th Cir. May...more

Smith Anderson

Federal Court Ruling Limits Punitive Damages Awards for Sexual Harassment

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Punitive damages are an extraordinary remedy under Title VII, and in order to obtain them, the plaintiff must satisfy a higher standard. Nonetheless, the threat of substantial punitive damages under Title VII should put...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

A Look Behind The EEOC Curtain: Enforcement Statistics Show Fewer Charges Filed In 2019, But Monetary Recoveries Ticked Up In Some...

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The EEOC recently released its enforcement and litigation statistics for Fiscal Year 2019. Notably, the statistics indicate that 2019 saw the lowest number of charges filed in over 20 years, though there...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Seyfarth’s 2020 Workplace Class Action Litigation Report Is Now Available!

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Seyfarth Synopsis: Seyfarth’s 16th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report analyzes 1,467 rulings and is our most comprehensive Report ever at 800 pages....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

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

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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

Fisher Phillips

Men Refusing To Work Alone With Women: The HR And Legal Guide

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Can a sincerely held religious belief – or a wife’s personal jealousy – justify a male employee refusing to work with women coworkers or other professional contacts? A federal district court in North Carolina is poised to...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Franchisor had no Duty to Protect Franchisee’s Employee From Sexual Harassment, Court Finds

Franchisors should review their franchise agreements and practices to ensure they do not retain or exercise control over the particular aspects of their franchisees’ employment practices in light of a recent decision...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Prior Harassment Claims Do Not Eliminate Employer's Use of Faragher-Ellerth Defense

Under Title VII, employers are vicariously liable for incidents of sexual harassment engaged in by supervisors. In its Faragher and Ellerth decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged a limited defense to claims of...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

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

A Summary of the Latest Changes to the New York State Human Rights Law

Just before the end of its session, the New York Legislature expanded protections against discrimination and harassment under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). The Governor still has to sign the new bill into law,...more

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Read This Now: New York’s Groundbreaking Sexual Harassment Legislation

Clichés like “seismic shift” and “paradigm change” do not begin to describe just how profoundly the New York legislature changed the standards for harassment claims in a bill passed June 19. HR professionals and employers...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Top Five Most Intriguing Developments Of 2018 In EEOC-Initiated Litigation (And Preview Of Our Annual EEOC Litigation Report)

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Seyfarth Synopsis: We are once again pleased to offer our readers an analysis of the five most intriguing developments in EEOC litigation in 2018, in addition to a pre-publication preview of our annual report on developments...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Management Company Possibly Considered Hotel Worker's Employer for Title VII Liability

In the hospitality industry, it is fairly common for a hotel to retain a management company to run housekeeping, food and beverage, and other functions. While the management company may supervise and direct the work of hotel...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

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

Fifth Circuit Rules Employers Are Not Always Protected From Liability Resulting From Harassment by Nonemployees With Diminished...

Courts have ruled that employees who work with clients with diminished capacity present different challenges when establishing whether the nonemployee’s alleged harassment affected the terms and conditions of the employee’s...more

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