Employer Liability Issues, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Negligence

Appeals Court Limits Title VII Liability for Non-Employee Conduct: Key Takeaways for Employers

Fisher Phillips on 9/8/2025

Can an employer be held liable for workplace harassment committed by a non-employee? The short answer is “sometimes” – but a federal appeals court just significantly narrowed this liability risk for employers in Kentucky,...more

No Intent, No Liability: Sixth Circuit Narrows Employer Liability for Third-Party Harassment

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL on 8/20/2025

Most employers understand their obligation to prevent discrimination and harassment at work, and the significant consequences that can come if such treatment is allowed to occur. But what if an employee alleges harassment not...more

Did the Employer Intend for the Customer to Harass Its Employee? The Sixth Circuit Sets a High Bar

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 8/18/2025

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that an employer will be liable for a customer’s harassment of an employee only when it intends for such harassment to occur. ...more

Sixth Circuit Requires Proof of Intent for Employers to be Liable for Harassment by a Nonemployee

FordHarrison on 8/13/2025

On August 8, 2025, in Bivens v. Zep, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that employer liability for nonemployee harassment requires proof of the employer’s intent, a departure from the...more

Liability Waivers and Questionnaires in the Time of COVID-19

Ward and Smith, P.A. on 6/17/2020

As businesses begin to re-open and re-engage their workforce, and in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is worth exploring requiring your employees (and in certain circumstances, customers) to execute a liability...more

Harassment-free workplace: Potential harassers not limited to employees

McAfee & Taft on 5/21/2014

Employers are well aware of their obligation to act promptly to stop harassment or discriminatory behavior in the workplace when it is committed by employees. But this obligation can be more extensive. Employers are required...more