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Employer Liability Issues Hostile Environment Corporate Counsel

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

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...

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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

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

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

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

McAfee & Taft

Buying a business? Don’t buy an employment lawsuit

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When acquiring a business, companies sometimes unwittingly buy an employment lawsuit. Recently, the 10th Circuit – the federal appeals court that applies to Oklahoma employers – explained when a successor business can be held...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

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Is the Customer Always Right? How Employers Should Respond to Patron Misconduct

As anyone who has worked in a customer-facing job can tell you, dealing with difficult customers often comes with the territory. However, when customer behavior crosses a line into illegal conduct like sexual harassment, both...more

Maynard Nexsen

$137 Million Verdict Illustrates Importance of Competent Anti-Harassment Policies

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On October 4, 2021, a North California federal jury awarded a former Tesla subcontractor $137 million after finding that he had been subjected to a hostile work environment and that Tesla was responsible for the harm it...more

Morgan Lewis

UK Employment Appeal Tribunal Ruling a Warning to Employers to Revisit Equality Training

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With growing reports of an increase in online harassment during government-imposed pandemic lockdowns, a recent UK Employment Appeal Tribunal case alerts employers to their obligations with respect to tackling bullying,...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

New Mexico Latest State to Prohibit NDAs for Sexual Harassment Claims

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The #MeToo movement continues to echo in the halls of state legislatures. On March 4, 2020, New Mexico became just the latest state among many to enact legislation limiting the use of nondisclosure agreements in the context...more

Littler

Has #MeToo Created a New Claim of Male-Bias Discrimination?

Littler on

Often—and without much thinking—when an employer faces a claim of sexual harassment, the knee-jerk response is to discipline or terminate the man accused. It is the easiest way to go, especially if the alleged harasser is a...more

McAfee & Taft

Think twice before you dismiss a cry for help: ADA accommodation request or not?

McAfee & Taft on

You know the scenarios: an employee reports his chair is bothering him; another employee reports the glare of the computer screen is hurting her eyes; and a third employee explains he needs a different office space, better...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

Littler

New York State Significantly Expands its Workplace Harassment Laws (Again)

Littler on

As its session draws to a close, the New York State Legislature substantially revised the state’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws this week, and Governor Andrew Cuomo has promised to sign the new measures...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Recent Developments In Securities Litigation: The “Event Driven” #MeToo Lawsuit

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The #MeToo movement has had an enormous impact on corporate America. Workplace harassment and sexual misconduct are not new concepts and have been the focus of litigation for many years. However, the power of the #MeToo has...more

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