News & Analysis as of

Employment Discrimination Employer Liability Issues Appeals

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

When is an employer liable for harassment by customers? You may be relieved.

When is an employer legally responsible for harassment of its employee by one of its customers? A recent court decision may be a relief for employers in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Most courts ruling on the...more

Vedder Price

Sixth Circuit Splits with EEOC and Other Circuits as to Employer Liability for Harassment by Non-Employees Under Title VII

Vedder Price on

In Bivens v. Zep, Inc., No. 24-2109 (6th Cir. Aug. 8, 2025), the Sixth Circuit split with the EEOC and most U.S. Courts of Appeals as to when an employer may be liable under Title VII for harassment by a non-agent (e.g.,...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

If You See Something, Do You Fix It If It Isn’t Your Employee? 6th Circuit Applies Higher Standard to Non-Employee Harassment Case

An employee tells you a customer just harassed them — what should you do? In Bivens v. Zep, Inc. the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals charts its own course in addressing employer liability for third-party harassment. The Equal...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

NFL’s Arbitration Agreement Fumbles, Allowing Coach to Pursue Discrimination Claims in Court: Employment Law Lessons for Employers

Husch Blackwell LLP on

The National Football League (NFL) is in the spotlight this season, not because of any certain game on the field, but for a legal battle off it. Last week, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that a NFL coach...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Sixth Circuit Takes Restricted View of Employer Liability for Third-Party Harassment

For years, both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and multiple federal appellate circuits have agreed on the legal standard for proving liability for sexual or other harassment by a third party such as a vendor or...more

Phelps Dunbar

Sixth Circuit Redefines Employer Liability for Client-Based Harassment

Phelps Dunbar on

In an explicit departure from EEOC guidance and other federal court caselaw, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that an employer can only be liable for a client/customer’s harassment of its...more

FordHarrison

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

FordHarrison on

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

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

Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C.

Yes, an Arbitrator Can Exceed Their Powers in the Eleventh Circuit

The reports of the death of Section 10 of the FAA may have been greatly exaggerated. Thursday, a majority of the Eleventh Circuit held in Nalco Co. LLC v. Bonday that an arbitration award was subject to vacatur under Section...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Watch the Clock: Fifth Circuit Rules that a Six-Month Delay Can Support a Failure to Accommodate Claim

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a factfinder could conclude that an employer’s six-month delay during the ADA interactive process could amount to a failure to...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Supreme Court Strikes Down Sixth Circuit Rule Heightening Discrimination Standard for Members of Majority Groups

Troutman Pepper Locke on

A recent Supreme Court decision clarified that discrimination claims brought by members of majority groups in so-called “reverse discrimination” cases cannot be subject to a heightened evidentiary burden. In Ames v. Ohio...more

Brooks Pierce

High Court Unanimously Rejects the Imposition of Special Requirements for “Majority Group” Discrimination Claims

Brooks Pierce on

On Thursday, June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the notion that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) imposes special requirements on a “majority-group” plaintiff trying to make an initial...more

Cozen O'Connor

Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services

Cozen O'Connor on

In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that Title VII’s protections against discrimination do not require majority group individuals (including white people, men, and heterosexuals) to...more

Woods Rogers

Supreme Court Reaffirms Equal Access to Title VII Protections

Woods Rogers on

In a unanimous decision issued June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services vacated a Sixth Circuit ruling that imposed a higher evidentiary burden on majority-group plaintiffs in Title...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Supreme Court Issues Ruling in Ames ‘Reverse Discrimination’ Case

On June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services in which the Plaintiff alleged reverse discrimination based on sexual orientation. Marlean Ames was hired in 2004 as an...more

BCLP

Whistleblowing Job Applicants, Discrimination Outside Employment, and Liability for HR Consultants, Plus a News Roundup - UK HR...

BCLP on

Our employment law update for May covers a new EAT case on whether job applicants can bring whistleblowing claims, whether a blatant racial insult falls outside the scope of the Equality Act 2010 because it was not made “in...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Seventh Circuit Ruling Allows Non-Disabled Workers to Seek Backpay Under ADA

Amundsen Davis LLC on

The Seventh Circuit (covering Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin) recently ruled that a non-disabled employee can recover damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when his employer required a fitness-for-duty...more

Vedder Price

Seventh Circuit Allows Recovery of Back Pay in ADA Case Absent Proof of Disability

Vedder Price on

In a case of first impression, on April 1, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued an important decision in Nawara v. Cook County Municipality (Case Nos. 22-1393, 22-1430, 22-2395 & 22-2451), holding...more

Poyner Spruill LLP

Third Circuit Finds “Modicum” of Control Insufficient to Create Employment Relationship

Poyner Spruill LLP on

In order to state a claim for discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), a plaintiff must first demonstrate that he or she had an employment relationship with the defendant.  Although various...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Non-Disabled Employees Can Recover for Unlawful Medical Examinations Under ADA, According to Seventh Circuit

Saul Ewing LLP on

Following a recent decision by the Seventh Circuit, employers who violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by requiring medical examinations of an employee without a business necessity may now be liable for back pay...more

Venable LLP

Seventh Circuit Ruling Permits Back Pay for ADA Discrimination for Non-Disabled Workers

Venable LLP on

Last month, in Nawara v. Cook County Municipality, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said a violation of ADA protections from medical examinations or inquiries counts as discrimination on account of disability, regardless...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Shifting Eliminated Position's Duties to Nondisabled Workers Not Evidence of Discrimination

Employers sometimes believe that eliminating a job position instead of terminating an employee for poor performance gives them a "get out of jail free" card for purposes of avoiding legal claims associated with the decision....more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Litigate or Arbitrate? Sixth Circuit Decision Looks at Timing of Sexual Harassment Claim

Can you compel arbitration with an employee who is alleging sexual harassment? You may recall that in 2022, Congress enacted the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA), which precludes...more

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

Think ADA Recovery Is Limited to Employees With Disabilities? The Seventh Circuit Says Think Again

On April 1, 2025, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the remedies available to nondisabled employees subjected to improper medical examinations or inquiries under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). ...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Appeals Court Says Disability Not Required in Order to Recover Back Pay for Violation of ADA’s Medical Inquiry and Examination...

Foley & Lardner LLP on

Most employers are aware that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), disability-related inquiries and medical examinations of employees may only be required when such inquiries and examinations are “job-related and...more

90 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 4

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide