News & Analysis as of

Employment Discrimination Sexual Harassment Employment Litigation

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

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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

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

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

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

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

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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

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

Phelps Dunbar

Abuse or Molestation Exclusion Bars Coverage for Sexual Assault of Insured’s Employee While Employment Exclusions Do Not

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The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia recently ruled that an insurer must provide coverage to its insured with respect to a civil lawsuit involving allegations of sexual assault. The case, BOJ OF WNC,...more

Venable LLP

EFAA Arbitration: Jurisdictional Divide on Pleading Standards

Venable LLP on

A law enacted in 2022 that allows people alleging sexual assault or sexual harassment to opt out of pre-dispute arbitration agreements has altered the litigation landscape for enforcing those agreements. ...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Water Cooler Talk: Takeaways From 'It Ends With Us' Suits

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The drama of “It Ends With Us” has jumped from the book to the big screen to a real-life legal battle that offers a sharp reminder of how retaliation and digital misconduct can derail even the most powerful players in any...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Nuclear Winter:  The Post-Verdict Battle in Employment Cases

As we have previously reported here and here, “nuclear” verdicts from California juries in employment discrimination and harassment cases have become increasingly common over the past few years. Although these massive...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Social media tip for employers: SHUT UP!

In 2022, a company’s Chief Technical Officer started making internal complaints about alleged sex discrimination and retaliation at his place of employment and advocating for some female executives who were allegedly not...more

Tyson & Mendes LLP

It Ends with Lawsuits for Hollywood Co-Stars

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A series of lawsuits between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, stars of the 2024 blockbuster movie It Ends With Us, have captivated both the public and the legal community in recent months. The legal battle presents...more

BCLP

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

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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

Berkshire

Texas Federal Court Vacates Portions of EEOC Harassment Guidance Protecting LGBTQ+ Workers

Berkshire on

On May 15, 2025, a Texas federal court issued a ruling that vacates portions of an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) harassment guidance that expanded the definition of sexual harassment under Title VII to...more

ArentFox Schiff

Federal Court Strikes Down Key Portions of EEOC Harassment Guidance

ArentFox Schiff on

On May 15, a Texas federal court vacated portions of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, concluding that the agency’s expanded interpretation of “sex”...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

[Webinar] Workplace Investigation Essentials for Employers - Navigating Legal Minefields - May 21st, 10:00 am - 11:15 am PT

CDF Labor Law LLP on

Internal investigations are among the most legally sensitive and operationally disruptive processes for employers—especially when allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, or retaliation arise. The inherent complexity...more

McAfee & Taft

When can an employer be liable for harassment happening outside of work?

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Generally, employers are not responsible for events involving their employees that happen after hours and away from work. But that is not always the case. In its April 2024 Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace,...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

Holland & Hart - Employers' Lawyers

A Shoddy Investigation Is Not Retaliatory

When an employee complains of discrimination or harassment, companies often investigate the matter. Doing so allows a company to address alleged improper behavior and it may allow the company to avoid potential liability –...more

Mandelbaum Barrett PC

Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni: Hollywood’s Legal Battle — A Landmark Employment Law Case

Mandelbaum Barrett PC on

A high-profile legal dispute is unfolding between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni over workplace misconduct allegations tied to their 2024 film It Ends With Us. This case, filed in the United States District Court for...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Court Reverses $10 Million Sexual Harassment Verdict Due To Judge’s “Bizarre Comments”

On April 7, 2025, the California Court of Appeal reversed a whopping $10 million verdict in favor of an employee in a sexual harassment case due to the trial judge’s improper evidentiary rulings and inappropriate comments...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Lowering the Legal Standard for Establishing Workplace Harassment Claims

Amundsen Davis LLC on

In the wake the U.S. Supreme Court’s April 2024 decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, some federal courts feel compelled or justified applying the same rationale to lower the standard to prove up workplace harassment...more

Epstein Becker & Green

The Third Circuit Orders Another Review in Cornelius v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc.—Resolution Will Wait for Another Day in New Jersey...

Epstein Becker & Green on

Case law related to the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (“EFAA”) continues to develop.  In late 2024, the Third Circuit seemed poised to bring further clarity as to which...more

Oppenheimer Investigations Group

The Good, the Bad, and the Mediocre: Conducting Investigations that Pass Muster in Related Litigation and Arbitration

Presumably, the decision must have seemed reasonable to the employer at the time. It was 2010, and Romeo Mendoza, a nurse and mid-level supervisor at Western Medical Center Santa Ana (known as Orange County Global Medical...more

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