News & Analysis as of

Harassment Title VII Corporate Counsel

Husch Blackwell LLP

Executive Agencies Confirm Demise of OFCCP and Identify Private Sector Enforcement Targets

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor released their 2026 Congressional Budget Justifications (CBJ) on May 30, 2025, providing valuable information related to the EEOC’s enforcement...more

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

Texas Federal Court Nixes Initial Challenge to EEOC’s Guidance on LGBTQ+ Protections

On July 17, 2024, the U.S. District for the Northern District of Texas rejected the State of Texas’s request that it vacate recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on harassment and...more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb: May Appellate Roundup

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This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments in the federal courts of appeal in the last month. Seventh Circuit Finds EEOC Failed to Prove Racial Harassment in Multi-Employee...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

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

Prompt Remedial Action Saves the Day for This Employer

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The Fifth Circuit dismissed a plaintiff’s harassment claims because the employer took prompt action to stop the harassment and prevent it from continuing.  This case highlights the importance for employers...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

Poyner Spruill LLP

EEOC Announces Two Recent Settlements of Title VII Race Lawsuits

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced two high-profile settlements of race claims – one for discrimination and one for harassment – that highlight the dangers of employers failing to protect...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Allows New Type of Same-Sex Harassment Claim Based on Stereotyping

In its Oncale decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that same-sex sexual harassment violates Title VII’s sex discrimination prohibition. In that case, the court said that plaintiffs can demonstrate same-sex harassment...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

A Cautionary Tale About Same Race Discrimination

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A Black employee complains to Human Resources that her supervisor has directed racial slurs at her. The supervisor is Black too. Is this a defense to liability for the employer under Title VII? Hardly. The Eighth Circuit...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

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Seventh Circuit Says ‘Hellish' Work Environment Is Not Necessary to Prove Title VII Harassment

Over the past decade, federal courts have gradually reduced the evidentiary burden necessary for a plaintiff to reach a jury trial on claims involving sexual or racial harassment. The relevant legal standard calls for the...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Court Confirms Employer Can Be Liable For Harassment By Non-Employee

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Faced with a question not yet addressed by the Third Circuit, a federal judge in Pennsylvania found an employer, as well as individual managers, may be held liable for an employee’s claim of a hostile work environment based...more

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

Recent Federal Decisions Highlight Breadth of Employers’ Obligations Under Title VII

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

Recent federal court decisions serve as a timely reminder of an employer’s obligations under Title VII to protect employees from all unlawful harassment in the workplace, even if that harassment is perpetrated by someone...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

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

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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Even Rhetorical Use of the "N-Word" Sufficient to Allow Racial Harassment Claim to Go to Jury

Over the past several years, we have reported an increasing number of federal appeals court decisions that have characterized even single instances of certain racial slurs as sufficient to constitute hostile environment...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Unsuccessful Successor: Court Finds Employer May Be Liable In EEOC Lawsuit For Its Predecessor’s Conduct Under Title VII

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: A Maryland federal district court recently found that a successor employer could be liable in an EEOC lawsuit for its predecessor’s alleged employment discrimination. ...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Rejects Sexual Harassment Claim by Employee Who Quit Days Into Her Investigation

Employers are not strictly liable for hostile environment sexual harassment by a victim’s co-workers. The employer may be held responsible under Title VII if it knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

It May Be A New World For Sexual Harassment, But Many Old Rules Still Apply

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In the weeks since allegations began to surface regarding the sexually predatory behavior of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, sexual harassment allegations (sometimes admitted and sometimes disputed) against powerful, prominent...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

EEOC Scores Victory in Sexual Orientation Discrimination Lawsuit

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In recent years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has increasingly focused its enforcement initiatives on prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. Now, the agency has a concrete...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Calling African-American 'Boy' and 'You People' Creates Hostile Work Environment

In a recent string of decisions, federal courts have concluded that use of racial epithets even on one occasion is sufficient to constitute a hostile work environment under Title VII. Thus, use of the N-word and other...more

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