News & Analysis as of

Hostile Environment Employment Litigation

Saul Ewing LLP

Sixth Circuit Imposes Heightened Standard in Non-Employee Sexual Harassment Cases

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Recently, in a case titled Bivens v. Zep, Inc., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an employer will only be liable for a customer's harassment of an employee when the employer intends for such harassment to occur....more

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

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

Littler

Sixth Circuit Limits Employer Liability for Harassment by Nonemployees

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On August 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled an employer is not liable for harassment of an employee by a third party unless the employer intended for the harassment to occur. This stark departure...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Employer skirts constructive discharge claim

Some good lessons here. I assume our readers all know what a “constructive discharge” is, but just in case you don’t, it’s when an employer deliberately makes the employee’s life at work so miserable that the employee feels...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Training Artificial Intelligence and Employer Liability: Lessons from Schuster v. Scale AI

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The discussion of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in the workplace typically focuses on whether the AI tool and model has a discriminatory impact. This means examining whether the AI output creates an unlawful disparate...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

Fisher Phillips

Maine’s Highest Court Narrows Scope of Continuing Violation Doctrine in Discrimination Claims

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The Maine Supreme Judicial Court just handed employers a win by narrowing the application of the “continuing violation” doctrine in discrimination claims under the state’s primary anti-bias law. This doctrine permits...more

Carlton Fields

Third Circuit Holds Harassment Exclusion Bars Coverage for Sexual Assault Suit Under Pennsylvania Law

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In Rice Enterprises LLC v. RSUI Indemnity Co., the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s finding that the insured was not entitled to coverage from its employer’s liability insurer or its umbrella...more

Perkins Coie

Employers See Wins in Title VII Suits Over DEI Trainings

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Key Takeaways - - Employers have recently prevailed in several cases across the country in which plaintiffs attacked diversity training and other DEI-related initiatives in the workplace. Decisions have indicated that many...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

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

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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

Amundsen Davis LLC

Lowering the Legal Standard for Establishing Workplace Harassment Claims

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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

Zuckerman Spaeder LLP

What Is Illegal DEI? Employers and Workers Are Still Looking for Answers

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Five years ago, companies were eager to adopt diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Now, the pendulum has swung in the other direction. DEI programs are under attack, and employers are trying to figure out what...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

EEOC Sues Taco Bell Franchisees for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation

Federal Agency Alleges Fast Food Companies Created Hostile Work Environment for Female Workers, Including Teens, and Fired Manager When She Reported Misconduct - DETROIT – Six related entities operating Taco Bell...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

Employee Replaced by White Male Coupled With Employer’s Poor Investigation Fuels Disparate Treatment Claim

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In Lui v. DeJoy, the Ninth Circuit held that a woman of Chinese ethnicity’s demotion, when coupled with a white male replacing her position, gave rise to an inference of discrimination. The employer’s investigation into the...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Federal Government’s Ping Pong Match on Independent Contractor Rule Is Distraction From Enhancing IC Compliance: January 2025 IC...

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Few federal regulations over the past five years have produced more needless concern by stakeholders than the independent contractor rules under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) issued by the different...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Failure to Follow Policies Prevents Early Dismissal of Discrimination Claims

Earlier this month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) vacated the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the employer in Wannamaker-Amos v. Purem Novi...more

FordHarrison

EntertainHR: BTS of “It Ends With Us”: Speaking out on Social Media

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Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! If you’re anything like me, you spent your holidays watching “It Ends With Us,” a romantic drama film based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, and catching up on the Blake Lively v....more

Littler

“It Ends with Us” Employment Litigation: Lessons for Hollywood Employers

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Actor Blake Lively’s December 31, 2024, lawsuit against Wayfarer Studios, LLC, director and producer Justin Baldoni, and several others associated with the movie It Ends with Us has cast a spotlight on evolving employment law...more

Carlton Fields

Eleventh Circuit Narrows Scope of Employee Title IX Claims

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Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 does not provide an implied right of action for sex discrimination in employment. This decision deepens an...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Online, Off-Duty Harassment is Still Unlawful Harassment

Once an employer knows or has reason to know about alleged harassment, it has an obligation to promptly remedy the hostile work environment, even if the offensive conduct occurred wholly offsite, online, or off-duty. This...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

EEOC Sues Two Employers for Sexual Harassment of Teens

Federal Agency Alleges Applebee’s Franchise and Sports Facility Allowed Hostile Work Environment to Fester - WASHINGTON –The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed lawsuits against two companies...more

Venable LLP

Ninth Circuit to Employers: What Your Employees Say on Social Media May Haunt You

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Picture this: You're packing up your office, getting ready to head home for the evening, when your human resources manager peaks her head in. She explains that she has just fielded a complaint from a female employee: a male...more

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