News & Analysis as of

Retaliation Title VII Employer Liability Issues

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

Dickinson Wright

Sixth Circuit Raises Bar for Employer Liability for Customer Harassment of Employees

Dickinson Wright on

In Bivens v. ZEP, Inc., the Sixth Circuit held that an employer is not liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (Title VII), for harassment by a customer unless the employer intended the harassment...more

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

Did the Employer Intend for the Customer to Harass Its Employee? The Sixth Circuit Sets a High Bar

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that an employer will be liable for a customer’s harassment of an employee only when it intends for such harassment to occur. ...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

Husch Blackwell LLP

Proselytizing Online, Fired in Real Life: Are Anti-LGBTQ+ Views Protected by Title VII?

Husch Blackwell LLP on

Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement, commenced litigation against Rock Snowpark on July 2, 2025, for allegedly retaliating...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

What Do Recent DEI Training-Focused Federal Agency Guidance and Court Decisions Mean for Employers?

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Two new technical-assistance documents jointly released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) warn that common diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-training practices —...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

Lathrop GPM

Federal Agencies Issue Guidance Identifying DEI Policies and Practices That May Be Unlawful

Lathrop GPM on

Last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance that aims to educate the public about conduct and programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)...more

Littler

Annual Report on EEOC Developments: Fiscal Year 2024 - An Annual Report on EEOC Charges, Litigation, Regulatory Developments and...

Littler on

INTRODUCTION - This Annual Report on EEOC Developments—Fiscal Year 2024 (hereafter “Report”), our fourteenth annual publication, is designed as a comprehensive guide to significant Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

EEOC & DOJ New Guidance on DEI-Related Discrimination: What Does it Mean for Employers?

On March 19, 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Justice issued guidance addressing unlawful discrimination related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) in the workplace. Although DEI is...more

Jackson Walker

DEI Under Scrutiny: What Employers Must Know About New EEOC and DOJ Guidance

Jackson Walker on

Following multiple executive orders from President Donald Trump concerning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), employers have been eagerly awaiting agency guidance to clarify the scope and implications of what is...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

New Federal Guidance Addresses Workplace Discrimination Questions

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

On March 19, 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued two technical assistance documents (the “DEI Guidance”) addressing the application of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) to...more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

EEOC and DOJ Guidance on DEI

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently published guidance to clarify what it regards as “discriminatory” DEI programs. The EEOC’s guide for employees is titled “What To Do If You Experience...more

Polsinelli

EEOC Guidance on DEI-Related Discrimination in the Workplace

Polsinelli on

On March 20, 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued two key pieces of guidance: What To Do If You Experience Discrimination Related to DEI at Work and What You Should Know About DEI-Related...more

Brooks Pierce

DOJ and EEOC Issue Statements on Administration’s Interpretation of "Illegal DEI"

Brooks Pierce on

On March 19, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued two technical assistance documents that illuminate how these federal agencies will define "illegal...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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Time Was Not on Her Side: 5th Circuit Rules Unpaid Mentor’s Claim of Discrimination Is Untimely

In Title VII actions, plaintiffs have a limited amount of time to file a charge of discrimination (or a court can dismiss the case as untimely). In the case of Wells v. Texas Tech University, the timeliness dynamic was...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

When Documentation Backfires: A Case Study From the Tenth Circuit

Part of our standard advice to nearly every client is "document, document, document." Typically, robust and timely documentation ensures that an employer has strong evidence of its legitimate rationale for making employment...more

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

Tenth Circuit Clarifies When the Door for Individual Liability Under the FMLA Is Opened

On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in Walkingstick Dixon v. Oklahoma Regional University System Board of Regents that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) permits actions against...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

"Tighty whitey" case has 4 good lessons about workplace retaliation

You can't make this stuff up. I hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving. A federal judge just down the road from me ruled this week that a woman’s retaliation case should go to a jury, even though her sexual harassment...more

Carlton Fields

Eleventh Circuit Narrows Scope of Employee Title IX Claims

Carlton Fields on

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

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

Fisher Phillips

Restaurant Settles EEOC Lawsuit Based on Denying Cook’s No-Sundays Request: 6 Steps for Handling Religious Accommodation Requests

Fisher Phillips on

A North Carolina restaurant franchisee has agreed to pay $40,000 and take other corrective measures to settle a religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC after being accused of denying a cook’s...more

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