News & Analysis as of

Statutory Interpretation Sexual Harassment

Amundsen Davis LLC

Sixth Circuit Provides Employers Protection in Customer Harassment Cases

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Earlier this month, the Sixth Circuit issued a decision in Bivens v. Zep that significantly narrows when an employer can be held liable under Title VII for harassment committed by a third party, such as a customer or client. ...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

Sixth Circuit Requires Employer Intent for Customer Sexual Harassment Under Title VII

The Sixth Circuit in Bivens v. Zep, Inc. brushed aside the EEOC’s and several circuit court positions with respect to the standard to be used when determining an employer’s liability under Title VII for sexual harassment of...more

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

Foley & Lardner LLP

Employer Liability for Non-Employee Acts? Sixth Circuit Imposes High Standard and Rejects EEOC Guidance

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With its August 8, 2025, opinion in Bivens v. Zep, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected the EEOC’s guidelines (and split with several other circuits) to hold that the standard for holding an employer...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

Sixth Circuit Departs from EEOC and Other Circuits on Employer Liability Standard for Third-Party Harassment

On August 8, 2025, a Sixth Circuit panel in Bivens v. Zep, Inc. held that an employer can only be found liable under Title VII for harassment by a third party if the employer intended for the harassment to occur. This...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

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

Littler

California Supreme Court Takes a Bite Out of the Rigid Application of Arbitration Fee Deadlines: Hohenshelt v. Superior Court

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Case Background - A sanitation employee at Golden State Foods Corporation, signed an arbitration agreement governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) at the start of his employment. In 2020, after reporting alleged...more

ArentFox Schiff

Federal Court Strikes Down Key Portions of EEOC Harassment Guidance

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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

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

Robins Kaplan LLP

What’s Good for the Goose is Good for the Government

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Sterry v. Minnesota Department of Corrections, 8 N.W.3d 224 (Minn. 2024) places Minnesota governmental employers on the same footing as private employers for the purposes of vicarious liability. The State, cities, and...more

FordHarrison

New Jersey Judge Interprets EFAA As Requiring Employment Claims to Be Split Into Two Forums

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Real World Impact: A recent New Jersey Superior Court decision interpreting the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) may require New Jersey employers to defend an employee’s...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Bypassing MCAD in Student Sexual Harassment Cases in Massachusetts

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In a March 21, 2024, decision in the matter of Doe v. Cheffi, Suffolk Superior Court Justice Connolly ruled that students may bring sexual harassment claims against educational institutions in court, without first bringing...more

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Title IX’s Implications for the LGBTQ+ Community

The City of Atlanta celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride in October for several reasons — National Coming Out Day is celebrated on Oct. 11; the anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights serves as a...more

Jones Day

New Texas Law Expands Potential Liability for Sexual Harassment

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Texas, a traditionally employer-friendly state that seldom imposes requirements on employers that are more stringent than federal law, recently passed a new sexual harassment law that does just that. The law, which took...more

Littler

Guidelines on the Interpretation of Puerto Rico’s Employment Legislation, Chapters 9 and 10

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As we have previously discussed, the Puerto Rico Department of Labor (PR DOL) recently published the first edition of its Guidelines on the Interpretation of Puerto Rico’s Employment Legislation (Guidelines), which includes...more

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