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Title VII › Appeals › Sexual Harassment

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1964 and aimed at preventing discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, and religion. Title VII... more +
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1964 and aimed at preventing discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, and religion. Title VII has been subsequently extended to discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and sexual stereotypes and to prohibit sexual harassment. Title VII applies to all employers with fifteen or more employees including private employers, state and local governments, and educational institutions.  less -
Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

When is an employer liable for harassment by customers? You may be relieved.

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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

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

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

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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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Sixth Circuit Takes Restricted View of Employer Liability for Third-Party Harassment

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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

FordHarrison

Sixth Circuit Requires Proof of Intent for Employers to be Liable for Harassment by a Nonemployee

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On August 8, 2025, in Bivens v. Zep, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that employer liability for nonemployee harassment requires proof of the employer’s intent, a departure from the...more

Kerr Russell

Supreme Court and Sixth Circuit Case Law Updates

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From the U.S. Supreme Court to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, courts have issued rulings that clarify — and in some cases, reshape — key aspects of labor and employment law....more

Holland & Hart - Employers' Lawyers

A Shoddy Investigation Is Not Retaliatory

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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

Benesch

Supreme Court Appears Poised to Do Away With Additional Burdens on Reverse-Discrimination Plaintiffs

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On February 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Ames v. OH Dept. of Youth Services, which questioned whether the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals correctly decided that a heterosexual plaintiff should have...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Another Arbitration Agreement Bites the Dust!

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The California Court of Appeal dealt another blow to arbitration, just months after we reported the last such decision here. This time, the Court ruled that the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and...more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb – April Employment Appellate Roundup

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This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment and labor law developments at the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal over the last month. ...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

[Ongoing Program] Level 2: K-12 Title IX decision-maker training - May 2nd, 9:00 am - 11:30 am EST

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Title IX Regulations Training (K-12) - The final Title IX regulations have been released. How will the new requirements affect your policies and procedures? Join Bricker & Eckler attorneys for a series of trainings to...more

Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers,...

Multiple Avenues Exist for Proving Same-Sex Harassment Claims

Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers,... on

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which presides over federal district courts in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, recently joined several other circuit courts in determining that plaintiffs who allege same-sex...more

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

Seventh Circuit Reiterates Who is “Similarly Situated” for Purposes of Title VII Claims

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In a recent opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reiterated the requirements that must be met for an employee to identify a similarly situated comparator for purposes of a Title VII claim. Gamble v. FCA...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Federal Appeals Court Says Employer Must Have Reasonable Opportunity to Investigate Harassment Complaint

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Under Title VII, an employer may be liable for sexual harassment by one co-worker of another if it knew or should have known of the conduct and took no action. According to a recent decision from the Eighth Circuit Court of...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Eight Circuit Maintains High Bar for Hostile Work Environment Claims

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a manager’s behavior toward an employee was “reprehensible and improper,” but did not rise to the level of a hostile work environment under Title VII, and...more

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

Eleventh Circuit Holds Alleged ‘Unsavory and Unpleasant’ Behavior Not Legally ‘Pervasive’ for Purposes of Title VII Harassment...

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

In Allen v. Ambu-Stat, LLC, No. 18-10640 (January 16, 2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a Georgia district court’s dismissal of a former employee’s sexual harassment claim and delivered a...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

SuperVision - Labor and Employment Law Insights: Issue 4, 2019

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Welcome to the fourth quarter edition of SuperVision, the e-newsletter from Spilman Thomas & Battle's Labor & Employment Law Group. Just as we were going to press, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") issued two...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Employment Flash - December 2019

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This edition of Employment Flash looks at recent NLRB activity, including its issuance of a decision suggesting two members would be willing to reconsider a precedent regarding surveillance of employees’ union activity. We...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

End of the Road: Eighth Circuit Upholds $3.3 Million Fee Award Against The EEOC For Frivolous Claims

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Seyfarth Synopsis: After over a decade of litigation between the EEOC and trucking company CRST Van Expedited, the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a federal district court’s order requiring the EEOC to pay $3.3 million in...more

Miles & Stockbridge P.C.

Has the Fourth Circuit Set the Stage for LGBTQ Protections Under Title VII?

Miles & Stockbridge P.C. on

The Fourth Circuit’s recent decision in Evangeline Parker v. Reema Consulting Services, Incorporated, 915 F.3d 297 (4th Cir. 2019) grabbed headlines for its controversial ruling that workplace gossip can support a sex...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Rumors About Sex for Promotions Constitute Actionable Sexual Harassment

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Successful women have long been the subject of rumors that promotions or other career advancements were the result of their “sleeping their way to the top.” Earlier this month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which...more

McAfee & Taft

Employers may be liable for harassment by a non-employee

McAfee & Taft on

“Claims of sexual harassment typically involve the behavior of fellow employees. But not always,” said a federal appeals court in Gardner v. CLC of Pascagoula, LLC. The case shows employers must take employee complaints of...more

Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

Student’s Physical Assault of Alleged Harasser Does Not Constitute Protected Activity Under Title IX

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on

Sanchez v. Brawley Elementary School District, 719 Fed. Appx. 723 (9th Cir. 2018) The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms District Court’s ruling that a student’s conduct of kneeing her alleged harasser did not constitute...more

Fisher Phillips

Top 50 Workplace Law Stories Of 2018

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It’s hard to keep up with the news these days. It sometimes feels like you can’t step away from your phone, computer, or TV for more than an hour or so without a barrage of new information hitting the headlines—and you’re...more

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