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Title VII › Employer Liability Issues › Vicarious Liability

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 -
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

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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

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

No Intent, No Liability: Sixth Circuit Narrows Employer Liability for Third-Party Harassment

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Most employers understand their obligation to prevent discrimination and harassment at work, and the significant consequences that can come if such treatment is allowed to occur. But what if an employee alleges harassment not...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

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

Robinson & Cole LLP

Legal Update: Connecticut Supreme Court Adopts SCOTUS Definition of “Supervisor” for Establishing Vicarious Liability for Hostile...

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On August 1, 2024, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in O’Reggio v. Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities that the definition of “supervisor” set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in Vance v. Ball State University to...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

Employment Litigation Roundup: August 2024

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In a win for employers, the Connecticut Supreme Court defines “supervisor” narrowly for purposes of vicarious employer liability under Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act - Under Connecticut’s civil rights law, an...more

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

Connecticut Supreme Court Adopts Federal Definition of ‘Supervisor’ for State Law Hostile Work Environment Claims

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A “supervisor,” for purposes of a Connecticut state hostile work environment claim, is an employee who is empowered by an employer to take tangible employment actions, the Connecticut Supreme Court recently held in O’Reggio...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

FordHarrison

Employers in BET’s Twenties Test the Waters with Respect to Sexual Harassment and Discrimination

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In its “Enforcement Guidance: Vicarious Liability for Unlawful Harassment by Supervisors,” the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notes, “The standard for employer liability for hostile work environment...more

Burr & Forman

South Carolina Employment Law Letter: 4th Circuit delivers blow to Title VII punitive damages

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In a recent case involving multiple issues—Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, constructive discharge, and state law claims among them— the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers South Carolina employers)...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Prior Harassment Claims Do Not Eliminate Employer's Use of Faragher-Ellerth Defense

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Under Title VII, employers are vicariously liable for incidents of sexual harassment engaged in by supervisors. In its Faragher and Ellerth decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged a limited defense to claims of...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Corporations Exposed To Liability Under The Illinois Gender Violence Act

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Key points: Corporations may be held vicariously liable for employee conduct under the Illinois Gender Violence Act. An Illinois appellate court justified the imposition of liability as a consequence of expanding...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment in the #MeToo Era

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Stories of high-profile individuals in politics, media, entertainment and hospitality alleged to have engaged in sexual harassment, or worse, have been breaking at an unprecedented rate. In the wake of these allegations,...more

FordHarrison

Sixth Circuit Holds Employer Not Vicariously Liable For Actions Of Alleged Supervisor In Title VII Same-Sex Sexual Harassment...

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Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Hylko v. U.S. Steel Corporation affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the employer in a lawsuit alleging same-sex sexual harassment...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Sixth Circuit Shuts Down EEOC’s Appeal In Sex Harassment Suit

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Seyfarth Synopsis: In a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the EEOC, the Sixth Circuit affirmed a U.S. District Court’s grant of an employer’s motion for summary judgment after finding that the harassing employee was not a...more

Stoel Rives LLP

Part 2 of 2: Supreme Court Rules That "Supervisors" Under Title VII Must Have Power to Take Tangible Employment Actions

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On Monday, we blogged about the first of two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar. Today, we’ll...more

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