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Title VII › Sexual Harassment › Employer Liability Issues

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 -
Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

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

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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

Foley & Lardner LLP on

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

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

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

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

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL on

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

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

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

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

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

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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

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

The Coldplay Concert Kiss Cam Scandal: Legal and Employment Litigation Implications

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP on

We’ve all heard about and been astonished (or entertained) by the recent Coldplay concert kiss cam scandal involving the CEO and Chief People Officer of Astronomer, a data infrastructure and workflow company valued at over $1...more

Gould + Ratner LLP

Coldplay Gate: What if It Happened at Your Company?

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The internet lit up recently with viral footage from a “kiss cam” at a Coldplay concert in Boston, Massachusetts. The clip, now dubbed by some as “Coldplay Gate,” depicts the married CEO of Astronomer, Inc., having an...more

McGlinchey Stafford

Podcast: Sexual Misconduct and Safer Seas: What Merchant Mariners Need to Know [More with McGlinchey, Ep. 78]

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In this installment of the More with McGlinchey Podcast, labor and employment attorney Susan Desmond and maritime attorney Marcelle Mouledoux discuss the Safer Seas Act and Title VII requirements for the marine industry. They...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

EEOC Defines Unlawful DEI

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Yesterday, the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published its guidance entitled: What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work....more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

EEOC Sues Taco Bell Franchisees for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on

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

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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

Berkshire

EEOC Updates Under The New Administration

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has been busy since President Trump took office on January 20, 2025. On January 21st, 2025, the President appointed Andrea Lucas as Acting Chair of the EEOC. She has served...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

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

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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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

11th Circuit Speaks: No Implied Right of Action for Employees Under Title IX for Sex Discrimination

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The 11th Circuit has spoken on a topic with divergent views among the circuits – finding that Title IX does not provide an implied right of action for sex discrimination. In so doing, it affirmed summary judgment for the...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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Sex-Plus X – What’s That? Discrimination

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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

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

Saul Ewing LLP

Ninth Circuit Rules That Social Media Posts Can Constitute Workplace Harassment

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On July 25, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the notion that harassing conduct must occur inside the workplace to be considered actionable. The court also affirmed the notion that “the totality...more

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