News & Analysis as of September 3, 2025

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

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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 -

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

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP on 8/28/2025

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

Sixth Circuit Imposes Heightened Standard in Non-Employee Sexual Harassment Cases

Saul Ewing LLP on 8/26/2025

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

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

Foley & Lardner LLP on 8/26/2025

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

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

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace on 8/25/2025

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

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

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 8/21/2025

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

If You See Something, Do You Fix It If It Isn’t Your Employee? 6th Circuit Applies Higher Standard to Non-Employee Harassment Case

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 8/20/2025

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

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

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL on 8/20/2025

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

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

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 8/18/2025

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

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

FordHarrison on 8/13/2025

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

In the Crosshairs: Untangling the Legal Landscape on LGBTQ+ Workplace Rights Under Title VII

Fisher Phillips on 7/2/2025

The EEOC recently updated its workplace harassment enforcement guidance to reflect a Texas federal court ruling that found the Biden-era EEOC had overstepped its authority by requiring bathroom, dress, and pronoun...more

EEOC Guidance Partially Vacated: What’s an Employer to Do?

Robinson Bradshaw on 6/12/2025

Savvy employers read and implemented the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s 2024 Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace. Now, portions of that Guidance relating to LGBTQ+ employee rights are defunct....more

Texas Federal Court Vacates Portions of EEOC Harassment Guidance Protecting LGBTQ+ Workers

Berkshire on 5/28/2025

On May 15, 2025, a Texas federal court issued a ruling that vacates portions of an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) harassment guidance that expanded the definition of sexual harassment under Title VII to...more

Federal Court Strikes Down Key Portions of EEOC Harassment Guidance

ArentFox Schiff on 5/28/2025

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

Take it Back – A Federal Court in Texas Vacates Portions of the EEOC’s Sexual Harassment Guidance

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 5/23/2025

Recall that just last year, the EEOC updated its Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace for the first time in 30 years. We blogged about it here. Earlier this year, President Trump issued Executive Order 14168...more

EEOC Defines Unlawful DEI

CDF Labor Law LLP on 3/20/2025

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

EEOC Sues Taco Bell Franchisees for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 3/12/2025

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

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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 3/11/2025

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

EEOC Acting Chair Issues Statement Announcing Commission's Plans to Remove Gender Ideology and Return to Mission of "Protecting...

K&L Gates LLP on 2/6/2025

On 28 January 2025, the Acting Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission), Andrea Lucas (Acting Chair Lucas) issued a statement announcing that the Commission is returning to its “mission of...more

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Title VII › Sexual Harassment › Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

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

Sixth Circuit Imposes Heightened Standard in Non-Employee Sexual Harassment Cases

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

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

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

If You See Something, Do You Fix It If It Isn’t Your Employee? 6th Circuit Applies Higher Standard to Non-Employee Harassment Case

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

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

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

In the Crosshairs: Untangling the Legal Landscape on LGBTQ+ Workplace Rights Under Title VII

EEOC Guidance Partially Vacated: What’s an Employer to Do?

Texas Federal Court Vacates Portions of EEOC Harassment Guidance Protecting LGBTQ+ Workers

Federal Court Strikes Down Key Portions of EEOC Harassment Guidance

Take it Back – A Federal Court in Texas Vacates Portions of the EEOC’s Sexual Harassment Guidance

EEOC Defines Unlawful DEI

EEOC Sues Taco Bell Franchisees for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation

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

EEOC Acting Chair Issues Statement Announcing Commission's Plans to Remove Gender Ideology and Return to Mission of "Protecting...

The Defending Women Executive Order Presents Potential Clash Between Federal and State Antidiscrimination Law

EEOC Issues Annual Report, Faces Future in Flux

EEOC Updates Under The New Administration

EEOC Acting Chair Rolls Back Guidance Related to Unlawful Discrimination and Harassment Based on Gender Identity

EEOC Acting Chair Issues Statement on Gender Identity, Removes Guidance on Transgender Issues

Former NLRB GC Abruzzo’s Parting Words on the Complementary Relationship between NLRA and EEOC Statutes

Resetting the EEOC: President Trump Removes Two EEOC Commissioners

Title VII › Sexual Harassment › Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

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