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Harassment Corporate Counsel

Miller Nash LLP

California Supreme Court Holds Single Allegation of Racial Slur by Coworker Sufficient to Form Basis of Hostile Work Environment...

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Recently, the California Supreme Court found that a plaintiff’s claim based on a single (disputed) racial epithet by a non-supervisory coworker was sufficient to form the basis of a hostile work environment claim—it was...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

Doing Business in New York Part 1: Being A New York Employer - Key Differences in Law That Incoming Businesses Need to Know

For existing businesses expanding operations into New York State for the first time, there are a myriad of legal idiosyncrasies to navigate. Businesses must proactively identify areas where a different approach is required to...more

Littler

Illinois Extends Statute of Limitations for Filing Discrimination Claims Under Illinois Human Rights Act, Adds Protected Classes,...

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Last week, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law several bills that significantly amend the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). As a result of these amendments, Illinois employers should expect an uptick in discrimination cases...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

California Supreme Court Affirms Single Comment Can Constitute Harassment and Addresses Standard for Retaliation

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In a July 29, 2024, opinion, the California Supreme Court reaffirmed that a single use of a racial epithet can be severe enough to be actionable harassment under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)....more

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

Texas Federal Court Nixes Initial Challenge to EEOC’s Guidance on LGBTQ+ Protections

On July 17, 2024, the U.S. District for the Northern District of Texas rejected the State of Texas’s request that it vacate recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on harassment and...more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb: May Appellate Roundup

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This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments in the federal courts of appeal in the last month. Seventh Circuit Finds EEOC Failed to Prove Racial Harassment in Multi-Employee...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Get with the Pronoun: Eleventh Circuit Rules Pervasive Misgendering Is Harassment

If an employer or coworker persistently uses a transgender worker’s wrong name or identified pronoun, can that constitute a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII? In Copeland v. Georgia Department of Corrections,...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Claims of Hostile Work Environment Happened Over Too Long a Period, Court Rules

Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims from a university professor that she had been subjected to a series of retaliatory acts in the two- and one-half year period following her filing an Equal...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

New Trial Threat To California Employers Has Arrived

A newly enacted, under-the-radar statute in California could undermine efforts by employers to challenge the expert opinion testimony regarding alleged emotional distress offered by employees at trial. In many if not most...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

2023 New York Employment Law Roundup

Although 2023 perhaps did not see the passage of any laws quite as impactful as 2022—which, as employers will recall, included New York State enacting its own pay transparency law (see here) and novel New York City Council...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

New York Revises Law on Non-Disclosure Provisions in Settlements of Harassment, Discrimination and/or Retaliation Allegations:...

New York has amended its law on non-disclosure provisions in settlement agreements when those provisions seek to keep confidential the factual foundation of alleged sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation....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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Recognizes 'Equal Opportunity Harasser' Defense

We often hear claims from employees who threaten to sue their employer for creating a “hostile work environment.” When we dig into the complaints, often the employee is alleging that their manager is mean or unfair to them,...more

Littler

Alberta, Canada Court Recognizes New Tort of Harassment

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In Alberta Health Services v Johnston, 2023 ABKB 209, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta recognized a new tort of harassment. Background - Alberta Health Services (AHS) and two individual plaintiffs claimed they were...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

$137 Million Racial Harassment Verdict Against Tesla Slashed by New Jury!

An astronomical $137 million jury verdict against Tesla has again been reduced, for a second (and potentially final) time. Last Monday, following a five-day trial on damages, a federal court jury awarded Owen Diaz, a former...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Prompt Remedial Action Saves the Day for This Employer

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The Fifth Circuit dismissed a plaintiff’s harassment claims because the employer took prompt action to stop the harassment and prevent it from continuing.  This case highlights the importance for employers...more

Littler

UK: New Bill Could Mean Employers Are Liable for Third-Party Harassment

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The UK Government is supporting the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill to significantly expand employers’ liability for harassment in the workplace....more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Racial Slur From Owner's Six-Year-Old Son is Evidence of Offensive Working Environment

​​​​​​​Over the past decade, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) has substantially lowered the bar for demonstrating racial harassment in cases where a racial...more

Genova Burns LLC

Glass Houses: Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed Due to Employee’s Own Unprofessional Conduct

Genova Burns LLC on

On April 19, 2022, in Bouziotis v. Iron Bar, LLC, the New Jersey Appellate Division upheld a trial court’s dismissal of a former bartender’s hostile work environment and gender discrimination claims partly on the grounds that...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fifth Circuit Agrees That One Use of the "N-Word" Can Create a Racially Hostile Work Environment

Over the past decade, a growing number of federal appellate circuits have heard cases asking whether a single use of a racially offensive epithet is enough to clear the bar for a hostile environment racial harassment claim...more

Poyner Spruill LLP

EEOC Announces Two Recent Settlements of Title VII Race Lawsuits

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced two high-profile settlements of race claims – one for discrimination and one for harassment – that highlight the dangers of employers failing to protect...more

Maynard Nexsen

$137 Million Verdict Illustrates Importance of Competent Anti-Harassment Policies

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On October 4, 2021, a North California federal jury awarded a former Tesla subcontractor $137 million after finding that he had been subjected to a hostile work environment and that Tesla was responsible for the harm it...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Tesla Hit With $137 Million Jury Verdict for Racially Charged Workplace

On October 4, a California federal jury awarded $137 million to a former contract employee who worked for Tesla. At trial, the plaintiff testified that he was repeatedly called the N-word while at work, regularly heard racial...more

Morgan Lewis

UK Employment Appeal Tribunal: ‘Gender-critical’ Beliefs Are Protected Philosophical Beliefs

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The UK’s Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) found on 10 June 2021 in Maya Forstater v CGD Europe and others that gender-critical beliefs—including believing that one’s biological sex is immutable and not to be conflated with...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Allows New Type of Same-Sex Harassment Claim Based on Stereotyping

In its Oncale decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that same-sex sexual harassment violates Title VII’s sex discrimination prohibition. In that case, the court said that plaintiffs can demonstrate same-sex harassment...more

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