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Appeals Harassment

Payne & Fears

July 2024 Case Summaries

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Summary: Courts must consider allegations of a racially hostile workplace “from the perspective of a reasonable person belonging to the racial or ethnic group of the plaintiff.” Under this framework, “a single racial epithet...more

Payne & Fears

May 2024 Case Summaries

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Garcia v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC, 102 Cal. App. 5th 41 (2024) - Summary: Although parties may delegate questions regarding the validity of an arbitration agreement to the arbitrator, the delegation presupposes the existence...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

Woods Rogers

Virginia Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Teacher Over Use of Pronouns

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The Virginia Supreme Court ruled in favor of a high school teacher, finding that the circuit court wrongly dismissed the teacher’s claims against his former employer, who had terminated the teacher after he refused to use a...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

You asked for it, Kathy Griffin.

Ex-CEO's lawsuit against the comedian/activist will proceed. Who ever thought personal jurisdiction could be interesting? In April 2021, the CEO of a telehealth company was eating dinner with his wife at a hotel in a suburb...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

Miles & Stockbridge P.C.

Fourth Circuit Holds ‘Series of Hateful Workplace Encounters’ Based on Race Can Create Hostile Working Environment Under Title VII

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has expanded its view of what a hostile work environment looks like and lowered the bar in terms of what a plaintiff must show to sufficiently allege a race-based hostile work...more

Proskauer - Whistleblower Defense

Third Circuit: Whistleblowers Are Not Shielded From Discipline for Misconduct

On August 26, 2022, the Third Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment in favor of an employer, holding that whistleblower retaliation protections in the False Claims Act did not protect an employee from being discharged...more

King & Spalding

Employment Settlement Agreements – how to avoid the common pitfalls

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Settlement agreements are a pragmatic and effective tool in resolving workplace disputes. The employee benefits from financial support and a dignified exit, and the employer achieves a clean break. However, when used...more

Butler Snow LLP

Fourth Circuit Rules that Gender Dysphoria is Covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit became the first federal appellate court to find that the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) provides coverage to individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria. ...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

White and Williams LLP

Third Circuit finds Liability Under Title IX for Actions of Non-Students

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (Title IX) provides that “[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to...more

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Third Circuit Finds Title IX Applicable to Actions of a Third-Party Campus Visitor

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In a case involving the murder of a student on campus by a visiting boyfriend, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that an institution may be liable under Title IX for its failure to address apparent harassment by a...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Happy Thanksgiving and the Many Things for Which We Are Thankful – 2021 Edition

Many of us are understandably anxious to put another tumultuous year of the pandemic behind us. But before we sit down at the table to fill our plates and bellies to overflowing to celebrate the holiday, we can all find some...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Racial Epithets Spoken in Spanish Created Hostile Work Environment

Most employers are aware that a supervisor’s or co-worker’s use of the N-word or similar racial epithets in the workplace can serve as the basis for a claim of racial harassment. What happens, however, when the slurs are...more

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

California Supreme Court Holds Failure to Promote Claims Accrue With Employee’s ‘Knowledge’ of Denied Promotion

If an employee is passed over for a promotion due to alleged harassment, does the failure to promote happen when the employer decides to promote someone else or when the successful candidate actually takes on the role? ...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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Post-Bostock Harassment Claims Must Still Show Plaintiff Treated Differently Based on Sex

In last year’s landmark Bostock decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that discrimination due to sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited under Title VII. In its earlier Oncale decision, the Court concluded that...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

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

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

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

SuperVision - Labor and Employment Law Insights: Issue 2, September 2020

The Editors' Note - Welcome to this edition of SuperVision, the e-newsletter for Spilman Thomas & Battle's Labor & Employment Law Group. 2020 continues to bring unforeseen challenges, but employers are beginning to get back...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Managers' Indifferent Response to Harassment Complaint Does Not Subject Employer to Punitive Damages

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows awards of both compensatory and punitive damages capped at a total amount depending on the size of the employer. In a new decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals...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

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

Report on Patient Privacy Volume 20, Number 2. Privacy Briefs: February 2020

Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 2 (February 2020) - A ruling from Georgia’s highest state court could set a precedent that determines recourse for victims of cyberattacks. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled in late December...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Church Affiliate Is Exempt From FEHA Liability, But Liable for $1.9 Million On Other Theories

Mathews v. Happy Valley Conference Ctr., 2019 WL 6769659 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) - Jeremiah Mathews worked as a maintenance supervisor and cook for Happy Valley Conference Center, which is a subordinate affiliate of...more

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