News & Analysis as of

Harassment Hostile Environment Employment Litigation

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Caveat Employer: An Employee’s Off-Duty Social Media Posts Can Constitute Workplace Harassment

As the workplace continues to take a new shape, the distinction between “workplace conduct” and “off duty” conduct continues to fade for many.  After a recent Ninth Circuit ruling, employers must be more vigilant than ever in...more

Miller Nash LLP

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

Miller Nash LLP on

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

Seward & Kissel LLP

Employment Litigation Roundup: August 2024

Seward & Kissel LLP on

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

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Posting About Another Employee on Social Media Could Be Unlawful Harassment

Social media has truly changed our world, both in and outside of the workplace. It has evolved into a daily habit for many of us; the way we get news about the world and our friends, the way we shop, gossip, and much more. It...more

Chartwell Law

The Social Web’s Influence on Your Workplace and the Potential Havoc It Can Cause

Chartwell Law on

Employers have a duty to ensure that their workplaces are not hostile, both in the physical and virtual worlds. This responsibility extends to both actual and constructive knowledge of potential issues....more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb: July Appellate Roundup

Littler on

This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments in federal courts of appeal in the last month....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Single Use of Racial Slur May Constitute Harassment

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court ruled that an isolated, one-time, use of a racial slur may be so severe—when viewed in relation to the totality of the circumstances—as to alter the conditions of employment,...more

Holland & Knight LLP

When Social Media Posts Become Workplace Harassment

Holland & Knight LLP on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on July 25, 2024, ruled that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, companies can be held liable for claims of a hostile work environment if an employee shares...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

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Red Robin to Pay $600,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Settles Federal Charges the Casual Dining Chain Allowed Female Employees, including a Teen, to be Sexually Harassed, Retaliated Against, and Forced to Resign - EVERETT, Wash. – Restaurant chain Red Robin International,...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

DEI Training Videos Did Not Create Hostile Work Environment

Employers’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have faced recent pushback from employees and others who claim that the contents of training falsely accuse them of systemic bias based on their race....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

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

Genova Burns LLC

You Can Say What?! New Jersey District Court Rejects Claims of Hostile Work Environment

Genova Burns LLC on

On July 29, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Tavares v. Builders FirstSource Northeast Group, Inc., granted Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment most notably finding that racist and...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

EEOC Sues Simply Slims for Sexual Harassment

Restaurant Allowed a Shift Manager to Sexually Harass Teens and Young Adults Despite Complaints, Agency Charges - HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Simply Slims, L.L.C., and or Dixie Chicken, L.L.C. d/b/a Slim Chickens in Hot Springs,...more

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Ninth Circuit Revives Sexual Harassment Suit Based on Music

Harassment doesn’t have to target a specific individual to be actionable under Title VII, a panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in a class action alleging sexual harassment. ...more

Troutman Pepper

Musical Harassment: Ninth Circuit Finds Offensive Music in the Workplace Can Constitute Sexual Harassment

Troutman Pepper on

Q: Can sexually graphic, misogynistic music played in the workplace be considered sexual harassment even if it is not directed at a particular employee and found offensive by employees of both sexes? ...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Taos Hotel Formerly Known as Whitten Inn and its Successor Settle EEOC Race and National Origin Harassment Suit

Former Owner of Whitten Hotel Accused of Racist Behavior, Federal Agency Charges - ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Roark-Whitten Hospitality 2, LP, doing business as the Whitten Inn, and its successor purchaser of the hotel SGI, LLC,...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Third Circuit Revives Harassment Claim Involving Harassment by Psychiatric Center Patient

When defining what conduct constitutes a hostile and offensive working environment under Title VII, the U.S. Supreme Court directs lower courts to look at the context of the behavior in the specific workplace at issue....more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Please DO Stop the Music: Ninth Circuit Rules Offensive Tunes Can Constitute a Hostile Workplace

Many workplaces allow their employees to listen to music or radio on site. But what if employees choose to blast “sexually graphic” and “violently misogynistic” songs throughout a warehouse? Does it matter whether the...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Alden Short and Hinson Jennings to Pay $85,000 to Settle EEOC National Origin Discrimination Suit

Property Management Company Settles Federal Charges of Harassing Three Hispanic Employees - DALLAS – Alden Short and Hinson Jennings, a Dallas-based property management company, will pay $85,000 and furnish other relief to...more

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

Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies State Law Standards for ‘Severe or Pervasive’ Harassment and Constructive Discharge

On February 8, 2023, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued its first significant decision interpreting the state’s employment discrimination law, the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), in three years. In a ruling that will...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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Infrequent but Repeated Comments Can Create a Hostile Working Environment Based on Race

Long-time EmployNews readers know that we have repeatedly written about the changing legal standard for racial harassment claims adopted by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina,...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

78 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 4

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide