What's the Tea in L&E? "Passive" Harassment: When Does Workplace Decor Contribute to a Hostile Environment?
What's the Tea in L&E? Truth Hurts or Rumors? Lizzo’s Harassment Allegations Serve As A Good Reminder
Middle East Conflict Impact on the Healthcare Workplace: An HR Perspective
The Labor Law Insider - Pause Before You Discipline: NLRB Turns Against Civility in Lion Elastomers Decision
Labor & Employment Law: Vermont and Federal Legislative Update
Politics at Work
Employment Law Now: III-47 - New York, New World
III-41- Things That Make You Go “Hmmm” in Employment Law
Ann Curry’s Departure from the Today Show Presents a Number of Lessons for Employers
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
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
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
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
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
This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments in federal courts of appeal in the last month....more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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