News & Analysis as of

Summary Judgment Title VII Employer Liability Issues

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

Federal Court Rejects Claims by Employees Allegedly Fired for Wearing BLM Masks

In February 2021, we wrote about Kinzer, et al. v. Whole Foods Market, Inc., a case pending in Massachusetts federal court in which multiple employees alleged that they had been terminated by Whole Foods for wearing Black...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

Fifth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of ADEA Claim Lacking Evidence of Age-Bias

On March 11, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment, dismissing a Texas city employee’s claim that he had been unlawfully terminated from his job because of his age. The Fifth...more

Butler Snow LLP

Step-dad’s “slobbery” kiss leads to big trouble for Tennessee employer

Butler Snow LLP on

Under Title VII, an employer can be held liable for retaliation by a non-supervisory co-worker if (1) the conduct is sufficiently severe to dissuade a complaint of discrimination; (2) management was aware of the behavior; and...more

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Ninth Circuit Not Enamored of ‘Paramour Preference’ Claims

The U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, rejected “paramour preference” claims under Title VII, affirming summary judgment in favor of an employer and following the other federal appellate courts in rebuffing claims...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Plaintiff’s “Paramour Preference” Plan Panned: 9th Circuit Finds Romantic Relationship Not Enough to Show Discrimination Against...

In another chapter in litigation alliteration, in Maner v. Dignity Health, f/k/a Catholic Healthcare West, the Ninth Circuit held that a male employee’s theory that his supervisor’s long-term romantic relationship with a...more

Miller Canfield

6th Circuit Clarifies Opposition Clause of Title VII - Performance of Regular Job Duties as Protected Activity

Miller Canfield on

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits retaliation against employees because they either oppose discriminatory actions (the "Opposition Clause") or because of their participation in an investigation, proceeding, or...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

The Employment Law Reporter - Spring 2021

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Here is what we cover in this issue of The Employment Law Reporter: •A federal court in New York has dismissed an employment discrimination lawsuit brought by a former employee of the City University of New York. ...more

Sherman & Howard L.L.C.

Don’t Let “Sending The Right Message” Stand In The Way Of An Effective Investigation

In today’s world, employers may be tempted to react quickly and with force to complaints of discrimination before allowing a complete investigation to run its course. A new decision from the U.S. District Court for the...more

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

Seventh Circuit Decision May Portend Increase in Equal Pay Act Claims for Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin Employers

On January 5, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision in Kellogg v. Ball State University that expanded the scope of potential evidence plaintiffs may rely on to support their Equal Pay Act...more

Payne & Fears

Key California Employment Law Cases: June 2020

Payne & Fears on

Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020) - Summary:  Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity....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

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Driven Fence Agrees to Pay $25,000 to Settle EEOC Race Harassment Lawsuit

Fencing Company's Mistreatment of Black Employee, Including Racial Slurs and Noose Display, Forced Him to Quit, Federal Agency Charged - CHICAGO - A Melrose Park, Ill., fencing company will pay $25,000 and furnish other...more

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

Eleventh Circuit Holds Alleged ‘Unsavory and Unpleasant’ Behavior Not Legally ‘Pervasive’ for Purposes of Title VII Harassment...

In Allen v. Ambu-Stat, LLC, No. 18-10640 (January 16, 2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a Georgia district court’s dismissal of a former employee’s sexual harassment claim and delivered a...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

M&T Bank Will Pay $100,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

Bank Failed to Accommodate Manager With Pregnancy-Related Disability, Federal Agency Charged - BALTIMORE - Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, doing business as M&T Bank, will pay $100,000 and provide significant...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Lower Pay for Equal Work is Not Sole Path for Pay Discrimination Claim

Foley & Lardner LLP on

Consider this hypothetical: An employer operates a national business, and has two vice president of sales (VP) positions. The VPs have essentially the same tenure with the company and the same duties, except one oversees the...more

Orrick - Equal Pay Pulse

No Equal Work Required: Second Circuit Rejects Strict Application of EPA Standard to Title VII Claim

Orrick - Equal Pay Pulse on

The Second Circuit ruled this month in Lenzi v. Systemax, Inc. that “Title VII does not require a showing of unequal pay for equal work.” Drawing a line between the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”) and Title VII, the court held that...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Seventh Circuit Says One Use of "N-Word" Insufficient for Racial Harassment Claim

In recent years, a number of federal appellant courts, including the Fourth Circuit, have issued opinions finding that a single use of a racial slur can be enough to constitute a hostile and offensive working environment...more

Littler

Fifth Circuit Deals a Blow to EEOC’s Criminal Record Guidance

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On August 6, 2019, in Texas v. EEOC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dealt the EEOC a significant setback, largely affirming the district court’s decision that the EEOC violated the federal Administrative...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Passage of Time Defeats North Carolina Employer Retaliation Claim

North Carolina’s Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA) prohibits employers from taking retaliatory action against employees on the basis of workers’ compensation, OSHA, wage and hour, and other state labor law...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Performance Counseling and Mediation Session Not Considered Adverse Employment Actions Under Title VII

Employees cannot sue under federal anti-discrimination laws for every perceived slight or workplace occurrence. In order to be actionable, the alleged employer conduct must rise to the level of an “adverse employment action.”...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

The Italian Job: Fifth Circuit Confirms Pleading Standard for National Origin Discrimination Claim

Employment law is full of burden-shifting, prima facie standards and evidentiary hurdles. Sometimes, even the courts apply the wrong standard at the wrong stage of a case. That appears to be what happened in the case of...more

Rumberger | Kirk

No Longer A Mess: En Banc Eleventh Circuit Clarifies the Standard for Similarly Situated Comparators

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Last month, the en banc Eleventh Circuit clarified the appropriate standard for analyzing “similarly situated” comparator evidence in Title VII intentional-discrimination cases. Lewis v. City of Union City, Ga., --- F.3d...more

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

Eleventh Circuit Opinion Clarifies Definition of ‘Similarly Situated’ Comparators

On March 21, 2019, finding in favor of an employer seeking summary judgment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Lewis v. City of Union City, clarified the definition of “similarly situated” comparators for...more

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

The Americans with Disabilities Act Prohibits Hostile Work Environments, Second Circuit Rules

On March 6, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided Fox v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, eliminating any uncertainty concerning whether an employee can assert a hostile work environment claim under the...more

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