Category Archives: Sexual Harassment
Does Unwanted Romantic Interest Constitute Sexual Harassment?
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, which includes sexual harassment in the form of a hostile work environment. Title VII protects men as well as women from discrimination because of sex, including sexual harassment. Generally, sexual harassment involves verbal or physical behavior… Read More »
The Legal Significance Of A Single Incident Of Serious Sexual Harassment
In order to establish a sexual harassment claim, an employee must show that the sexually harassing behavior was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the terms and conditions of employment. Although often ignored by courts when dismissing sexual harassment cases, sexual harassment is actionable if it is either sufficiently severe or pervasive. Thus, as… Read More »
What Are The Options Of A Sexual Harassment Victim?
In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986) that sexual harassment which is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create a hostile or abusive working environment is unlawful. Almost thirty years later, sexual harassment persists as a serious… Read More »
What Is The Legal Significance Of Prior Complaints Against The Same Sexual Harasser?
A sexual harassment victim will sometimes have personal knowledge or information that the same individual sexually harassing him or her has also sexually harassed other employees. One issue arising out of such circumstances is whether any of the other employees made a prior sexual harassment complaint against the same harasser. If an employee did… Read More »
Employer Liability For A Supervisor’s Sexual Harassment Based On Management’s Knowledge
In Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998) and Burlington Indus. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998), the U.S. Supreme Court held that employers are subject to vicarious liability for hostile work environment sexual harassment created by a supervisor with immediate (or successively higher) authority over the victim. However, the Ellerth… Read More »
Employees Are Protected Against Sexual Harassment From Customers
A common misconception in the area of sexual harassment law is that an employer can only be held liable for hostile work environment sexual harassment when the harassment is committed by an employee. However, employers have a duty to prevent and correct sexual harassment in the workplace whether the harasser is an employee or… Read More »
Employers Have A Duty To Investigate Sexual Harassment Complaints
When an employer knows or should know about sexually harassing conduct in the workplace, the employer is required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) to take prompt and effective remedial action that is reasonably calculated to end the harassment. As part of an employer’s remedial obligation, Title VII imposes a… Read More »
EEOC Lawsuit Uses Federal Law To Protect Employees Claiming Sexual Harassment
On March 8, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) entered into a Consent Decree with FYC International, Inc. (FYC) which settled an employment discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC on behalf of employees of FYC in the U.S. District Court, District Court of Connecticut. In the case of EEOC v. FYC International,… Read More »
The “Alter Ego” Sexual Harasser: A Company Owner Engages In Sexual Harassment
A recent case brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) in the U.S. District Court, Southern District Court of Florida on behalf of three female employees of McWhite’s Funeral Home, Inc. (“McWhite’s Funeral Home”) illuminates the legal consequences which arise when the person engaging in the sexual harassment is a company owner…. Read More »
What Is Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment
Courts have characterized quid pro quo harassment as the most severe and oppressive type of sexual harassment in the workplace. Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when submission to or rejection of a supervisor’s sexual behavior, such as sexual advances or requests for sexual favors, is used as the basis for employment decisions regarding… Read More »
