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Daily Weekly  [More Information]
Article Index » sexual harassment » employer liability » Affirmative Defense » Employer Conduct
Report Link Seventh Circuit Finds Employer's Harassment Complaint Procedures Insufficient.
Ogletree Deakins - December 11, 2007
The federal appellate court with jurisdiction over Illinois employers recently reinstated a lawsuit brought against the owner of a fast food restaurant whose manager allegedly verbally and physically propositioned a 16-year-old employee. According to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the employee who was later fired by her manager because her mother complained about the harassment could proceed with her retaliation claim. The Seventh Circuit also held that the trial judge had improperly granted summary judgment to the employer on the harassment claim where the record reflected that the employer’s policies were both confusing and ineffective.
Report Link Effective Harassment Complaint Procedures Must Be Understandable to the Workforce, Appeals Court Rules.
Jackson Lewis LLP - November 26, 2007
Ruling that an employer's harassment complaint procedure was ineffective because it was not written in a way that could be easily understood by the teenage workers who comprised the bulk of the employer's workforce, a federal Court of Appeals in Chicago allows a 16-year-old restaurant worker's claims of sexual harassment and retaliation under Title VII to proceed to trial.
Report Link Anti-Harassment Measures Help Avoid Liability.
Fisher & Phillips, LLP - May 03, 2007
You return from vacation energized to complete the numerous projects sitting on your desk, only to find an employee standing in your doorway asking if she can speak with you about a confidential matter. In your gut, you know your day will be swallowed by what will likely follow from this conversation. The situation takes an uncomfortable turn when you realize the employee wants to lodge a complaint of sexual harassment about one of the company's supervisors.
Report Link Employee Who Rejects Employer's Proposed Remedial Action Cannot Pursue Sexual Harassment Lawsuit.
Ford & Harrison LLP - March 27, 2007
Having an effective policy againt harassment can help stem employee cliams, even where the company does not choose the remedial action the complaining employee requests.
Report Link Casual workplace lands restaurant in the hot seat (pdf).
Jones Walker - May 25, 2006
All employers want their employees to get along and feel comfortable while at work. But when does casual become too casual? While there’s nothing wrong with being comfortable in the workplace, an atmosphere that’s too relaxed sometimes can lead to behavior that pushes the envelope. A recent federal court decision serves as a reminder of what can happen when employees stop being professional and start being “real,” to paraphrase the show that gave reality TV its start. We also offer a few tips on how to keep your workplace from functioning like a reality show.
Report Link Employers Victorious In Key Title VII Suit (pdf).
Ogletree Deakins - February 27, 2006
The federal appellate court with jurisdiction over New Jersey recently dismissed a lawsuit brought by an employee who complained about sexual harassment and was later suspended for herself violating the employer’s harassment policy. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in an unpublished decision, held that the employee’s sexual harassment claim must fail because effective corrective measures were taken to remedy the offensive conduct.
Report Link The Title VII Affirmative Defense to Sexual Harassment Claims.
Jackson Lewis LLP - December 02, 2005
An employer's legal duty to promptly and thoroughly investigate any complaint of perceived discrimination, harassment, or retaliation is well-established. In fact, under Title VII, an employer may avoid liability for harassment that does not involve an adverse employment action (e.g., termination or demotion) if the employer can demonstrate: (1) it took reasonable steps to prevent and promptly correct sexual harassment in the workplace, and (2) the aggrieved employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of the employer's preventive or corrective measures.
Report Link Prompt action keeps employer from having its goose cooked (pdf).
Jones Walker - November 10, 2005
As we sit and ponder what we’re all thankful for this year, at least one employer is giving thanks to its incredible HR department and employment attorney. They developed and enforced a sexual harassment policy that saved the company from getting sliced up in court like a Thanksgiving turkey. See how that employer’s prompt and effective action turned the tables on an employee and made her look like the turkey.
Report Link Having a Written Anti-Harassment Policy Is No Longer an Option [PDF File].
Goodwin Procter LLP - March 01, 2003
Although the implementation of an anti-harassment policy alone will not insulate an employer from liability, it is an essential and, notably, a cost-effective first step towards minimizing exposure.
Report Link THE CURRENT "HOW TO" OF HARRASMENT RISK MANAGEMENT.
Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. - September 10, 2002
The federal courts, about every five years, indulge an irresistible urge to send attorneys and employers scurrying, and issue a decision or two redefining the parameters of employer liability and responsibility for sexual and other harassment in the workplace.
Report Link Discipline Must Be Reasonably Calculated to End Harassment.
Ballard Rosenberg Golper & Savitt - August 01, 2002
The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal has ruled that continued misconduct by a supervisor after being disciplined, is actionable. Minnich v. Cooper Farms Inc.
Report Link Seventh Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment For Employer On Employee's Gender Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment, And Retaliation Claims, Despite No Formal Harassment Policies.
Ballard Rosenberg Golper & Savitt - February 02, 2002
Discusses Hall v. Bodine Electric Company, 8 D.L.R. A-2 (7th Cir., January 11, 2002), in which the court held that the lack of a formal sexual harassment policy was not fatale to employer's defense ("we have never held that Title VII employers must institute formal sexual harassment policies. Instead, we have focused on whether an employer has a reasonable mechanism in place for detecting and correcting harassment.")
Report Link The Employer's Affirmative Defense - The "Devilish" Three Year Old.
Hall, Farley, Oberrecht & Blanton, P.A. - January 01, 2002
Since the Ellerth and Faragher decisions, courts, companies, and their counsel have struggled to understand the principles announced, particularly in the areas left unaddressed by the Court.
Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998)Report Link Ninth Circuit Reverses $85,000 Jury Verdict.
Ballard Rosenberg Golper & Savitt - December 14, 2001
Discusses Swenson v. Potter, 2001 Daily Journal D.A.R. 12653 (9th Cir., November 30, 2001), in which the court reversed a jury award for harassment, holding that the employer responded adequately to the complaint by separating the complainant from the alleged harasser, and investigating the complaint promptly and thoroughly.
Report Link Employee’s Failure To Complain Is No Bar To Harassment Suit In Which Employee Claims Employer Negligence [PDF File].
O'Melveny & Myers LLP - December 01, 2001
Discusses Swinton v. Potomac Corp, No. 99-36147 (9th Cir. October 24, 2001), in which the court held that the Supreme Court’s two-part affirmative defense does not apply to harassment lawsuits in which the employee demonstrates that the employer knew or should have known of a co-employee’s harassing conduct but took no action.
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