Legal Alert: Supreme Court Adopts Narrow Definition of Supervisor Under Title VII

Executive Summary: On June 24, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion favorable to employers, determining the term “supervisor” under Title VII should be defined narrowly. In Vance v. Ball State University, the Court limited employers’ vicarious liability for workplace harassment by a “supervisor” to harassing conduct by persons with authority to take tangible employment actions (hire, fire, demote, promote, transfer, discipline) against the victim. For the first time defining “supervisor” for Title VII purposes, the Court defined it narrowly and favorably to employers. The Court split 5-4 along ideological lines with Justice Alito writing the majority opinion for the conservative wing of the Court. Justice Ginsburg was joined in her dissent by Justices Sotomayor, Breyer, and Kagan.