Changed Face of Liability for Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment: The Supreme Court Imposes Strict Liability in Faragher v. City of Boca Raton and Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, The
Loading...
Authors
Gill, Misty L.
Issue Date
1999
Volume
32
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|Section 2000e-2 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, commonly known as Title VII, prohibits discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment, whether quid pro quo or hostile work environment, falls within Title VII's forbiddance of discrimination based on sex. Since the passage of Title VII, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") has passed guidelines to aid employers and courts in determining what acts are considered discrimination based on sex. The second greatest number of comments from interested members of the public about the guidelines revolved around the issue of liability. Until June of 1998, the United States Supreme Court had not articulated a specific rule addressing the issue of employer liability for sexual harassment. |On June 26, 1998, the United States Supreme Court handed down two decisions, Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton s altering the extent of employer liability. In Burlington and Faragher, the Supreme Court held that an employer is strictly liable for hostile work environment sexual harassment, unless the employer can prove it took reasonable steps to prevent and correct the sexual harassment and the claimant failed to utilize the procedures available to remedy the conduct. In so holding, the Supreme Court analyzed the agency principles set forth in the Restatement (Second) of Agency and determined that: (1) hostile work environment sexual harassment is not within the scope of employment, and (2) a supervisor creating a hostile work environment acts with apparent authority." As a result, the Supreme Court held that employers are strictly liable for hostile work environment sexual harassment by supervisory personnel...
Description
Citation
32 Creighton L. Rev. 1651 (1998-1999)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law