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Employer's Corner For 01-99 By Sheldon Rosenfield, Esq. Sheldon@BizNetOnLine.com |
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Employer's Corner For 01-99 By Sheldon Rosenfield, Esq. Sheldon@BizNetOnLine.com |
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SUPREME COURT RE-DEFINES EMPLOYER LIABILITY
Harassment Cases, and Protection to AID’S Carriers.
The U.S. Supreme Court in several blockbuster decisions rendered recently has redefined the law of employer liability in sexual harassment and discrimination cases.
Policies Stressed
The Ellerth and Faragher cases were brought for sexual harassment. The high court ruled that employers are liable for their supervisors’ sexual harassment even if the complaining employee did not suffer any tangible loss (such as termination, demotion, days off, loss of promotability or other benefits).At the same time, the cases also permit employers to defend themselves in cases where there was no tangible loss of benefits by showing that the employee failed to use the company’s internal complaint procedure to attempt to redress the claimed sexual harassment.
Under the new standard, an employer can obtain summary judgment (prevent a trial) if it can prove that (1) it exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct sexual harassment and (2) that the plaintiff failed to use preventive or corrective opportunities the employer provided.
As a result of these cases, it is more important than ever for employers to adopt effective grievance and investigation procedures. This will ensure that federal claims can be dismissed in cases where the employee did not exhaust the employer’s effective grievance procedure to redress her or his complaints.
The Law Offices
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