Updating our previous posts on Thompson v. North American Stainless, the Supreme Court yesterday reversed the Sixth Circuit’s en banc decision holding that an employee who claims he was fired in retaliation for his fiancé’s complaint of sex harassment had an actionable retaliation claim under Title VII. The Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit’s
Title VII
EEOC Publication Summarizes Requirements for Discrimination Waivers
By Porter Wright on
On July 15, 2009, the EEOC published “Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements,” a document directed to employees facing layoffs. The publication is not apparently intended to change existing regulations, but rather to summarize the legal requirements for severance agreements under the ADA, Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, and, separately, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
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Transsexuality-Based Decisions May Cause Problems Under Federal Sex Discrimination Laws
By Porter Wright on
The decision in a recent federal court case against the United States Library of Congress shows clearly the risk an employer takes when making employment decisions based on a person’s gender identity.
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Sixth Circuit Announces Summary Judgment Standard For Title VII Mixed-Motive Cases
By Porter Wright on
In a case of first-impression, the Sixth Circuit held that the burden-shifting framework (commonly referred to as the McDonnell Douglas/Burdine test) used in cases brought under Title VII does not apply to Title VII mixed-motive cases. The Court held that in order to survive a defendant’s summary judgment motion, a Title VII plaintiff asserting a mixed-motive claim must only produce evidence that: (1) the defendant took an adverse employment action against the plaintiff; and (2) race, color, religion, sex, or national origin was a motivating factor. A plaintiff can succeed by showing that a protected characteristic was a motivating factor even if other factors also motivated the adverse action. White v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 2008 FED App. 0242P, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 14188 (6th Cir. 2008).
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Secretary May Pursue Sexual Harassment Suit for Hostile Work Environment Based on Boss’s Video Habit
By Porter Wright on
The importance of leaving your personal life at home-particularly if it involves a penchant for pornography-is amply highlighted by the Second Circuit’s decision in Patane v. Clark, No. 06-3446 (2nd Cir. Nov. 28, 2007). In Patane, the court upheld a female college secretary’s right to pursue a hostile work environment claim under Title VII and state discrimination laws based on her male supervisor’s pornographic video and website viewing habits. The supervisor allegedly viewed sexually-explicit videotapes for one to two hours every day on his office television, which was visible to his secretary through a glass partition. He also left pornographic videos scattered across his office floor, viewed pornographic websites on his secretary’s work computer, and required her, as a part of her secretarial duties, to open his mail, which included pornographic videotapes that the supervisor had delivered to his office.
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