By Anne King
Next term, in Vance v. Ball State University, the Supreme Court will consider the question of who qualifies as a supervisor to hold an employer liabile for workplace harassment under Title VII.
This question matters quite a lot because, under the Faragher/Ellerth doctrine (named for Faragher v. City of Boca Raton and Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, decided in 1998), employers are vicariously liable for harassment by a supervisor. But, in the case of harassment by a co-worker, the victim must show negligence by the employer. (By the way, there’s a third test when the hostile work environment is connected to an adverse employment action.)
[Read more…] about Looking ahead to OT 2012: Who is a supervisor?