Late last month, the Supreme Court considered whether and when a co-worker can be deemed a supervisor for purposes of evaluating if the employer is strictly liable for that person’s harassment of another employee. As we reported in the July 9, 2012 edition of Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Vance v. Ball State University to address the critical question of who qualifies as a supervisor. The Justices debated the merits of upholding the clear standard applied by the 7th Circuit Appeals Court or of adopting the case-by-case standard advocated by the EEOC or a new hybrid standard suggested by Justice Kennedy. They also asked questions indicating that the Justices may believe that the facts in the case are not sufficient to decide the issue in the first place. To top it all off, Ball State’s counsel did not even argue in favor of the standard applied by the appellate court to rule in his client’s favor. Continue reading this entry
Tag Archives: Supervisor Definition
Supreme Court Will Review Supervisor Definition Under Title VII
Posted in Human Resources/ Employer MattersOn June 25, 2012, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal in the case of Vance v. Ball State University, Case No. 11-556. The issue in Vance is whether an employee who directs the work of other employees, but who does not have the authority of a traditional supervisor, can still be considered a “supervisor” under Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964. There is currently a split among the federal Circuit Courts of Appeals on the issue of whether an employee who has the authority to direct the work of other employees is a supervisor under Title VII, even if he or she does not have the authority to make or suggest “tangible” employment actions such as to hire, fire, demote, promote, transfer, or discipline other employees. Continue reading this entry