Do Your Discrimination Policies Go Far Enough?

In the years since <i>Farragher</i> and <i>Ellerth</i>, numerous courts have been asked to decide whether or not constructive discharge (<i>ie</i>, the employee felt forced to resign because conditions were unbearable) is a tangible job action negating the employer's ability to raise the affirmative defense. The decided cases have had differing outcomes.

14 minute read October 01, 2003 at 12:16 PM
By
Margaret A. McCausland, Esq.and Linda T. Jacobs
Do Your Discrimination Policies Go Far Enough?

Since 1998, when the United States Supreme Court issued what have become known as the Farragher and Ellerth cases, employers have been able to assert an affirmative defense to harassment cases that allege the creation of a hostile work environment by supervisory employees as long as the harassment did not result in a tangible job action for the complaining employee.

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