The Story of Burlington Industries v. Ellerth and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton: Federal Common Lawmaking for the Modern Age
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2006
Editor(s)
Joel William Friedman
Publisher
Foundation Press
Language
en-US
Abstract
Burlington Industries v. Ellerth 1 and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton2 were issued on the same day, appear side by side in the U.S. Reports, and conclude with an identical one-page holding. An employer may be held liable under Title VII for discriminatory harassment perpetrated by its supervisory employees that results in a “tangible employment action” such as “hiring, firing, promotion, compensation, and work assignment.” But where no such tangible employment action results, an employer may avoid liability by proving: 1) that it took reasonable steps to prevent and promptly correct any harassing behavior (for example, by establishing and publicizing an anti-harassment policy with an effective complaint procedure), and 2) that the plaintiff unreasonably failed to avail herself of the corrective mechanisms in place or to otherwise avoid harm.
Recommended Citation
Michael C. Harper & Joan Flynn,
The Story of Burlington Industries v. Ellerth and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton: Federal Common Lawmaking for the Modern Age
,
in
Employment Discrimination Stories
225
(Joel William Friedman ed.,
2006).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/1520
