Employment Law in Motion
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California Supreme Court Holds Single Allegation of Racial Slur by Coworker Sufficient to Form Basis of Hostile Work Environment Claim
Recently, the California Supreme Court found that a plaintiff’s claim based on a single (disputed) racial epithet by a non-supervisory coworker was sufficient to form the basis of a hostile work environment claim—it was sufficiently severe even though not pervasive.
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Posting Outside the Office, but Not Outside the Scope of an Employer’s Potential Liability
Between hybrid work, flexible schedules, online meetings, and the ubiquity of social media, the lines between in and out of office conduct continue to get murkier and create potential tagalong liability that persists for employers who do not promptly respond to complaints brought forward by employees. The Ninth Circuit has made clear that even though an employee’s conduct is online—even outside of work time—the impact that it has on an employee can be sufficient to sustain a Title VII hostile work environment claim.
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April and May Showered Employers with Legal Developments Locally and Nationwide
May 30, 2024
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April and early May have been busy times for employment practitioners. From noncompete bans to agencies issuing new gender discrimination guidance, the spring “showers” of laws and regulations and court decisions discussed below will have employers “...
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Supreme Court Rules Website Designer’s Right to Free Expression Outweighs Duty Not to Discriminate in Providing Certain “Expressive” Goods and Services
Digesting the multiple decisions
from the U.S. Supreme Court is going to take time and Miller Nash’s labor & employment team will provide more substantial insight in due course. In the meantime, however, we wanted to provide some initial impressions...
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Not Perfect Harmony: Blasting Music with Derogatory Terms May Create a Hostile Workplace
Employers who allow music in the workplace should pay attention to lyrics and content. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that music with sexually derogatory and violent content played in the workplace can create a hostile environment i...
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“No Spanish” Rule Is National Origin Discrimination and Retaliation, Says EEOC
Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) settled charges of national origin discrimination and retaliation against Total Employment and Management (TEAM)—a Washington employer who instituted a “No Spanish” rule in its workplace....
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