Employers aren’t liable for sexual harassment of an employee by a client unless it’s shown they wanted the harassment to happen or were nearly certain it would, the Sixth Circuit ruled.
The decision broke ranks with at least six other federal appeals courts in finding employer intent a necessary element of a third-party harassment claim. It also rejected the view of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which stated in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act regulations that liability can arise when an employer knows or should’ve known of the conduct and doesn’t take prompt and appropriate corrective action. ...