New Twist in Sexual Harassment Cases: Faragher and Ellerth

Debra Burke and Beverly Little


DOI: 10.2190/UJK0-HF6J-437Y-UD5P

Abstract

Employer liability for supervisory conduct in the area of sexual harassment was addressed by the Supreme Court in 1998 and by the EEOC in 1999. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that sexual harassment remains a pervasive problem in the American workplace. The number of sexual harassment charges filed with the agency and its state counterparts more than doubled between 1991 and 1998. In 1998 the Supreme Court rendered two significant decisions that changed the focal point in such sexual harassment cases. This article discusses those decisions, their impact on the landscape of sexual harassment law, and possible employer responses.

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