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Formalism And Employer Liability Under Title Vii, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Articles

Most lawyers, law professors, and judges are familiar with two standard critiques of formalism in legal reasoning. One is the unacknowledged-policymaking critique. This critique argues that formalist reasoning purports to be above judicial policymaking but instead simply hides the policy decisions offstage. The other is the false-determinacy critique. This critique observes that formalist reasoning purports to reduce decision costs in the run of cases by sorting cases into defined categories, but argues that instead of going away the difficult questions of application migrate to the choice of the category in which to place a particular case.

A Revised Tangible Employment Action Analysis: Just What Is An Undesirable Reassignment?, Christine Bradshaw

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Employer Vicarious Liability For Voluntary Relationships Between Supervisors And Employees, Carrie E. Fischesser

Seattle University Law Review

It is somewhat radical to suggest that an employer should not be held vicariously liable for an employee's voluntary submission to sexual advances where the alleged harasser is a supervisor, and this approach is a marked departure from existing assumptions regarding sexual harassment. Most decisions and writings on the topic have imposed--under a traditional agency theory-- vicarious liability upon the employer for the sexually harassing conduct of its supervisors.4 Specifically, courts addressing this issue have held that “[t]here is no question that a ‘tangible employment action’ occurs when a supervisor abuses his authority to act on his employer's behalf by …

(Un)Welcome Conduct And The Sexually Hostile Environment, Henry L. Chambers, Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

As courts refine the theory underlying sexual harassment and sex discrimination, the unwelcomeness inquiry may become irrelevant to determining whether gender-based conduct is sexually harassing. In addition, the one possible remaining purpose that the unwelcomeness requirement may serve-providing notice to a putative harasser or its employer-is now served by an affirmative defense applicable to many sexual harassment claims. Consequently, its role should be reexamined. This Article does that. Part I of the Article describes a hypothetical situation that provides a context in which to consider unwelcomeness. Part II provides a brief overview of the evolving sexual harassment jurisprudence. Part III …

The First Bite Is Free: Employer Liability For Sexual Harassment, Joanna L. Grossman

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

In June, 1998, the Supreme Court issued two decisions, Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton that established new standards for employer liability for sexual harassment. Although the two cases presented different questions and factual predicates, the Court adopted a unified holding with respect to employer liability for supervisor harassment. Many commentators interpreted the new standards as a blow to employers based on the perception that employers would now be held accountable for workplace harassment without regard to their culpability.

The thesis of this article is that the conventional wisdom with respect to Faragher and …

Discrimination Cases In The Supreme Court's 1997 Term, Eileen Kaufman

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employer Liability For Harassment Under Title Vii: A Functional Rationale For Faragher And Ellerth, Michael C. Harper

San Diego Law Review

In two decisions concerning sexual harassment, Faragher v. City of Boca Raton' and Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, The Supreme Court, on the last day of its 1997-1998 term finally articulated coherent vicarious liability rules critical for bounding the scope of the discrimination prohibitions in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Court did so by explaining the meaning of the inclusion of "any agent" in Title VII's definition of "employer.'" The meaning of "agent" in this definition is critical for establishing employer liability because almost all Title VII-protected employees work for corporations and other legal fictions …

Employment Law: Burlington Industries, Inc. V. Ellerth And Faragher V. City Of Boca Raton: A Clear Rule Of Deterrence Or An Invitation To Litigate? The Supreme Court Rules On Employer Liability For Supervisory Sexual Harassment, Bryan J. Pattison

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employment Law: Burlington Industries, Inc. V. Ellerth And Faragher V. City Of Boca Raton: A Clear Rule Of Deterrence Or An Invitation To Litigate? The Supreme Court Rules On Employer Liability For Supervisory Sexual Harassment, Bryan J. Pattison

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.