Burlington Industries v. Ellerth
Citation
Burlington Industries v. Ellerth was a case ruled on June 26th, 1998 by the US Supreme Court. The court under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which forbids discrimination at work based on gender. Under the act, employers are responsible for employees who sexually harass their subordinates.
Fact
The case involved a female salesperson –Kimberly Ellerth- who worked for Burlington Industries. Between 1993 and 1994, Kimberly alleged that her immediate supervisor made repeated sexual remarks and gestures to her and that was offensive. She however never actually reported her supervisor and later on got a promotion. Kimberly was forced to quit her job due to her manager’s offensive comments referring to her legs, breast, and buttocks.
Issue
Kimberly filed a lawsuit and hence Burlington was granted a summary judgment by the federal district court. Despite the fact that the court believed the actions of Kimberly’s immediate supervisor created a hostile working environment for Ellerth, it, however, held that their employer -Burlington Industries- was not aware of the supervisor’s actions. The federal district court noted Kimberly failed to utilize the complaint process and the case was moved to the court of Appeal.
Decision and Reason
In a seven to two majority rule, the Supreme Court reversed the decision made by the lower court. The Supreme Court held that employers are liable for any hostile working environment created by supervisors. According to the court, employers could only defend themselves in cases where employees do not suffer any job-related consequence. Since Kimberly suffered directly to job-related consequences, the court ruled in her favor and confirmed that she had claims for sexual harassment.
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1997/97-569
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Burlington-Industries-v-Ellerth