On January 16, 2026, a federal jury in Atlanta awarded $5.5 million to a security guard who alleged that her security company’s vice president of operations sexually harassed her.
The plaintiff, Makita Bryant, sued both the security company and the vice president in his individual capacity. For her claims against the security company, Bryant was
If an employee complains about a sexually suggestive picture circulating in the workplace that looks like her but is not, is that a hostile work environment complaint? It might be. In Lillian Carranza v. City of Los Angeles, a California appeals court recently upheld a $4 million verdict for a former Los Angeles Police
Recall that just last year, the EEOC updated its Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace for the first time in 30 years. We blogged about it here. Earlier this year, President Trump issued Executive Order 14168 directing the EEOC to rescind portions of the guidance; however, the EEOC took no action because it
Can you compel arbitration with an employee who is alleging sexual harassment? You may recall that in 2022, Congress enacted the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA), which precludes employers from requiring employees to arbitrate sexual harassment claims. But what if the alleged harassment occurred before the EFAA effective date?
Harassment prevention is still a top priority for federal agencies (which means it should be a priority for all employers). Last spring, we blogged about the EEOC’s guidance on this issue, and now the OFCCP has issued its own guidance, this time focusing on harassment in the construction industry.
There is nothing particularly
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released long-awaited Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, No. 915.064. The EEOC also published a “Summary of Key Provisions,” FAQs for employees, and a fact sheet for small businesses. This is the EEOC’s first update to its harassment guidance in 30 years
Guaranteed confidentiality with regard to employee disputes may be becoming a thing of the past if the current tide of legislation continues. As we blogged about several weeks ago, Congress just banned arbitration agreements for sexual harassment claims. Even more stringent than that new federal legislation, Washington and California have both recently passed a “Silenced
Both the House and Senate have approved a bill that allows victims of workplace sexual assault and sexual harassment to take their claims to court instead of being forced to arbitration. In a rare show of bipartisanship, Congress passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. As of right
If an employee misses work to attend church on Sunday morning and the company subsequently fires her, is that religious discrimination? A jury in Texas recently said yes and awarded the plaintiff close to $350,000. The verdict is a reminder to employers to remember your religious accommodation obligations.
The era of #MeToo has caused employers to hyper-focus on harassment claims. They have fine-tuned their policies, investigated claims more carefully, and acted swiftly and sometimes even in a draconian fashion upon finding any level of harassment. In most situations, these actions can effectively eliminate an employee’s viable claims of harassment. We are seeing this