Fourth Circuit Ruling Provides Cautionary Tale for Employer’s Managing Internal Harassment Complaints and Investigations

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Fourth Circuit recently found that reducing a current employee’s voluntary overtime opportunities – despite the absence of a reduction in overall income – could be considered a tangible or materially adverse employment action sufficient to support a claim for retaliation and potentially foreclose an employer’s ability to rely on the Fargher/Ellerth defense to defeat hostile work environment claims based on sexual harassment. The Fourth Circuit stopped short of deciding whether every such reduction could be considered a tangible or materially adverse employment action, suggesting that was a determination to be made by the jury. But the Court’s analysis in this decision provides important reminders for employers as they address internal complaints of harassment. Tamika Ray v. International Paper Company, Case. No. 17-2241 (4th Cir. Nov. 28, 2018).

Read the full blog post.