E-Newsletter

August 2002

Sexual Harassment Claims of Hostile Work Environment—How Far Back in Time?

In National Railroad v. Morgan, handed down on June 10, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Title VII plaintiff alleging a hostile work environment will not be time barred if all acts constituting the claim are part of the same unlawful practice and at least one act falls within the statutory period. This concept, called the "Continuing Violation Doctrine," considers the entire scope of a hostile work environment claim, including behavior alleged outside the statutory time period. These earlier alleged acts of harassment may be considered in assessing liability, so long as there is a more recent act occurring within the statutory period which contributed to that hostile work environment.

The Court's decision in Morgan represents a significant expansion of an employer's potential liability where the claim is one for a hostile work environment. Employers may be liable for conduct occurring years before the employee files his discrimination charge.

As a result, it is more critical than ever for employers to take steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Employers should have a strict anti-harassment policy, should enforce that policy vigorously and should implement an effective anti-harassment training program for both supervisors and employees.

For more information on National Railroad v. Morgan, see the August 2002 Issue of the Month entitled "E-Risk, Bad Email Is Bad Business," posted under Legal News on the Krukowski & Costello website.