Employers in the technology industry should take note of last week’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in EEOC v. New Breed Logistics (PDF).  The court declined to reconsider a panel holding that, in the context of a retaliation claim, “a demand that a supervisor cease his/her harassing conduct constitutes protected activity under Title VII.”

Three former employees of New Breed Logistics, a supply-chain logistics company, asserted that they had engaged in protected activity by telling their supervisor to stop making advances and sexual comments.  The district court agreed, holding that protected conduct “can be as simple as telling a supervisor to stop.” The Sixth Circuit (PDF) affirmed, relying on the EEOC’s interpretation of Title VII’s opposition clause and finding that an oral complaint to a harassing supervisor – even if no other manager or supervisor ever learns of the complaint – constitutes protected activity.

The employer moved for a rehearing en banc, arguing that the Sixth Circuit’s decision created a split with the Fifth Circuit, which in 2004 had held that a single express rejection to a harassing supervisor did not constitute protected activity.  The employer also argued that an employer should not have to face a retaliation claim if the only person to have received the complaint was the alleged harasser.  In denying the motion for rehearing, however, the Sixth Circuit found that these issues were fully considered in the court’s original decision.

The Sixth Circuit’s decision highlights the need for an employer to train its workforce on its complaint procedures.  Although employees may engage in protected activity by orally rejecting a harassing supervisor’s advances – at least in the Sixth Circuit and in the eyes of the EEOC – they should be made aware of all avenues of complaint so that the employer has an opportunity to learn of and address the complaint.  Importantly, supervisors must be trained on how to handle any such complaints and to report them to human resources.

Back to Workforce Bulletin Blog

Search This Blog

Blog Editors

Authors

Related Services

Topics

Archives

Jump to Page

Subscribe

Sign up to receive an email notification when new Workforce Bulletin posts are published:

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.