On April 29, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published new and updated guidance on harassment in the workplace. The EEOC enforces equal employment opportunity statutes, which prohibit work-related harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; sexual orientation; and gender identity), national origin, disability, genetic information, and age (40 or over). This guidance, entitled “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace,” consolidates and serves as a single source for EEOC-enforced workplace harassment law, thus replacing the five previously published guidance documents. The intent is that the new guidance will serve as a comprehensive resource of best practices for preventing and remedying harassment in the workplace.
This new guidance is a resource on the legal standards and employer liability applicable to harassment claims under federal discrimination laws enforced by the EEOC. Within the guidance are more than 70 examples illustrating unlawful harassment and how employees may be subjected to unlawful harassment not only from coworkers, but also from customers, contractors, and other third parties.
In the approximately 25 years since the EEOC last issued guidance on harassment, notable changes in the law have occurred. This includes the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that an employer violates Title VII, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against an individual “because of” the individual’s sex, by firing an individual for being homosexual or being a transgender person, and the emergence of new issues, such as online harassment. In fact, the guidance addresses the increase in virtual work environments and the increasing impact social media has on how harassment can occur in the workplace.
For more information, contact a member of Dunn Carney’s Employment Law Team.
Allyson S. Krueger, Partner
Phone: 503-417-5461
Email: akrueger@dunncarney.com
Lauren J. Russell, Partner
Phone: 503-306-5346
Email: lrussell@dunncarney.com
Sara E. Ward, Associate
Phone: 503-306-5344
Email: sward@dunncarney.com
Bruce T. Garrett, Associate
Phone: 503-306-5354
Email: bgarrett@dunncarney.com
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