U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment and the Imposition of Liability Without Notice: A Progressive Approach to Traditional Gender Roles and Power Based Relationships

NCJ Number
138455
Journal
New England Law Review Volume: 24 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1990) Pages: 917- 952
Author(s)
M Sperry
Date Published
1990
Length
36 pages
Annotation
In the recent case of College-Town, Division of Interco, Inc. v. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (1987), the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that an employer can be liable, under the Massachusetts unlawful discrimination statute, for the sexual harassment of an employee by a supervisor when such conduct creates a hostile environment in the workplace.
Abstract
Additionally, the court adopted a progressive approach toward employer liability by dispensing with the requirement of actual or constructive notice of the hostile environment to the employer. The court noted that the employer may be held vicariously liable for the discriminatory acts of agents and supervisory personnel. The court's handling of the sexual harassment issue marked a departure from the notice requirement accepted by the majority of Federal courts interpreting Title VII, the majority of State courts construing their own civil rights statutes, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the handling of hostile-environment cases. This abrogation of the strict requirement of actual or constructive notice to the employer when a supervisor is the harasser suggests a rational and sensitive approach to the problem of sexual harassment and its negative effects upon workplace conditions. 214 footnotes

Downloads

No download available

Availability