In a 5 to 4 ruling this week, the Supreme Court redefined the definition of a supervisor in racial and sexual harassment cases. As reported in The New York Times, the Court’s majority rejected the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s definition of a supervisor. The EEOC had defined a supervisor as someone who is authorized to take “tangible employment actions,” such as controlling an employee’s work schedule.
The Court redefined the definition of “tangible employment actions” to be a person with the power to hire, fire, promote, demote or reassigned employees. This decision to redefine what constitutes tangible employment actions narrowly, has created another tough hurdle for many employees who face harassment and discrimination at work to overcome. This does not mean that you do not have a claim. If you believe you have been the victim of sexual or racial discrimination at work, you should protect your rights and consult an attorney.