In 1991, BSU promoted Vance to a part-time catering assistant position, and in 2007 she applied and was selected for a position as a full-time catering assistant. Monika Starke: CRST Van Expedited, Inc., an interstate transit company, ran a training program for newly hired  truckdrivers requiring a 28-day on-the-road trip. Id., at 1-2. The Court's focus on finding a definition of supervisor capable of instant application is at odds with the Court's ordinary emphasis on the importance of particular circumstances in Title VII cases. If the lower court rulings are affirmed, it could become significantly harder for women and racial minorities to sue their employers for harassment. See Lindemann & Grossman 1378–1379. Id., at 13. Vance v. Ball State University, No. The decision in most cases is documented in official company records, and may be subject to review by higher level supervisors.” Id., at 761–762. Following this decision, the lower courts generally held that an employer was liable for a racially hostile work environ- ment if the employer was negligent, i.e., if the employer knew or reasonably should have known about the harassment but failed to take remedial action. L. Rev. If the lower court rulings are affirmed, it could become significantly harder for women and racial minorities to sue their employers for harassment. And when she complained about the mistreatment, he scoffed, “I get away with everything.” See Mack, 326 F. 3d, at 120–121, 125–126 (internal quotation marks omitted). Pp. Trainees like Starke were paired in a truck cabin with a single “lead driver” who lacked authority to hire, fire, promote, or demote, but who exercised control over the work environment for the duration of the trip. However, we are confident that, in every case, the approach we take today will be more easily administrable than the approach advocated by the dissent. So that brings us to Vance v. Ball State University. Tweet; Facebook; Print; PDF; The full text may be found by clicking the PDF link below. Id., at 1378. Davis was a higher-ranking BSU employee who had leadership responsibilities and … At least on the present record, the United States tells us, Davis fails to qualify as a supervisor. 42 U. S. C. §2000e-2(a)(1). 4  The United States urges us to defer to the EEOC Guidance. This disagreement is hardly surprising since the EEOC's definition of a supervisor, which both petitioner and the United States defend, is a study in ambiguity. Silverman had oversight and assignment responsibilities--he could punish lifeguards who would not date him with full-time toilet-cleaning duty--but there was no evidence that he had authority to take tangible employment actions. So might the power to initiate or make recommendations about tangible employment actions. See Volk v. Coler, 845 F. 2d 1422, 1436 (1988). The distinction Faragher and Ellerth drew between supervisors and co-workers corresponds to the realities of the workplace. 380, Exh. Workplace realities fortify my conclusion that harassment by an employee with power to direct subordinates' day-to-day work activities should trigger vicarious employer liability. Judgment: Affirmed, 5-4, in an … See supra, at 13. See ante, at 9.1 But nothing in the Faragher record shows that Silverman would. It held that BSU was not vicariously liable for Davis’ alleged actions because Davis, who could not take tangible employment actions against Vance, was not a supervisor. What qualifies as harassment? Indeed, in defining a supervisor for purposes of the NLRA, Congress sought to distinguish “between straw bosses, leadmen, set-up men, and other minor supervisory employees, on the one hand, and the supervisor vested with such genuine management prerogatives as the  right to hire or fire, discipline, or make effective recommendations with respect to such action.” S. Rep. No. After enduring unrelenting harassment, Faragher reported Terry’s and Silverman’s conduct informally to Robert Gordon, another immediate supervisor. 1071, superseding in part, Lorance v. AT&T Technologies, Inc., 490 U. S. 900 (1989); Martin v. Wilks, 490 U. S. 755 (1989); Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 490 U. S. 642 (1989); and Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U. S. 228 (1989). Stemming from that guide, Faragher and Ellerth distinguished between harassment perpetrated by supervisors, which is often enabled by the supervisor’s agency relationship with the employer, and harassment perpetrated by co-workers, which is not similarly facilitated. See supra, at 3-4. Exhibiting remarkable resistance to the thrust of our prior decisions, workplace realities, and the EEOC’s Guidance, the Court embraces a position that relieves scores of employers of responsibility for the behavior of the supervisors they employ. that the holdings [in Faragher and Ellerth] apply with equal force to other types of harassment claims under Title VII"). See Faragher, 524 U. S., at 799; Ellerth, 524 U. S., at 758–759. 279, 330–334 (2010) (arguing that unnecessary confusion arises when a jury must resolve different claims under different burden frameworks); Monahan, Cabrera v. Jakabovitz—A Common-Sense Proposal for Formulating Jury Instructions Regarding Shifting Burdens of Proof in Disparate Treatment Discrimination Cases, 5 Geo. But before it had an opportunity to make any such determination, Mack withdrew her complaint and the District Court dismissed her claims with prejudice. See infra, at 16-17. Maetta Vance, a black woman, began to work at Ball State University in Indiana in 1989. Brief of respondent Ball State University in opposition filed. In light of the parties’ undisputed characterization of the alleged harassers, this Court simply was not presented with the question of the degree of authority that an employee must have in order to be classified as a supervisor.10 The parties did not focus on the issue in their briefs, although the victim in Faragher appears to have agreed that supervisors are employees empowered to take tangible employment actions. Perhaps even more important, the work of the jury, which is inevitably complicated in employment discrimination cases, will be simplified. The interpretation of the concept of a supervisor that we  adopt today is one that can be readily applied. Applying a negligence standard, the Eleventh Circuit held that, despite the pervasiveness of the harassment, and despite Gordon’s awareness of it, Boca Raton lacked constructive notice and therefore escaped liability. Instead, they would have held that an employer is liable for any employee's creation of a hostile work environment "if, and only if, the plaintiff proves that the employer was negligent in permitting the [offending] conduct to occur." See ante, at 8. 31, *33 (Apr. to Pet. Id., at 764. There is no allegation that Davis had a hand in creating these prep lists, nor is there any indication that, in fact, Davis otherwise controlled the particulars of Vance’s workday. Yet the Court, insistent on constructing artificial categories where context should be key, proceeds on an immoderate and unrestrained course to corral Title VII. In those instances, an employer may be vicariously liable for its employees' creation of a hostile work environment. A second lead driver, David Goodman, later forced her into unwanted sex with him, an outrage to which she submitted, believing it necessary to gain a passing grade. Finally, the Ellerth/Faragher Court sought a framework that would be workable and would appropriately take into account the legitimate interests of employers and employees. The District Court granted summary judgment to BSU. Consistent with Rogers, we have held that an employer is directly liable for an employee's unlawful harassment if the employer was negligent with respect to the offensive behavior. Id., at 808–809. NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the preliminary print of the United States Reports. A supervisor, the Court holds, is someone empowered to "take tangible employment actions against the victim, i.e., to effect a 'significant change in employment status, such as hiring, firing, failing to promote, reassignment with significantly different responsi-bilities, or a decision causing a significant change in benefits.' Vance v. Ball State Univ., 646 F.3d 461 (7th Cir. See also Faragher, 524 U. S., at 781. See also id., at 212. See post, at 7–8. 2d, at 1200 ("Given the confusion that often results when the first and second stages of the McDonnell Douglas test goes to the jury, we recommend that the court should decide both those issues"); Tymkovich, The Problem with Pretext, 85 Denver Univ. “the individual in the position of ultimate authority at a Bureau school”). See also 29 CFR §1604.11(d) (2012); EEOC Guidance 405:7652. Vance v. Ball State University. Exhibiting remarkable resistance to the thrust of our prior decisions, workplace realities, and the EEOC's Guidance, the Court embraces a position that relieves scores of employers of responsibility for the behavior of the supervisors they employ. in Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders, O. T. 2003, No. This argument misreads our decisions. Id., at 761-762. Vance began working for the Ball State University Banquet and Catering Divisionof University Dining Services in 1989. Over the course of her employment with BSU, Vance lodged numerous complaints of racial discrimination and retaliation, but most of those incidents are not at issue here. If an employer does attempt to confine decisionmaking power to a small number of individuals, those individuals will have a limited ability to exercise independent discretion when making decisions and will likely rely on other workers who actually interact with the affected employee. Status of law prior to case holding: Prior to the Vance v. Ball State case, the law surrounding the definition of a “supervisor” was vague, but essentially relied on the traditional sense that the defense utilized in their argument. The US Supreme Court in the case of Vance v.Ball State University issued on June 24, 2013 decided the question of who qualifies as a “supervisor” in a Title VII claim of harassment based on race. Rather, the term was adopted by this Court in Ellerth and Faragher as a label for the class of employees whose misconduct may give rise to vicarious employer liability. of Transp., 359 F. 3d 498, 509 (CA7 2004) (Rovner, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment) ("Although they did not have the power to take formal employment actions vis-à-vis [the victim], [the harassers] necessarily must have had substantial input into those decisions, as they would have been the people most familiar with her work--certainly more familiar with it than the off-site Department Administrative Services Manager"). In general usage, the term “supervisor” lacks a suffi ciently specific meaning to be helpful for present purposes. See Faragher, supra, at 807; Ellerth, supra, at 765. If the supervisor’s harassment culminates in a tangible employment action, the employer is strictly liable. 398. What qualifies as harassment? See Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, 123 Stat. Nevertheless, I would leave it to the Seventh Circuit to decide, under the proper standard for super-visory status, what impact, if any, Davis' job description and the co-worker's statement should have on the determination of Davis' status.9. It is true, as the Court says, ante, at 15–17, and n. 11, that Faragher and later cases did not squarely resolve whether an employee without power to take tangible em-ployment actions may nonetheless qualify as a supervisor. Key components of that standard—“sufficient” authority, authority to assign more than a “limited number of tasks,” and authority that is exercised more than “occasionally”—have no clear meaning. See, e.g., 25 U. S. C. §2021(18) (defining the "supervisor" of a school within the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs as. "[V]icarious liability," Ball State acknowledged, "also may be triggered when the harassing employee has the authority to control the victim's daily work activities in a way that materially enables the harassment." E.g., 646 F. 3d, at 470; Noviello v. Boston, 398 F. 3d 76, 96 (CA1 2005); Weyers v. Lear Operations Corp., 359 F. 3d 1049, 1057 (CA8 2004). Justice Ginsburg, with whom Justice Breyer, Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Kagan join, dissenting. A comparison of the definitions provided by two colloquial business authorities illustrates the term's imprecision in general usage. Ellerth, 524 U. S., at 761. EEOC Guidance 405:7654. Particularly in modern organizations that have abandoned a highly hierarchical management structure, it is common for employees to have overlapping authority with respect to the assignment of work tasks. (citing record)). James Connolly, the “mechanic in charge” and the senior employee at the site, targeted Mack for abuse. See Stipulation and Order of Dismissal in No. " Ante, at 9 (quoting Ellerth, 524 U. S., at 761). The Ellerth/Faragher framework represents what the Court saw as a workable compromise between the aided-in-the-accomplishment theory of vicarious liability and the legitimate interests of employers. Inevitably, the Court’s definition of supervisor will hinder efforts to stamp out discrimination in the workplace. See Ellerth, 524 U. S., at 762. See Faragher, 524 U. S., at 780–781. 13  See, e.g., Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., 557 U. S. 167, 179 (2009); Armstrong v. Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital, 438 F. 3d 240, 249 (CA3 2006) (noting in the context of McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U. S. 792 (1973), that that “the ‘prima facie case and the shifting burdens confuse lawyers and judges, much less juries, who do not have the benefit of extensive study of the law on the subject’ ” (quoting Mogull v. Commercial Real Estate, 162 N. J. This 5-4 decision is another win for business that twists the law and ignores reality to the detriment of harassed workers. Maetta Vance (plaintiff), an African-American woman, worked as a catering assistant for Ball State University (BSU) (defendant). The Government attorney’s inability to provide a de- finitive answer to this question was the inevitable con- sequence of the vague standard that the Government asks us to adopt. We may assume that Terry would fall within the definition of supervisor the Court adopts today. By contrast, under the approach advocated by petitioner and the EEOC, supervisor status would very often be murky--as this case well illustrates.12. . See, e.g., 17 Oxford English Dictionary 245 (2d ed. Over the course of Starke's training trip, her first lead driver, Bob Smith, filled the cabin with vulgar sexual remarks, commenting on her breast size and comparing the gear stick to genitalia. to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” 42 U. S. C. §2000e–2(a)(1). This provision obviously prohibits discrimination with respect to employment decisions that have direct economic consequences, such as termination, demotion, and pay cuts. In particular, the Court drew upon §219(2)(d) of the Restatement (Second) of Agency (1957), which makes an employer liable for the conduct of an employee, even when that employee acts beyond the scope of her employment, if the employee is “aided in accomplishing” a tort “by the existence of the agency relation.” See Faragher, 524 U. S., at 801; Ellerth, 524 U. S., at 758. Faced with a steeper substantive and procedural hill to climb, victims like Yasharay Mack, Donna Rhodes, Clara Whitten, and Monika Starke likely will find it impossible to obtain redress. . 646 F. 3d 461. This compromise, we explained, "accommodate[s] the agency principles of vicarious liability for harm caused by misuse of supervisory authority, as well as Title VII's equally basic policies of encouraging forethought by employers and saving action by objecting employees." for Cert. Ellerth, 524 U. S., at 763. (noting that Silverman was “responsible for making the lifeguards’ daily assignments, and for supervising their work and fitness training”). Co-workers, the Court noted, "can inflict psychological injuries" by creating a hostile work environment, but they "cannot dock another's pay, nor can one co-worker demote another." Accordingly, the NLRB has interpreted the NLRA’s statutory definition of supervisor more narrowly than its plain language might permit. of Transp., 359 F. 3d 498, 501–503, 506–507 (CA7 2004). See Faragher, supra, at 793-796; Ellerth, supra, at 757. 2434 (2013) addresses the circumstances under which an employer (i.e. Id., at 405:7654. True, Davis’ job description listed among her responsibilities “[l]ead[ing] and direct[ing] kitchen part-time, substitute, and student employee helpers via demonstra tion, coaching, and overseeing their work.” Id., at 13. See also 29 CFR §1604.11(d) (2012); EEOC Guidance 405:7652. Both Ellerth and Faragher fell into the second category, and in Ellerth, the Court couched the question at issue in the following terms: “whether an employer has vicarious liability when a supervisor creates a hostile work en- vironment by making explicit threats to alter a subor- dinate’s terms or conditions of employment, based on sex, but does not fulfill the threat.” 524 U. S., at 754. " Id., at 470 (quoting Hall, supra, at 355). Other courts have substantially followed the more open-ended approach advocated by the EEOC’s Enforcement Guidance, which ties supervisor status to the ability to exercise significant direction over another’s daily work. More specifically, who qualifies as a supervisor? But the term is also often closely tied to the authority to take what Ellerth and Faragher referred to as a “tangible employment action.” See, e.g., Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 2296, def. In cases in which the harasser is a “supervisor,” however, different rules apply. See supra, at 5. 524 U. S., at 780. See post, at 7-8. . In general usage, the term "supervisor" lacks a sufficiently specific meaning to be helpful for present purposes. To be sure, the NLRA may in some instances define "supervisor" more broadly than we define the term in this case. Vance stated in an affidavit that the general manager of the Catering Division, Bill Kimes, was charged with "overall supervision in the kitchen," including "reassign[ing] people to perform different tasks," and "control[ling] the schedule." And because racial and sexual harassment are unlikely to fall within the scope of a servant’s duties, application of this rule would generally preclude employer liability for employee harassment. We explained the reason for this rule as follows: "When a supervisor makes a tangible employment decision, there is assurance the injury could not have been inflicted absent the agency relation. For present purposes, the only relevant incidents concern Vance's interactions with a fellow BSU employee, Saundra Davis. The record indicates that Bill Kimes (the general manager of the Catering Division) and the chef assigned petitioner's daily tasks, which were given to her on "prep lists." The court concluded that Davis was not Vance’s supervisor and thus that Vance could not recover from BSU unless she could prove negligence. See Mack, 326 F. 3d, at 120-121, 125-126 (internal quotation marks omitted). [He] made recommendations regarding promotions . Vance v. Ball State University. It explained that, under its settled precedent, supervisor status requires " 'the power to hire, fire, demote, promote, transfer, or discipline an employee.' Connolly lacked authority to take tangible employment actions against mechanic's helpers, but he did assign their work, control their schedules, and direct the particulars of their workdays. Facing such dangers, she may be reluctant to blow the whistle on her superior, whose "power and authority invests his or her harassing conduct with a particular threatening character." Under the Restatement, “masters” are generally not liable for the torts of their “servants” when the torts are committed outside the scope of the servants’ employment. Rather, it informs us, the authority must exceed both an ill-defined temporal requirement (it must be more than "occasiona[l]") and an ill-defined substantive requirement ("an employee who directs 'only a limited number of tasks or assignments' for another employee . . Struve, Shifting Burdens: Discrimination Law Through the Lens of Jury Instructions, 51 Boston College L. Rev. Specifically, an employer can mitigate or avoid liability by showing (1) that it exercised reasonable care to prevent and promptly correct any harassing behavior and (2) that the plaintiff unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities that were provided. of Oral Arg. Not even Ball State, the defendant-employer in this case, has advanced the restrictive definition the Court adopts. We are skeptical that there are a great number of such cases. Applying these standards would present daunting problems for the lower federal courts and for juries. As noted by the Seventh Circuit, this test differs from the one favored by a number of other circuits and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which proffers a broader test that defines supervisors as anyone who has the authority to oversee an employee's daily work. 8:08-0218-HMH-BHH, 2010 WL 2757005 (D. SC, July 12, 2010); EEOC v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc., 679 F. 3d 657, 678, and n. 14 (CA8 2012), or Mack's withdrawal of her complaint for reasons not apparent from the record, see ante, at 27-28, n. 16. In 1991, BSU promoted Vance to a part-time catering assistant position, and in 2007 she applied and was selected for a position as a full-time catering assistant. "5 Another says exactly the opposite: "A supervisor generally does not have the power to hire or fire employees or to promote them. In her merits brief, Faragher stated that, as a lieutenant, Silverman "made supervisory and disciplinary decisions and had input on the evaluations as well." See Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 28 (citing numerous briefs in the Courts of Appeals setting forth the EEOC's understanding). In contrast, if the harassing employee is a co-worker, a negligence standard applies. The alternative, in many cases, would frustrate judges and confound jurors. 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