In a recent case, an employee sued for a hostile work environment. The twist: Most of the claims involved a manager who hadn’t worked for the company in several years.
Here’s what happened:
An employee sued for harassment. The complaints covered a wide period of time and included alleged actions by a supervisor who had since retired. Those complaints were included, along with some more minor issues, in a single “hostile environment” claim.
The company claimed the retired manager’s conduct should be part of a separate complaint — which was now barred by the statute of limitations.
But the court didn’t agree. It ruled that just because the company changed managers, it didn’t mean the environment had changed.
So now the company will have to settle or defend itself against a claim based largely on a retired manager’s actions. It’s yet another example of why employers need to keep good records — in case something like this comes back to haunt them.
Cite: Vickers v. Powell
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