The Modern Workplace

Under Title VII, employers may be strictly liable for harassment by a supervisor. Employers may also be liable for harassment by a co-worker, but only if the company knew or should have known of the co-workers conduct and failed to take prompt and appropriate corrective action. A question that remained disputed until the Vance decision was who qualified as a supervisor under Title VII. 

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar: What is the Standard of Proof for Retaliation Claims?
At issue in this case was the standard for proving retaliation in a Title VII case. The Plaintiff, a former faculty member at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, alleged that he was denied a job because he had written a prior resignation letter in which he alleged race discrimination in the workplace. The University argued that, regardless of any retaliatory intent, the University had legitimate business reasons for opposing the hiring of Plaintiff by a hospital that had a staffing agreement with the University. The question before the Court was whether the plaintiff had the burden of proving that retaliation was a motivating factor in the decision not to rehire him, or whether he had the greater burden of proving that but for unlawful retaliation, he would have been hired.