Frargher v. The City of Boca Raton, Florida CAPTION / CITATION: Faragher v. Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998)

The issue argued was whether an employer can be held liable under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for the actions of an employee who has created a hostile work environment due to sexually harassing behavior towards other subordinates in the workplace.

FACTS: Beth Ann Faragher was a lifeguard in the city of Boca Raton, Florida. She held that she was subjected to sexually harassing comments and inappropriate touching by supervisors in her position as a lifeguard for the city. Faragher filed complaints with a regional supervisor who failed to report those complaints to Marine Safety Section directors or to city officials. Faragher resigned from her position in 1990 and in 1992 she filed a lawsuit against the City of Boca Raton, Florida for...

Supreme Court ruled that an employer is liable under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for actions of discrimination or harassment that a supervisor may make against an employee in the workplace. The court noted that liability is based on reasonable actions of the employer to prevent or address workplace harassment. In addition, the actions of the plantiff and victim must be taken into consideration.
COURT RATIONALE: Supreme Court Justice Souter noted in a brief to the court that the city of Boca Raton had, "entirely failed to disseminate its policy against sexual harassment among the beach employees and that its officials made no attempt to keep track of the conduct of supervisors like [Faragher's], u]nder such circumstances, we hold as a matter of law that the City could not be found to have…