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Fourth Circuit Joins Others on Class Action Question and Clarifies Standard for Hostile Work Conditions

Law.com

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  • November 06, 2019

Jonathan Crotty, Melanie Dubis, and Robert Osborne wrote a column in Law.com reviewing important developments at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which includes the Carolinas. 

"Can a business face a class action lawsuit when it has violated a law but may not have actually harmed anyone?" they wrote. "And how do you measure whether racial harassment was severe enough for an employer to be liable for creating a hostile work environment?"

"Those are two questions the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit addressed recently, and one of its answers may make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court," they continued. "The rulings in Krakauer v. DISH Network LLC, Evans v. International Paper Co., and Perkins v. International Paper Co. help to clarify the standards that businesses and other employers face with class actions and racial harassment claims, both of which can pose serious consequences for a company’s bottom line and public perception."

Subscribers can read the full article here. Law.com is one of the country's premier websites for legal news, reaching more than 1.5 million readers each month.