Employer Not Responsible For Actions Of A Co-Worker Toward Plaintiff.

Plaintiff, an African American woman, brought an action against her employer alleging she had been subjected to a racially hostile work environment by a co-worker, who is a white woman. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the employer because the co-worker was not plaintiff’s supervisor and could not hire, fire, demote, promote, transfer or discipline plaintiff. The circuit court affirmed. In affirming the lower courts’ decisions in favor of the employer, the United States Supreme Court stated: “We hold that an employee is a ‘supervisor’ for purposes of Title VII if he or she is empowered by the employer to take tangible employment actions against the victim.” Vance v. Ball State University  (U.S. Sup. Ct.; June 24, 2013) 133 S.Ct. 2434, [186 L.Ed.2d 565].