Irene Hanlon, Plaintiff Below, Appellant v. Terry Chambers

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed a summary judgment for an employer on a supervisor's claims that her subordinate sexually harassed her and that she was fired for complaining about it. The court held that the West Virginia Human Rights Act imposes on employers a duty to keep workplaces free of sexual harassment from whatever source, so supervisory employees may sue for a subordinate's hostile-environment harassment, with employer liability turning on the employer's knowledge and the adequacy of its response. It also held that opposition protected by W.Va. Code, 5-11-9(7)(C), includes opposition a worker reasonably and in good faith believes violates the Act, making the plaintiff's complaints protected activity and her retaliation claim viable, and it rejected the employer's 'Catch-22' and disincentive-to-hiring-women arguments. Both claims were remanded for factual development.