Can a business face a class action lawsuit when it has violated a law but may not have actually harmed anyone? 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. The rulings in Krakauer v. DISH Network, 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.
