Generally, if an employee is going to complain of harassment by
a supervisor, in my experience, the complaint is raised to
another person, such as another manager or Human Resources. A
lot of employees simply do not feel comfortable having that
conversation with their bosses.
Of course, if an employee does have that conversation with his
or her boss, the boss needs to be aware that the complaint cannot
simply be pushed under the rug. As a recent 6th Circuit case
makes clear, this is where it is crucial that employers provide
training and other guidance to supervisors in how to handle such
complaints. In EEOC v. New Breed Logistics, the 6th Circuit
recently held as a matter of first impression that an oral
complaint about harassing supervisor to that harassing
supervisor is “protected activity” under
Title VII for which an employee cannot be retaliated against.
In so finding, the Court upheld a $1.5 million award for the
EEOC where the EEOC raised claims of
