'Reasonable woman' test catches on

Article Abstract:

The 9th US Circuit Court used the case of Ellison v Brady to set a 'reasonable woman' standard for hostile work environment sexual harassment claims. This approach has become very popular in other federal courts, and even state courts have followed it. In Andrews v City of Philadelphia, the 3rd Circuit took a compromise position, stating that the plaintiff must show that the discrimination which occurred would adversely affect 'a reasonable person of the same sex in that position.'

Burden of proof

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After 'O'Connor v. Coin Caterers,' the question remains: When does replacing an employee with a younger employee become actionable age discrimination?

Article Abstract:

The US Supreme Court ruled in O'Connor v. Consolidated Coin Caterers Corp. that a terminated employee had a prima facie age discrimination case when the replacement employee was substantially younger and that such an employee did not need to be younger than 40. The spirit of the case indicated that age differences of less than 3-10 years were not worthy of much consideration. After O'Connor, more age discrimination suits will probably be dismissed at the pretrial stage.

United States, Age discrimination

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'Reasonable woman' test may perpetuate sex bias

Article Abstract:

The 'reasonable woman' standard for judging hostile environment sexual harassment cases subverts the purpose of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by perpetuating sexual stereotypes. It should be replaced by a 'gender-neutral' 'reasonable person' standard. Moreover, neither all women nor all men think alike, so each sexual harassment claim must be evaluated individually. Reinforcing stereotypes harms women.

Analysis, Reasonable man doctrine, Reasonable person standard

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