When a supervisor sexually harasses an employee, the employer faces heightened liability. Supervisor harassment creates different—and often stronger—legal claims than harassment by coworkers, with employers held to stricter accountability standards.
Why Supervisor Harassment Is Different
Supervisors have power that ordinary coworkers don't—power to hire, fire, promote, demote, assign work, and control working conditions. When supervisors use this power to sexually harass, their actions are considered the employer's actions because the employer granted them authority.
This means employers face greater liability for supervisor harassment than for harassment by coworkers with no authority.
Two Types of Supervisor Harassment
Quid pro quo harassment ("this for that") occurs when a supervisor conditions job benefits on sexual favors or threatens job consequences for refusing. Examples include: "Sleep with me or you're fired," "I'll give you the promotion if you go out with me," and reassigning an employee who rejects advances. Employers are strictly liable for quid pro quo harassment—there's no defense.
Hostile work environment harassment by supervisors occurs when severe or pervasive conduct creates an abusive working environment. Unlike quid pro quo, hostile environment claims require showing the conduct was sufficiently serious to alter working conditions.
Employer Liability Standards
For harassment resulting in tangible employment action (hiring, firing, demotion, undesirable reassignment), employers are automatically liable. No defenses apply—the supervisor's action is the employer's action.
For harassment without tangible employment action, employers have an affirmative defense (the Faragher-Ellerth defense) if they can prove: they exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct harassment (anti-harassment policies, training, complaint procedures), and the employee unreasonably failed to use those preventive measures.
What Constitutes "Tangible Employment Action"
Tangible employment actions include: termination, failure to promote, demotion, significant pay reduction, undesirable transfer or reassignment, and changes in duties representing significant disadvantage.
If the supervisor took any tangible action tied to harassment, employer liability is automatic.
The Reasonable Care Defense
Employers claiming the affirmative defense must show: they had an anti-harassment policy distributed to employees, employees knew how to report harassment, the reporting procedure was accessible and effective, the employer promptly investigated complaints, and the employer took appropriate corrective action.
If the employer's procedures were inadequate—or if you reported and they failed to act—this defense fails.
Your Duty to Report
The affirmative defense partly depends on whether you reported harassment. If you failed to report through available channels without good reason, employers may escape liability for some damages. However, you're not required to report if: reporting would be futile (the harasser is the person you'd report to), you feared retaliation that actually occurred, or the complaint procedure was inadequate.
Proving Supervisor Harassment
Evidence in supervisor harassment cases includes: your testimony about what occurred, documentation of harassing communications, witness testimony from coworkers, performance records showing pretextual discipline, timeline connecting advances to adverse actions, and evidence of similar conduct toward others.
Damages Available
Successful claims can recover: back pay if you lost income, front pay for future lost earnings, compensatory damages for emotional distress, and punitive damages if the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference. Federal law caps compensatory and punitive damages based on employer size; state laws may provide additional or uncapped remedies.
Retaliation Protection
Employers cannot retaliate against you for reporting supervisor harassment. If you're terminated, demoted, or treated adversely after complaining, you may have a separate retaliation claim—even if the underlying harassment claim doesn't succeed.
Getting Legal Help
Supervisor harassment claims require careful documentation and strategic handling. An employment attorney can help preserve evidence, navigate administrative requirements (EEOC filing), and pursue maximum compensation. Most offer free consultations and handle cases on contingency.