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Supreme Court Narrows Definition of Supervisor Under Title VII

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    Vance v. Ball State University, 2013 U.S. Lexis 4703 (0 other reports)

Author: Beth P. Zoller, XpertHR Legal Editor

In Vance v. Ball State University, +2013 U.S. Lexis 4703, the Supreme Court considered how much authority an employee needs to exert to be considered a supervisor for purposes of vicarious liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The Court decided in a 5-4 ruling that a supervisor must be someone with the direct power to take tangible employment actions against an employee, such as the ability to fire, suspend or demote.