Employees Must Give Employers Reasonable Time to Investigate Harassment Complaints

No liability for a hostile work environment will be found if an employee fails to give the employer a reasonable time to address a complaint of harassment.

Under Title VII, an employer will be liable for hostile environment harassment where it knew or should have known of the conduct, unless it can show that it took immediate and corrective action. In Lopez v. Whirlpool Corp, the employee resigned only four days after making her complaint, which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found to be insufficient time for the employer to address her concerns. Consequently, the employee could not sustain her claim for hostile environment harassment.