CVS Arbitration Appeal Probes Scope of Sexual Harassment Opt-Out

Woods Rogers Principal and management-side employment lawyer Leah Stiegler provides her perspective to Bloomberg Law on an upcoming appellate case that seeks to clarify what behavior constitutes as sexual harassment, and therefore, subject to arbitration opt-outs. The case involves an ex-worker at a major drug store chain who alleges her supervisor harassed her, but the nuances of how “sexual harassment” is defined under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, known as EFAA, remains a sticky point in the case.

Leah told Bloomberg that whether the absence of asserted sexual behavior provides grounds for a distinction may depend on the court’s approach. If it focuses on the text of the law, the alleged victim may “have a decent argument.”  She points out that the EFAA was passed after the #MeToo movement, so the context was sexual assault or behavior, which shows a legislative intent supporting CVS’s view.

We will be watching this case unfold in the Third Circuit. Subscribers to Bloomberg Law can read more here.