Teachers' Sexual Harassment Claims Based on Student Conduct: Do Special Education Teachers Waive Their Right to a Harassment-Free Workplace?

Abstract

DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana. 1. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1) (2006). 2. See, e.g., Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 23 (1993). 3. Id. at 21 (quoting Meritor Sav. Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 65, 67 (1986)). 4. See Lori A. Tetreault, Annotation, Liability of Employer, Under Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.A. §§ 2000e et seq.) for Sexual Harassment of Employee by Customer, Client, or Patron, 163 A.L.R. FED. 445 (2000). 5. See id.; see also EEOC Guidelines, 29 C.F.R. § 1604.11(e) (2008) (“An employer may also be responsible for the acts of non-employees . . . where the employer . . . knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.”). 6. 491 F. Supp. 2d 467 (D. Del. 2007). 7. Id. at 476-78. 8. Id. at 471-73. 9. Id. at 471-72. TEACHERS’ SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS BASED ON STUDENT CONDUCT: DO SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS WAIVE THEIR RIGHT TO A HARASSMENT-FREE WORKPLACE?