Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/524bv.pdf
Page Number: 825

524US2

Unit: U100

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FARAGHER v. BOCA RATON

Opinion of the Court

Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case calls for identiﬁcation of the circumstances under
which an employer may be held liable under Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 253, as amended, 42 U. S. C.
§ 2000e et seq., for the acts of a supervisory employee whose
sexual harassment of subordinates has created a hostile work
environment amounting to employment discrimination. We
hold that an employer is vicariously liable for actionable dis-
crimination caused by a supervisor, but subject to an afﬁrm-
ative defense looking to the reasonableness of the employer’s
conduct as well as that of a plaintiff victim.

I

Between 1985 and 1990, while attending college, petitioner
Beth Ann Faragher worked part time and during the sum-
mers as an ocean lifeguard for the Marine Safety Section of
the Parks and Recreation Department of respondent, the
City of Boca Raton, Florida (City). During this period,
Faragher’s immediate supervisors were Bill Terry, David
In June 1990, Faragher
Silverman, and Robert Gordon.
resigned.

In 1992, Faragher brought an action against Terry, Silver-
man, and the City, asserting claims under Title VII, Rev.
Stat. § 1979, 42 U. S. C. § 1983, and Florida law. So far as it
concerns the Title VII claim, the complaint alleged that
Terry and Silverman created a “sexually hostile atmosphere”
at the beach by repeatedly subjecting Faragher and other
female lifeguards to “uninvited and offensive touching,” by
making lewd remarks, and by speaking of women in offensive
terms. The complaint contained speciﬁc allegations that
Terry once said that he would never promote a woman to the
rank of lieutenant, and that Silverman had said to Faragher,
“Date me or clean the toilets for a year.” Asserting that

Quentin Riegal; and for the Society for Human Resource Management by
Allan H. Weitzman and Paul Salvatore.