Opinion ID: 848578
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: plaintiff can bring a claim against defendant under the cra

Text: The CRA, in M.C.L. § 37.2201(a), defines [e]mployer as a person who has 1 or more employees, and includes an agent of that person. An employer is prohibited from discriminating against an individual by doing any of the following: (a) Fail or refuse to hire or recruit, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an individual with respect to employment, compensation, or a term, condition, or privilege of employment, because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, or marital status. (b) Limit, segregate, or classify an employee or applicant for employment in a way that deprives or tends to deprive the employee or applicant of an employment opportunity, or otherwise adversely affects the status of an employee or applicant because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, or marital status. (c) Segregate, classify, or otherwise discriminate against a person on the basis of sex with respect to a term, condition, or privilege of employment, including, but not limited to, a benefit plan or system. [M.C.L. § 37.2202(1).] Discrimination because of sex includes sexual harassment. M.C.L. § 37.2103(i). Sexual harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct or communication of a sexual nature under the following conditions:    ( iii ) The conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's employment, public accommodations or public services, education, or housing, or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive employment, public accommodations, public services, educational, or housing environment. [M.C.L. § 37.2103(i)( iii ).] The majority acknowledges that the CRA allows for claims by nonemployees, but the majority states that unless an individual can establish a genuine issue of material fact that an employer affected or controlled the terms, conditions, or privileges of his or her employment, a nonemployee may not bring a claim under the CRA. Ante at 172. According to the majority, plaintiff cannot bring a claim against defendant because [p]laintiff was hired, paid, and subject to discipline by AVI [Food Systems]. AVI placed plaintiff in the Wixom plant and had the sole authority to move her to different cafeterias or even to another plant. Ante at 175. The majority's application of the statute in this case ignores the specific language of the statute. M.C.L. § 37.2202(1)(a) states that an employer cannot otherwise discriminate against an individual with respect to ... a term, condition, or privilege of employment..... Discrimination includes sexual harassment. M.C.L. § 37.2103(i). Sexual harassment includes creating a sexually hostile or offensive work environment, M.C.L. § 37.2103(i)( iii ), and this is exactly what defendant, through its supervisor Bennett, allegedly did to plaintiff. Defendant's supervisor, Bennett, did not merely have the ability or authority to affect a condition of plaintiff's employment, he allegedly did so because plaintiff alleged Bennett's conduct created a sexually hostile work environment at plaintiff's workplace. Notably, defendant was the only one who had the authority to control Bennett and, therefore, affect a condition of plaintiff's employment. The CRA prohibits sexual harassment by an employer or an employer's agent. Bennett was defendant's agent when he allegedly sexually harassed plaintiff. Therefore, plaintiff can bring a claim against defendant for sexual harassment under the CRA. [4]