Opinion ID: 1970023
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The certified questions are:

Text: (1) Are an employee's claims against her employer for intentional infliction of emotional distress and sexual assault and battery caused by acts of sexual harassment performed by co-employees arising out of and in the course of employment, and not based on any events occurring outside the course of employment, barred by the Delaware Workmen's Compensation Act, Del. Code Ann. tit. 19, § 2301 et seq. (1985), or may they be included in the exception to the Act found at Del.Code Ann. tit. 19 § 2301(15)(b)? Does the applicability of this exception depend in whole or in part on the subjective intent of the employee or employees who engage in the harassment? (2) If these claims are included in the exception found at Del.Code Ann. tit. 19 § 2301(15)(b), may the employer be held liable based on the doctrine of respondeat superior? In response to the questions posed in the first sentence of the first certified question, we conclude: (1) Under the Delaware Workers' Compensation Act, 19 Del.C., Ch. 23, an employee's claim against her employer for personal injuries sustained during the course of employment, even if the offending conduct was of a sexual nature, is limited to the compensation provided by the Act; and (2) The personal dispute exception to the Act contained in 19 Del.C. § 2301(15)(b) is not implicated under the facts presented in the certification. These conclusions render both the remainder of the first question and the second certified question moot and ends our analysis.