The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in Fichter v. AMG Resources Group, which sheds some light on this common cause of action. In this case, the employee cited about 14 examples of what she believed created a hostile work environment. Many of these complaints are ones that we hear employees complain about on a daily basis. These complaints included being required to tell her manager if she was arriving late or leaving early, being asked to finish projects quickly, not receiving a raise in several years, being asked for information but then having her manager leave before she had a chance to respond, having her workload increased, and not having her opinions respected. The employer prevailed when the Court found that these allegations are not violations of Title VII as they are within the scope of common typical managerial functions. The Court also confirmed that Title VII does not guarantee the perfect workplace.
