Which scenario triggers automatic employer liability for harassment by a supervisor?

• A. The harassment is unrelated to employment action
• B. A tangible employment action has taken place
• C. The employee does not report harassment
• D. The harassment is minor

Answer: (B)

When a supervisor’s harassment leads to a tangible employment action, the employer is automatically liable. A tangible employment action means a significant change in the employee’s job status—firing, demotion, promotion, or other major adverse action directly decided by someone in a supervisory position. This stems from the authority a supervisor holds over the employee’s employment.

If there’s no tangible action, the employer can still be liable, but only if it failed to take reasonable steps to prevent or correct the harassment and the employee didn’t reasonably use available remedies. Minor harassment or harassment not tied to a job decision does not create automatic liability.

So, the scenario that triggers automatic liability is when a tangible employment action has occurred.