Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed summary judgment in favor of the employer/defendant in a bizarre case in which an employee appears to have felt persecuted by a co-worker (who also happened to be his boss’ wife) and, among other similar allegations, by her repeated insistence that she could communicate with the employee’s deceased brother (by suicide), who, she said, was in hell.
The Court of Appeals held that the district court improperly equated plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim with a constructive discharge claim — a separate cause of action, with distinct elements.