Mental Health Worker’s Claims Revived Over Patient’s Harassment

A psychiatric lockdown facility saw its win overturned in an employee’s suit over a patient’s sexual and racial harassment, as the Third Circuit said Friday the company may not have done enough to protect her.

The ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit addressed the challenging issue of when an employer can potentially be held liable for harassment by a nonemployee with mental health struggles. The Fifth Circuit in 2018 ruled that employers aren’t immune from liability in all such situations, and the issue has caught the attention of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The lower ...