Philadelphia Must Face Councilman Worker’s Sex Harassment Suit

Philadelphia must wait before it can seek dismissal of sexual harassment and retaliation claims by a former administrative assistant for Councilmember Brian O’Neill (R) on the ground that she was part of his “personal staff” and not covered by anti-bias laws, a federal judge ruled.

Whether a worker falls under the personal-staff exception to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act is a “highly factual” question, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said Tuesday. “The vast majority of cases” that have undertaken that analysis did so at the summary ...