Single Employer Case Sends German Parent to Harassment Trial (1)

A German ultrasonic measuring device maker and its American subsidiary must both prepare for a hostile work environment trial in New York federal court due to factual disputes over whether the employers are a “single enterprise.”

Sonotec US and its Saale, Germany-based parent Sonotec GmbH, argued that there weren’t enough direct ties between the businesses to force the parent into an American worker’s employment discrimination trial in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

However, disputed facts about the parent’s control of the employment decisions at the US company selling its products means it could be ...