Under Washington State law, may a constructive discharge be based on discrete and/or non-discrete acts? Here’s my point of view.
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Constructive Discharge: Discrete & Non-Discrete Acts
Constructive discharge occurs when an employer deliberately creates working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person in the shoes of the employee would feel compelled to resign.
A constructive discharge can be based on a discrete act (which can be discriminatory or retaliatory), and/or non-discrete acts, such as a hostile work environment. Draper v. Coeur Rochester, Inc., 147 F.3d 1104, 1110 (9th Cir. 1998); see also Pennsylvania State Police v. Suder, 542 U.S. 129, 149 (2004) (a hostile-work environment claim is a “lesser included component” of the “graver claim of hostile-environment constructive discharge”).
Conclusion
Under Washington State law, a constructive discharge may be based on discrete and/or non-discrete acts.
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