Article Summary

Chambers

Harrington

Title VII, although a well-known discrimination law, doesn’t always provide the justice you may be hoping for. If you’ve experienced discrimination at work, Title VII only allows you to sue the company — not the individual manager who may have hurt you the most. Local laws, however, can open the door to filing a lawsuit against your supervisor. D.C., Virginia, and Maryland offer different avenues with varying degrees of success.

This article by TELG principal Anita Mazumdar Chambers and TELG associate Cassie Harrington was published by The Employment Law Group, P.C. on December 23, 2025.

By Anita Mazumdar Chambers and Cassie Harrington

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If you’ve been treated unfairly at work, Title VII may be the first law you look to for protection and remedies. Title VII — a federal law that prohibits discrimination against employees — allows you to bring a discrimination claim against employers with 15 or more employees. However, you can only sue the business entity — not the owner and not the specific manager who wronged you. Under Title VII, the company as your legal employer is held liable for a supervisor’s discriminatory actions.

Some state laws, however, fill in the gaps and may support a claim of discrimination against your individual managers. D.C., Virginia, and Maryland all have potential avenues for justice.

In the District of Columbia

The key difference between Title VII and laws such as the D.C. Human Rights Act (DCHRA)[1] is how “employer” is defined. The DCHRA casts a wider net than Title VII with it prohibiting discrimination by any person who employs at least one employee — versus Title VII’s threshold of 15.

D.C. courts have further expanded the definition to include anyone who acts as the supervisor of an employee and therefore acts in the interest of the employer.[2] The DCHRA not only applies to supervisors who choose to discriminate against an employee themselves, but the law’s “aiding and abetting” provision additionally holds liable individuals who facilitate their employer’s discriminatory acts, regardless of whether they’re the decision maker.[3]

D.C. courts emphasized these two aspects when determining that the DCHRA does apply to individual supervisors. Managers can be sued if they participate in discriminatory acts, such as terminating you because of a disability or not promoting you because of your race.

If you wish to bring a discrimination complaint against an individual supervisor under the DCHRA, your complaint must allege that:

• You possess a protected trait, which is a characteristic legally safeguarded from being used to discriminate against you, such as your age, race, gender, or disability status;
• Your employer took an adverse employment action, such as failing to promote you accordingly, paying you less, or terminating you wrongfully;
• There is a direct link between your protected status and the adverse action; and
• Your individual manager directly participated in the discriminatory conduct. Participation can include actions such as drafting and signing your termination letter or telling your employer that you should be fired.

It is important to note that while D.C., Virginia, and Maryland all consider race, gender, age, and disability as protected classes, each jurisdiction may recognize additional protected traits depending on their local statutes.

In Virginia

D.C. courts have directly addressed and allowed individual liability under the DCHRA, but Virginia courts remain silent on the issue.

The Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA) — which also prohibits discrimination in the workplace — applies to employers with five or more employees.[4] There’s a possible argument to be made that the VHRA is meant to extend to individual managers because the statute specifies that it also provides relief against “such person” who violates the statute. Under Virginia law regarding rules of construction and definitions, “[such] person” includes “any individual.”[5]

The VHRA’s threshold of at least five employees can also be used to argue for individual liability. With Title VII, courts determined that the requirement of 15 or more employees indicated the law wasn’t meant to be brought against individuals. The VHRA’s smaller requirement could mean the legislature intended for even small employers to face liability for discrimination claims and therefore supervisors are included in the statute’s purpose.

This is still an emerging area of Virginia law, however. Courts have not clearly decided yet whether to extend liability to individuals, so managers remain in a gray area. Unlike the DCHRA, the VHRA does not specify that the statute applies to “any person acting in the interest of such employer, directly or indirectly,” nor does it include an “aiding and abetting” clause. A manager may hone in on this to support their argument against individual liability.

A discrimination complaint against an individual supervisor under the VHRA should allege that:

• You were employed by an entity with more than five employees;
• You are a member of a protected class;
• You’ve been subjected to an adverse action that violates the VHRA’s prohibitions on discrimination;
• The named individual manager personally committed or caused the violation; and
• Relief is sought against both the employer and the supervisor under the VHRA.

If you bring a claim against your individual supervisor in Virginia, you should anticipate defense challenges.

In Maryland

The Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act (MD FEPA) prohibits discrimination by employers that have 15 or more employees — a similar threshold to Title VII. The MD FEPA, however, contains an “aiding and abetting” provision that applies to individuals, including supervisors.[6]

Depending on your county, there may also be county-specific laws that can provide you with additional recourse beyond the MD FEPA. MD State Gov’t § 20-1202 allows employees in Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Howard counties to bring a discrimination claim against their employer under their county code’s anti-discrimination provision. Whether the definition of “employer” encompasses individual supervisors depends on the county code.[7]

The Montgomery County Code defines an employer as a “person who employs one or more individuals in the County.”[8] Based on the plain language of the code, an employee can argue that a “person” — particularly one who only needs a minimum of one employee — is not limited to corporate or business entities and can include individual supervisors under Montgomery County code.

The Prince George’s County Code allows for a similar argument based on the use of “person.” This county code defines an employer as “any person engaged in legal industry affecting commerce, who has hired or contracted for the services of one (1) or more employees, or an agent of such person.”[9] Employees in Prince George’s County can also point to the specific language “or an agent of such person” to push for claims brought against managers who have engaged in discriminatory employment practices.

Under the Howard County Code, an employer is a “person, engaged in an industry or business, who has five or more full time or part-time employees.”[10] The required number of employees is higher than Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, but if that threshold is met, an employee can make the same argument for individual liability based on the use of “person.”

In Maryland, a discrimination complaint against an individual supervisor should be filed initially with the specific county’s office of human rights and should specify that the individual manager is a “person” who committed or caused the discriminatory practice. As with any other discrimination complaint, it must establish a clear link between the discriminatory action and your protected status.

In Conclusion

While one could argue for individual liability, the basis and support of these arguments varies between jurisdictions. Under D.C. law, the employment statute clearly allows for it. Under Virginia law, the statutory language of the VHRA suggests potential individual liability, but this is an unsettled question for Virginia courts. Under Maryland law, each relevant county’s code dictates the argument that can be made for individual liability.

If you are considering suing your individual manager and employer for discrimination or retaliation under D.C., Maryland, or Virginia law, contact The Employment Law Group.

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[1] D.C. Code § 2-1402.11
[2] Purcell v. Thomas, 928 A.2d 699 (D.C. 2007).
[3] D.C. Code § 2–1402.62 (2001); See Mitchell v. Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp., 407 F. Supp. 2d 213 (D.D.C. 2005).
[4] Va. Code § 2.2-3905(B)(1)(a).
[5] Va. Code § 1-230.
[6] Md. Code Ann., State Gov’t § 20-801 (West).
[7] See Edgewood Mgmt. Corp. v. Jackson, 212 Md. App. 177, 199, 66 A.3d 1152, 1165 (2013).
[8] Montgomery County Code, Sec. 27-19(c).
[9] Prince Georges County Code, PGCC § 2-186.
[10] Howard County Code, Sec. 12.208.

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Anita Mazumdar Chambers is a principal at The Employment Law Group, P.C.; Cassie Harrington is an associate at the firm.