Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Kim Alton
(202) 662-8600
June 22,2006

Supreme Court Adopts Lawyers' Committee's Position and Provides Employees With Broad Protection Against Retaliation

(Washington, DC) - In an opinion issued on June 22, 2006, the Supreme Court adopted arguments asserted by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, providing broad protections for employees who complain of discrimination.

“Today, the Court has reaffirmed the very basic but vital premise that without protecting employees' rights to complain about violations of the law, the rights themselves become meaningless," said Michael L. Foreman, Director of the Employment Discrimination Project of the Lawyers' Committee.

Plaintiff Sheila White operated a forklift at the Tennessee Yard of Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. She was the only woman in her department. After complaining of sexual harassment by her supervisor, she was reassigned to a less desirable job. When she complained that the reassignment constituted unlawful gender discrimination and retaliation, she was suspended without pay for insubordination. After 37 days, she was found to be not guilty of insubordination and was reinstated with full back pay. White brought a lawsuit alleging that the change in her job responsibilities and the suspension amounted to unlawful retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. White prevailed at trial. On appeal, the Sixth Circuit held that in order to prove retaliation, the plaintiff must show an “adverse employment action,” defined as a “materially adverse change in the terms and conditions” of employment.

In line with the arguments asserted in the amicus curiae brief submitted by the Lawyers' Committee, the Supreme Court defined unlawful retaliation more broadly. The Court held that the Title VII's anti-retaliation provision prohibits employers from engaging in conduct that would deter a reasonable employee from complaining of unlawful discrimination. The Court held that such conduct is not confined to actions that occur at the workplace or actions that are related to employment. Under the facts of the case, the Court concluded that transfers to a less desirable job within an employee's job description can constitute retaliation. Further, the Court concluded that a month without pay can constitute retaliation, even when the employee is later reimbursed for the lost pay.

The Lawyers' Committee is a forty year old nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination. The Lawyers' Committee's brief was joined by the Asian American Justice Center, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.

For the Supreme Court opinion, click here.
For the Lawyers' Committee brief, click here.

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