U.S. Supreme Court Eases Threshold for Employees to Prove Title VII Discrimination in Claims Relating to Job Transfers
Given the general direction in which recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court have moved, its recent decision in Muldrow v. St. Louis, surprisingly, moves in the opposite direction. Employers should take notice that in Muldrow, the Court eased the threshold for employees to prove Title VII discrimination claims, holding that for a plaintiff-employee to make a claim of discrimination under Title VII based on a job transfer, the transferee does not have to show that the harm incurred as a result of the transfer was significant, serious or substantial.
As employers are likely aware, Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to the individual’s compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Prior to the Muldrow decision, federal courts were split on whether a heightened injury standard was required to prove that an employee had experienced an adverse employment action.
In its decision in Muldrow, the Court distinguished its new holding from its prior holding in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White, 548 U.S. 53 (2006), in which it addressed Title VII’s anti-retaliation provision. Employers should note the lower threshold now in place for an employee to establish a discrimination claim under Title VII, which for other than those within the DC Circuit likely represents a new, less stringent standard.
Our Labor & Employment team is available to assist employers in navigating full compliance with Title VII (as the standards for such compliance may change) and other anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws. We also advise clients on managing their employer-employee relations and defending against discrimination and all other workplace claims.
Read more in our Client Alert below.
Contacts
- Jeffrey P. Englander Partner & Co-Chair, Labor & Employment
- jenglander@morrisoncohen.com
- Keith A. Markel Partner & Co-Chair, Labor & Employment
- kmarkel@morrisoncohen.com
- Cassandra N. Branch Associate
- cbranch@morrisoncohen.com
- Kayla West Associate
- kwest@morrisoncohen.com
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