Court: U.S. Supreme Court

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Oral argument is scheduled in the Supreme Court today in the case of Lawson and Zang v. FMR, LLC (information here).  The decision below is Lawson v. FMR, LLC, 670 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2012). The case concerns the scope of protection provided by the “whistleblower” section (Section 806) of the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 18 U.S.C.…

Read More SCOTUS Hears Oral Argument on Whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Protects Employees of Privately-Held Contractors or Subcontractors of Public Companies
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I came across this and thought it was interesting, if only because it is believed to be the only time a U.S. Supreme Court Justice said “Happy Halloween” from the bench. During oral argument on October 31, 2005 in the case of Central Virginia Community College v. Katz, 126 S. Ct. 990 (2006), the following exchange took…

Read More Judge Scalia: Halloween Fan
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Below is today’s Supreme Court decision in U.S . v. Windsor, which holds section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. That section, codified at 1 U.S.C. § 7, provides: In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of…

Read More SCOTUS Strikes Down DOMA Section 3: U.S. v. Windsor
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Today the U.S. Supreme Court held, in Univ. of Tex. Sw. Med. Ctr. v. Nassar, that retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 must meet the more rigorous “but for” standard of causation applied under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.   The Court, focusing on the text, history, and structure…

Read More U.S. Supreme Court Raises Causation Standard For Title VII Retaliation Claims
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Today the U.S. Supreme Court decided, in Vance v. Ball State University, which employees are “supervisors” within the meaning of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  I previously wrote about the case here. Whether the alleged discriminator/harasser is the plaintiff’s “supervisor” or “co-worker” is critical: Under Title VII, an employer’s liability for ……

Read More U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Who Is A Title VII “Supervisor”
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The U.S. Supreme Court held today, in Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, that where the claim of the lone plaintiff in a Fair Labor Standards Act “collective action” (see 29 U. S. C. §216(b), which authorizes a plaintiff to bring a claim on behalf of himself “and other employees similarly situated”) is dismissed, the case fails to…

Read More SCOTUS: FLSA Collective Action Falls With Dismissal of Lead Plaintiff’s Claim
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Last week the U.S. Supreme Court granted a Petition for Writ of Certiorari filed by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the case captioned University of Texas Southwestern Center v. Naiel Nassar, M.D.  General information regarding the case is available at SCOTUSblog; the actual petition is accessible here. The question presented is: Whether

Read More Supreme Court to Decide Whether Mixed-Motive Analysis Applies to Retaliation Claims
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Seems like a straightforward question, right?  It’s the boss, the head honcho, the big cheese, the person who tells you what to do and (in some cases) is the subject of social media ranting.  However, the question is not so clear under federal anti-discrimination law, as illustrated by a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.…

Read More Who Is A “Supervisor”?
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Yesterday SCOTUS granted certiorari in a case brought by a white plaintiff challenging the University of Texas at Austin’s use of race in its admission decisions.  The Question Presented, as set forth here, is:  “Whether this Court’s decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, including Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003),…

Read More SCOTUS agrees to hear affirmative action case
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