US Supreme Court Makes Way for Increase in Discrimination Lawsuits
The US Supreme Court has reportedly given a boost to a St. Louis police officer, Jatonya Muldrow, who sued after claiming she was moved to an “undesirable new job” due to her gender.
The 9-0 ruling brought by the justice thwarted a decision by a lower court to dismiss the lawsuit altogether and ultimately lowered the standard one’s experience with workplace discrimination must cause harm in order for Title VII to apply.
“Although an employee must show some harm from a forced transfer to prevail in a Title VII suit, she need not show that the injury satisfies a significance test,” the court held.
Muldrow has said that she was transferred out of a police intelligence unit by a new supervisor who allegedly wanted a male officer in the spot.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 disallows discrimination based on sex, race, religion and other characteristics “with regard to any term, condition, or privilege of employment.”
The Biden administration reportedly backed Muldrow and asked the supreme court to enforce a broad application of Title VII. The justice department also said that discriminatory acts often violate the law because they primarily involve a change in working conditions.
In Muldrow’s case, the St Louis-based eighth US circuit court of appeals in 2022 concluded that her transfer deal had not negatively impacted her working conditions which was in tandem with a federal judge’s earlier ruling. These arguments were heard in December 2023.
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