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News Related to Equal Employment Opportunity Source: iNews © 2009 John D. Sargent - eeoinews@yahoo.com - All Rights Reserved
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U.S. Supreme Court

Public Citizen?s most recent Sup Ct Watch list here
SCOTUSblog?s most recent Petitions to Watch here
Ross Runkel?s US Sup Ct Employment Law Cases ? Pending & decided here

Decided

Crawford v. Metro Gov't of Nashville & Davidson County, No. 06-1595
Title VII/retaliation: (From SCOTUSwiki): The Court unanimously concluded that the ordinary meaning of ?oppose? includes giving a ?disapproving account? of unlawful behavior, even if the employee takes no further action on her own to seek to stop or remedy the conduct. Accepting the rule set forth in the EEOC?s Compliance Manual, the Court concluded that ?When an employee communicates to her employer a belief that the employer has engaged in . . . a form of employment discrimination, that communication virtually always constitutes the employee?s opposition to the activity.? The Court held open the possibility of ?eccentric cases? in which the employee makes clear his approval of the conduct in conveying the information (for example, describing a racist joke as hilarious probably wouldn?t count as opposing the joke-telling).
January 26, 2009 decision here
SCOTUS docket here
SCOTUSwiki here

14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, No. 07-581
ADEA/Enforceability of collectively bargained arbitration clause
(From SCOTUSwiki): Justice Thomas?s majority opinion held that nothing in either the National Labor Relations Act, which controls collective bargaining agreements made on behalf of union members, or the ADEA forbids unions from mandating arbitration to resolve statutory discrimination claims. The majority touted the importance of allowing parties to bargain contractually for exchanges of rights and responsibilities, and it noted that courts should generally not interfere in this process. According to the majority, ?[t]he decision to fashion a [collective bargaining agreement] to require arbitration of employment-discrimination claims is no different from the many other decisions made by parties in designing grievance machinery.?
April 1, 2009 decision here
SCOTUS docket here
SCOTUSwiki here

AT&T v. Hulteen, No. 07-543
Title VII/Denial of pre-?79 pregnancy leave service credits in computing pension
(From the decision syllabus): An employer does not necessarily violate the PDA when it pays pension benefits calculated in part under an accrual rule, applied only pre-PDA, that gave less retirement credit for pregnancy than for medical leave generally. Because AT&T?s pension payments accord with a bona fide seniority system?s terms, they are insulated from challenge under Title VII §703(h).
May 18, 2009 decision here
SCOTUS docket here
SCOTUSwiki here
Noted here: Star Tribune; Class Action Defense blog; FindLaw; RH Reality Check

Argued - Awaiting Decision

Gross v. FBL Fin. Servs, No. 08-441
ADEA/Must a plaintiff present direct evidence of discrimination in order to obtain a mixed-motive instruction in a non-Title VII discrimination case?
March 31, 2009 Argument Transcript here
SCOTUS docket here
SCOTUSwiki here

Ricci v. Destefano, No. 07-1428 and 08-328
Title VII/Whether municipalities may decline to certify results of an exam that would make disproportionately more white applicants eligible for promotion than minority applicants, due to fears that certifying the results would lead to charges of racial discrimination
April 22, 2009 Argument Transcript here
SCOTUS docket here
SCOTUSwiki here
Cornell Law School/LII here
Noted here: Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Selected Cases Pending Cert:

Oakley v. City of Memphis, No. 08-744
T VII
See issue description at Public Citizen:
SCOTUS docket here

McKnight v. Gen. Motors Corp., No. 08-1113
ADA
See issue description at Public Citizen
SCOTUS docket here

Adam v. Salazar, No. 08-1097
ADEA
See issue description at Public Citizen
SCOTUS docket here

Lewis, et al. v. City of Chicago, No. 08-974
TVII
See issue description (+briefs links) at SCOTUSblog
SCOTUS docket here
Noted here: SCOTUSblog (w/ brief links and noting that the Court has invited the views of the SG)

Federal Appellate Court Decisions

Paul Mollica?s Daily Developments in EEO Law here

2nd Circuit
Sassaman v. Gamache, No. 07-2721 (2d Cir. May 22, 2009)
Guy accused of sex harass flips dismissal of his gender discrim suit; key evidence: (1) his supervisor?s statement indicating that men have a propensity to commit sexual harassment and (2) defendants? arguable failure to investigate properly the charges of sexual harassment lodged against him

State Roundup

NY
DECIDED
[5-22] Gender: Jury turns thumbs down to fem cop?s promotion suit vs Niskayuna
New York Court Recognizes Faragher-Ellerth Defense Under State and City Human Rights Laws (in part)

FILED
Age: Non-rehired 73yo mixologist with 27 years experience files EEOC charge of age discrim vs NY Yankees

NEWS
Race: Black Greece Central School District teacher?s NYSDHR claim sparks rally
Sex Harass: Baldwin Principal reassigned after $5M harassment verdict
Ulster Cnty Jail slapped 5 times by EEOC in ?08 w/findings of sex harass/discrim/retal

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on May 29, 2009 (boomark / email).