By Toni Locy
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON —; The Supreme Court today affirmed a sex discrimination jury award for a Tennessee forklift operator who was transferred to a more physical job after she filed a lawsuit accusing her employer of sexual harassment.
By a 9-0 vote, justices said that Sheila White was improperly punished with a suspension for 37 days over a Christmas holiday and was transferred from operating the forklift to doing more physical work as a yard worker.
Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that White did receive back pay. But he said she and her family had to live 37 days without any income.
“Many reasonable employees would find a month without a paycheck to be a serious hardship,” Breyer wrote, adding that “an indefinite suspension without pay could well act as a deterrent, even if the suspended employee eventually received back pay.”
The high court’s ruling tilts the balance of power in employment settings toward employees by establishing a broader legal standard for retaliation claims, an area of litigation that has exploded in recent years.
Under the high court’s standard, employers are liable for unlawful retaliation if their actions “interfere with an employee’s efforts” to ensure that he or she is not discriminated against in the workplace, Breyer wrote.
The anti-retaliation provision of the 1964 Civil Rights Act “seeks to prevent harm to individuals based on what they do, i.e., their conduct,” such as filing a discrimination complaint, Breyer said.
Sheila White worked as a forklift operator for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway in Memphis, Tenn. The only woman working at the rail yard, she was transferred to a harder yard worker job and then suspended without pay during a Christmas holiday after she accused her supervisor of sexually harassing her.
See tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press for full coverage.
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON —; The Supreme Court today affirmed a sex discrimination jury award for a Tennessee forklift operator who was transferred to a more physical job after she filed a lawsuit accusing her employer of sexual harassment.
By a 9-0 vote, justices said that Sheila White was improperly punished with a suspension for 37 days over a Christmas holiday and was transferred from operating the forklift to doing more physical work as a yard worker.
Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that White did receive back pay. But he said she and her family had to live 37 days without any income.
“Many reasonable employees would find a month without a paycheck to be a serious hardship,” Breyer wrote, adding that “an indefinite suspension without pay could well act as a deterrent, even if the suspended employee eventually received back pay.”
The high court’s ruling tilts the balance of power in employment settings toward employees by establishing a broader legal standard for retaliation claims, an area of litigation that has exploded in recent years.
Under the high court’s standard, employers are liable for unlawful retaliation if their actions “interfere with an employee’s efforts” to ensure that he or she is not discriminated against in the workplace, Breyer wrote.
The anti-retaliation provision of the 1964 Civil Rights Act “seeks to prevent harm to individuals based on what they do, i.e., their conduct,” such as filing a discrimination complaint, Breyer said.
Sheila White worked as a forklift operator for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway in Memphis, Tenn. The only woman working at the rail yard, she was transferred to a harder yard worker job and then suspended without pay during a Christmas holiday after she accused her supervisor of sexually harassing her.
See tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press for full coverage.
