01/26/2006
CONTACT: Melissa Sharp, (202) 554-9000
WASHINGTON, D.C.—This spring the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that may limit employers' abilities to discourage discrimination in the workplace. At issue is whether employees must first take a discrimination complaint through an employer’s internal discrimination policy, or if instead an employee can take an allegation directly to court.
Filing an amicus brief today in support of employers, the National Federation of Independent Business’ Legal Foundation urged the Supreme Court to clarify that an employee may only bring a discrimination claim to court once they have exhausted all internal resolutions.
“In prior decisions, the Supreme Court has created ‘safe harbors’ from discrimination complaints for employers who do the right thing by establishing and utilizing internal policies designed to prevent supervisors from violating employees' civil rights,” said Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB’s Legal Foundation. “If employees can circumvent internal procedures and take a discrimination complaint directly to court, the incentives for employers to resolve complaints are eliminated.”
NFIB argues that employers should be encouraged to resolve disputes internally before actions are brought to court. Such policies give employers incentives to manage a work environment that does not tolerate discrimination. Then, all parties can rely on the courts to remedy only unresolved disputes that have exhausted internal proceedings—saving the courts and taxpayers from allegations that can be resolved internally.
“Without clear guidance from the Supreme Court, employers risk being held liable for individual conduct that Title VII was not meant to address. If this low threshold for liability is accepted, employers will be discouraged from imposing interim disciplinary measures against those who engage in discriminatory behavior. Additionally, the risk associated with hiring new employees will increase for business owners,” said Harned.
The case, Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co., v. Sheila White, No. 05-259, comes to the Supreme Court on appeal from the 6th Circuit, which found for the employee on a claim based on two interim, not final, employment actions.
The Society for Human Resource Management joined NFIB in filing this amicus brief.
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The NFIB Legal Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization created to protect the rights of America's small-business owners by providing advisory material on legal issues and by ensuring that the voice of small business is heard in the nation's courts. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) represents the consensus views of its 600,000 members in Washington and all 50 state capitals.
