02/15/2008
CONTACT: Melissa Sharp, 202-314-2068
NFIB Legal Expert, Karen Harned, available for comment. To schedule an interview, contact Melissa Sharp at 202-314-2068 or Melissa.Sharp@NFIB.org.
Washington, D.C.--Next week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in an employment law case important to small business owners. The National Federation of Independent Business Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief in this case, and Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB's Legal Foundation, will be available to comment before and after the oral arguments are held Wednesday, Feb. 20.
CBOCS West v. Humphries
The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to determine whether retaliation claims can be brought under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act. Retaliation occurs when an employer takes adverse action against individuals who oppose discriminatory practices, and claims based on retaliation are properly brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
However, in this case, the Seventh Circuit ruled that a retaliation claim could be brought under Section 1981 despite the fact that the text of Section 1981 does not even mention retaliation. NFIB is urging the Supreme Court to reverse this decision and rule that retaliation claims may only be brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and are not permissible under Section 1981.
"The Seventh Circuit's expansion of Section 1981's authority will be detrimental to employers because Section 1981 lacks the safeguards contained in Title VII for employers to fairly defend their actions against a retaliation claim," said Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB's Legal Foundation. "Safeguards such as timeframes for when a claim must be filed and pre-suit dispute resolution strategies which are spelled out in Title VII, protect employers from defending themselves against stale claims and give employers an opportunity to address alleged acts of discrimination prior to a lawsuit being filed. Theses provisions are not found in Section 1981. Further, it is simply improper and not legally justified for the Seventh Circuit to expand the scope of Section 1981 to allow for retaliation claims."
The claimant in this case is an employee that sued his employer in federal court under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and under Section 1981. The lower court quickly dismissed the employee's Title VII claim based on his failure to file a timely administrative charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The employee did not appeal the court's decision to dismiss his Title VII claim.
