MoJo Blog

« United 93 | Blog Index | The Sibel Edmonds case--forgotten, but still vitally important »

Advertisement

Court Hears Discrimination Case

E.J. Graff does a very good job explaining Burlington Northern v. White, a case currently before the Supreme Court that will basically decide how much protection to afford whistleblowers who speak out against workplace discrimination. Here's the basic dilemma:

Different appeals courts have come to different conclusions on how you define retaliation. The Sixth Circuit declared that “materially adverse” was the standard, and that what happened to White [i.e., transferred to a different job and being suspended for 37 days without pay for speaking out against gender discrimination] counted under that standard.

Other circuits have said that it’s only retaliation if it involves an “ultimate employment decision” like failing to hire, failing to promote, or firing. Still others stand with the little gal: Any action that is “reasonably likely to deter” you from reporting discrimination -- say, a “lateral transfer” -- counts as retaliation, and you can sue.

Judging from the oral arguments, Graff reports, the Supreme Court will probably rule with White and set somewhat broad standards on what employers aren't allowed to do to retaliate. Interestingly enough, Scalia will probably rule against the employers, while Roberts and Alito will likely side with the company—more evidence for the idea that the White House ultimately nominated the people it did primarily with business interests in mind.

Posted by Bradford Plumer on 04/28/06 at 11:23 AM | E-mail | Print | Digg this | de.licio.us



Comments

The Supreme Court doesn't need to hear this case!
Plaintiff White complained about specific incidents of alleged sexual harassment, such she was reassigned from her forklift position to a standard track laborer position, but the 1964 Civil Rights Act EXPLICITLY prohibits such retaliation; Sect. 704 of Title VII states that it is illegal for an employer to retaliate against anyone for bringing a discrimination charge.
And the US Supreme Court in Burlington Industries v. Ellerth stated that"[a] tangible employment action constitutes ... reassignment with significantly different responsibilities ..."
Funny?, how Burlington No. asserted one reason for transferring White in its interrogatory response, but then Brown, the official who made the decision to transfer White, asserted a different, contradictory reason at trial. Brown testified that he transferred White in part based upon complaints from Ellis (a co-worker), but at trial Ellis denied complaining about White. Brown testified that Sharkey made the decision to suspend White, while Sharkey testified that Brown made the decision. Burlington No. asserts that Brown suspended White for insubordination, but another Buekington No. official who served as a hearing officer for White's internal grievance concluded that White had not been insubordinate.
Yeah, instead of the Supreme court wasting its precious time, what's called for here is a grand jury investigation for perjury, ect.
And the Justices of the Supreme Court should be seen here as accessorities after the fact because Misprision of Felony (Title 18, Sect. 4) states that persons in position of civil authority, ect., must act appropriately upon knowledge of felony...

Posted by: Michael L. Wagner on 04/28/06 at 7:55 PM

So..., what's with the Supreme Court...???
An anatomy of GROSS deprivations of civil liberties...--in O'Shea v. Littleton (1974) 17 African-Americans challenged two state judges who engaged in a pattern of racially motivated illegal conduct.
The dissenting opinion explained how, "This Court now decides for the first time in the course of this litigation that the complaint is deficient because it does not state a 'case or controversy' ... These allegations of past and continuing wrongdoings clearly state a case or controversy."
Huh???, what in Hell is the story here...???
"We know that Cairo (IL) is boiling with racial conflicts. This class action is to remedy vast invasions of civil rights. The Court, however, says that it is not a 'case or controversy' because none of the named plaintiffs has alleged infringement of his rights and the fact that OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CLASS may have been injured is not enough. The upshot is that one crucial issue on which this Court makes this case turn has not been decided by the Court and was never argued here."
In fact, the Court's holding was not only nonsense but actually prohibited, "since the first objective is conclusive, there is an end to the matter."
In O'Shea the Court went on to further annihilate the Constitution, "Past exposure to illegal conduct does not in itself show a present case or controversy, if unaccompanied by any continuing, present adverse effects."
The utter stupidity of this holding is plainly demonstrated in a later suit, where the plaintiff protested the Forest Service's use of unconstitutional checkpoints targeted at her group, "The Forest Service does not deny that the checkpoints were impermissibly operated, but argues that Ms. Parks has not made an adequate showing that she will be subjected to unconstitutional checkpoints in the future. We agree. The MERE FACT that the checkpoint was used at the 1996 gathering was unconstitutional cannot alone give Ms. Parks standing. We do not think that the use of checkpoints in 1997, 1998, and 1999 is relevant ..."
Wow!!! What Constitution????And, so..., where's SUPERMAN, I mean the ACLU.. In bed with who!!!??? Certainly not with Plaintiff White, that's for damn sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Michael L. Wagner on 04/29/06 at 11:52 AM

Post a comment





 

RECENT COMMENTS

Did Exxon Nix Showing "An Inconvenient Truth" in Schools? (2)
Chris Wilcox wrote: It is analogous to the question asked of the young lady, b... [more]

Plenty Of Troops To Fight Against the War On Christmas (5)
CalGrown wrote: Christmas is an important American holiday, but not in a r... [more]

The Press is Less and Less Protected in America: An Update from the Front Lines (1)
Michael L. Wagner wrote: "There has been a striking consolidation of the media from... [more]

Outsourcing Meth (2)
Crystal wrote: A good portion of meth entering our country comes from Can... [more]

Sen. Chuck Hagel Advocates Phased Withdrawal (3)
Ranselar VanDerpoel wrote: The word "honorable" doesn't apply to the Iraq situation,n... [more]

Iraqi Shi'ites Stone Shi'ite Prime Minister (1)
Ames Tiedeman wrote: This situatin is getting worse and worse for America. We c... [more]

Marine Gets Less than Two Years for Executing Iraqi Civilian (1)
GreginOz wrote: Mossad got away with hunting down and killing all the Berl... [more]

Iraqi Students Want Saddam Back (5)
Michael L. Wagner wrote: This is exactly what happened in Vietnam: prior to the war... [more]

BU College Republicans Create Scholarship For White Students...Sort Of (3)
Paul Miller wrote: What can a person say? That is the most ludicrous thing I... [more]

Teen Birth Rate at a Record Low (3)
Paul Miller wrote: A very good point about how right the left is getting. I ... [more]

XML RSS Feed

Powered by
Movable Type 3.33

Jail.org - Inmate Search
Criminal records, instant public records & people search & current court records. www.jail.org

U.S. Public Records Search
Search County & State Court Records, Criminal records, Vital and Adoption Records www.PublicRecordsInfo.com

Records.com - People Search
Public Records and Background Checks. Instantly Search Criminal Records, Addresses and Court Records www.Records.com

Court Records & County Records
Find Instant Public Records, Criminal Records as Well as County Property Records Search. www.PublicRecordsIndex.com

















Wage Insurance

McCain's Speech

Quote of the Day

Calm Down


More MoJo voices...



bookIN PRINT

CLICK HERE
for more great reading

headphones IN TUNE
New music every issue

CLICK TO LISTEN


This article has been made possible by the Foundation for National Progress, the Investigative Fund of Mother Jones, and gifts from generous readers like you.

© 2005 The Foundation for National Progress

About Us   Support Us   Advertise   Ad Policy   Privacy Policy   Contact Us   Subscribe   RSS