Supreme Court Cases

Term Results for 2009-2010

Blows for Civil Rights Enforcement

Wal-Mart v. Dukes
The Supreme Court held that a group of female employees could not band together as a class to challenge sex-based discrimination in pay and promotions.

Flores-Villar v. United States
The Supreme Court upheld a federal law that makes it more difficult for children born abroad to claim U.S. citizenship upon birth if their father is a U.S. citizen than if their mother is a U.S. citizen.

AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion
The Supreme Court decided that federal law requires courts to enforce arbitration agreements containing class action bans that are unconscionable under state law, with potentially far-reaching implications for workers.

Victory for Civil Rights

Vincent E. Staub v. Proctor Hospital
The Supreme Court decided that an employer can be held liable for an adverse employment decision that was influenced, but not directly made, by officials with discriminatory intent.

Eric L. Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP
The Supreme Court decided that retaliation against a worker’s family member does violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and that the family member can bring a charge under Title VII in her own right.

Kevin Kasten v. Saint Gobain Performance Plastics Corp.
This term, the Supreme Court held that workers are protected from retaliation when they make oral complaints about wage and hour violations.