Almost as soon as Justice Anthony Kennedy had finished announcing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, No. 12-484 (June 24, 2013), the decision was widely reported as a victory for employers — and rightly so. The Supreme Court’s holding that retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act are to be analyzed pursuant to the traditional “but for” causation standard, as opposed to the more liberal “motivating factor” standard applicable to discrimination claims, unequivocally raised the bar for any employee pursuing a claim of retaliation under Title VII.

However, predicting how lower courts will interpret and apply decisions from the Supreme Court is an inexact science, making it an open question as to the magnitude of any victory. Was Nassar a narrow ruling, expressly applicable only to retaliation claims under Title VII? Or was it a seismic shift that would inevitably impact other federal anti-discrimination laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §1981, and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? If early indications hold true, the impact of Nassar upon retaliation claims appears to be closer to the latter.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]