Category: Associational Discrimination

Associational Discrimination: Supreme Court Decides Thompson v. North American Stainless

Associational Discrimination: Supreme Court Decides Thompson v. North American Stainless

On January 24, 2011, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP, No. 09-291. The Court unanimously (8-0, with Justice Kagan recusing herself) reversed the 10-6 en banc decision from the Sixth Circuit. The Supreme Court held that Title VII’s anti-retaliation provision reached a Charging Party’s fiancé. The decision’s significant practical ramifications are...

Associational Discrimination, Quirky Question # 87

Associational Discrimination, Quirky Question # 87

Quirky Question # 87: Some time ago, you wrote an analysis about discrimination on the basis of inter-racial marriage.  We are confronting a slightly different problem.  Several of our Caucasian employees have complained that they have been discriminated against because of their friendships with their African American co-workers.  These individuals are not married to the African Americans and they have...

Discrimination Based on Inter-Racial Marriage, Quirky Question # 77

Discrimination Based on Inter-Racial Marriage, Quirky Question # 77

Quirky Question # 77: One of our employees, who is Caucasian, recently complained that his manager has been treating him unfairly in a variety of ways.  He claims that his manager is discriminating against him because he is married to an African American woman.  Putting aside the issue of whether the manager actually is treating him unfairly, does Title VII...

Scope of Retaliation Claims, Family Members?, Quirky Question # 62

Scope of Retaliation Claims, Family Members?, Quirky Question # 62

Quirky Question # 62: Your pending question regarding the “temporal proximity” required for retaliation claims is interesting.  I have a slightly different question, also involving retaliation claims. What is the scope of the protections provided by retaliation provisions.  For example, if one member of a couple, both of whom worked for us, sues us for discrimination in connection with her...