United States Supreme Court Considers Four Key Employment Cases in its New Term

January 08, 2008

The United States Supreme Court commenced its October 2007 with four key employment cases on its docket. Although two of the cases were granted review at the end of the last term, the remaining three cases were granted review just a few months ago, on September 25, 2007. The four cases cover a range of employment issues which will affect all employers, both small and large. The following key issues are pending before the Court.

1) Is an intake questionnaire submitted to the EEOC sufficient as an EEOC charge? In Federal Express Corp. v. Holowecki, 127 S.Ct. 2914 (2007), the Court will address this key issue of whether an employee's timely filed intake questionnaire with the EEOC constitutes an EEOC charge sufficient for filing purposes under federal law, namely, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. §621, et seq.

 

2) The second key employment case involves the admissibility of fellow employees' "me too" testimony. Specifically, in Sprint/United Management Company v. Mendelsohn, 128 S.Ct. 435 (2007), the United States Supreme Court will decide whether a plaintiff can present, as evidence of employment discrimination in his own suit, testimony by employees who allegedly suffered the same adverse employment action as the plaintiff, but who are not parties to the litigation and who did not have the same supervisor. In this case, the Supreme Court will answer conclusively whether a district court must admit the so-called "me too" evidence testimony by non-parties who allege discrimination at the hands of persons in the company who played no role in the adverse employment decision being challenged by the plaintiff.

3) In the third key employment case pending before the United States Supreme Court, the Court will consider whether the use of age as a factor in a retirement plan is arbitrary so as to render the plan facially discriminatory in violation of the Age Discrimination In Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. §621 et seq. The legal repercussions stemming from this case are huge, since it will impact the legitimacy and validity of many retirement plans which use age as a factor.

 

4) The fourth key employment case pending before the United States Supreme Court involves 42 U.S.C. §1981. Specifically, the Court will address whether race retaliation claims are cognizable under 42 U.S.C. §1981. This case has significant legal repercussions, since §1981 provides for unlimited compensatory and punitive damages and is not subject to the statutory cap for damages which applies to Title VII claims.

 

We will be monitoring each of these seminal decisions and will advise our readers of any developments via our electronic communications eLABORate.