As we’ve noted before, June is a popular month for weddings and Supreme Court retirements. We’re not anticipating any retirement announcements – the changes we’ve seen in the Court’s composition over the past year were more than enough for a while, in our view – but June is also when the Court usually hands down its most controversial decisions, and that pattern is expected to hold. As of today, 31 cases remain to be decided, including rulings on thorny issues such as military courts and civil liberties, the death penalty, campaign spending, and the environment. “The heavy lifting is coming up,” as one report put it.
One case we’ve got our eye on is Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Sheila White. The plaintiff in this case, the only woman in her department of a rail yard, was subjected to harassment by coworkers and a supervisor who believed that women did not belong in the railway yard. After complaining about the harassment, she was transferred to less desirable job duties and then suspended from her job without pay. A jury found that she was the victim of unlawful retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the award. Burlington Northern asked the Supreme Court to reverse that decision. NWLC filed an amicus brief supporting the plaintiff, on behalf of itself and over two dozen women’s rights and other organizations. As NWLC Co-President Marcia Greenberger said when NWLC’s brief was filed, “The discrimination and retaliation White experienced is not uncommon for women attempting to break into traditionally male-dominated fields. Although such jobs pay far more than positions traditionally filled by women, the risk of sexual harassment is also much higher. In far too many cases, employees have also faced the added danger of retaliation by their employees. Congress enacted Title VII to protect employees from these types of retaliation, and the Court must not take these protections away.”
