Supreme Court Docket Report - May 27, 2008

Originally published May 27, 2008

Keywords: Title VII, discrimination, retaliation, Cracker Barrell, Humphries, employee, employer

Today the Supreme Court issued one decision, described below, of interest to the business community.

CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries, No. 06-1431 (previously discussed in the September 25, 2007 Docket Report).

The Supreme Court today held that 42 U.S.C. § 1981—a Civil War-era statute commonly used in tandem with Title VII as the basis for race discrimination claims in the workplace—contains an implied cause of action for retaliation. Because the text of § 1981, which protects the rights of non-whites "to make and enforce contracts," provides an implied basis for challenging employers' decisions to terminate, demote, or otherwise discipline employees as a pretext for race-based retaliation, this decision affects virtually all employers, including small businesses