The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed its own precedent and ruled that an employee can allege a disparate treatment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act even if the claim does not involve an ultimate employment decision such as termination, denial of a promotion, or the setting of pay. In reversing a three-judge panel in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the full court agreed that the ultimate-employment-decision test ignores Title VII’s language, which prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee with respect to the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. The Fifth Circuit’s Hamilton decision sets the stage for a case that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up during its next term, in which the High Court will decide whether an ultimate employment action is required to sustain a viable Title VII disparate treatment claim.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.