''University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar'', 570 U.S. 338 (2013), was a

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

case involving the standard of proof required for a retaliation claim under

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requi ...

. The Court held that while Title VII applies a

mixed motive discrimination "Mixed motive" discrimination is a category of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Where the plaintiff has shown intentional discrimination in a mixed motive case, the defendant can still avoid liability for money damage ...

framework to claims of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (see ), that framework did not apply to claims of retaliation under . The Court reasoned that based on its decision in ''

Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. ''Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.'', 557 U.S. 167 (2009), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2009, involving the standard of proof required for a claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Jac ...

'' and on common law principles of

tort law A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

, the plaintiff was required to show that a retaliatory motive was the " but for" cause of the adverse employment action.

Background

From 1995 to 1998 and 2001 to 2006, Dr. Nassar, an

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

-born

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, was a faculty member of the

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...

, as well as a medical doctor at

Parkland Memorial Hospital Parkland Memorial Hospital is a public hospital in Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the main hospital of the Parkland Health & Hospital System and serves as Dallas County's public hospital. It is located within the Southwestern Medical Dis ...

. Dr. Nassar contended that Dr.

Beth Levine Beth Levine may refer to: *Beth Levine (fashion designer) (1914–2006), American fashion designer *Beth Levine (physician), medical doctor and researcher {{Hndis, Levine, Beth ...

, one of his supervisors, had created a

hostile work environment In United States labor law, a hostile work environment exists when one's behavior within a workplace creates an environment that is difficult or uncomfortable for another person to work in, due to illegal discrimination. Common complaints in sexua ...

towards Dr. Nassar on account of his race. Dr. Nassar resigned from the university in 2006, citing Dr. Levine's discriminatory behavior in his resignation letter. Prior to his resignation, Dr. Nassar had requested and received an offer to continue working at

Parkland Hospital Parkland often refers to a park. Parkland or Parklands may also refer to: Geography * Aspen parkland, a biome transitional between prairie and boreal forest (taiga) * Landscaped parkland, a managed rural area associated with European country hous ...

, but after receiving his resignation letter, the university instructed the hospital to withdraw the offer.

Opinion of the Court

The Court determined that Title VII's

did not apply to retaliation claims, and therefore ''

'' was instructive. The Court opined that the placement of the mixed-motive test in the status-based discrimination section and not the retaliation section indicated Congress' intent to exclude retaliation claims from that standard. The Court then turned to the text of the retaliation provision and found it similar to the ADEA provision addressed in ''Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc''..

References

External links

* {{caselaw source , case = ''University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar'', {{ussc, 570, 338, 2013, el=no , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/570/12-484/ , oyez =https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/12-484 , other_source1 = Supreme Court (slip opinion) (archived) , other_url1 =https://web.archive.org/web/0/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-484_o759.pdf United States Supreme Court cases United States tort case law 2013 in United States case law United States employment discrimination case law United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court United States statutory interpretation case law United States racial discrimination case law

Background

Opinion of the Court

See also

References

External links