HR Case Law

HR Case Law The following lists key HR-related cases in chronological order by the year in which each case was settled. Each case is briefly described, and the module in which the case is referenced is indicated. Year

Case

Decision

Module

1971

Griggs v. Duke Power

Case that recognized adverse impact discrimination.

2

1973

McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green

Case that established the criteria for disparate treatment discrimination.

2

1975

Albemarle Paper v. Moody

Need to establish evidence that test is related to content of the job; could use job analysis to do so but not evidence from global performance ratings made by supervisors.

2

1976

Washington v. Davis

When a test procedure is challenged under constitutional law, intent to discriminate must be established; no need to establish intent if filed under Title VII, just show effects.

2

1978

Regents of University of California v. Bakke

Reverse discrimination not allowed; race, however, can be used in selection decisions; affirmative action programs permissible when prior discrimination established.

2

1979

United Steelworkers v. Weber

Supreme Court ruled that the affirmative action plan did not violate Title VII since it included voluntary quotas.

2

1986

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson

Supreme Court held that sexual harassment that alters an individual’s terms and conditions of employment violates Title VII of Civil Rights Act. Court also ruled that common-law principles should be applied to guide lower courts in determining employer liability. How these principles are to be applied was later defined in Faragher and Ellerth.

2

1987

Johnson v. Santa Clara County Transportation Agency

Supreme Court ruled that the county was justified in giving a job to a woman who scored two points less on an exam than a man; county had an affirmative action plan that was flexible, temporary, and designed to correct the imbalance of white males in the workforce.

2

1987

School Board of Nassau v. Arline

Court ruled that persons with contagious diseases could be covered by the Rehabilitation Act.

2

1987

Leggett v. First National Bank of Oregon

Court ruling that an employer had invaded an employee’s privacy when a representative of the company met with a psychologist (to whom the employee had been referred by an employee assistance program) and questioned him about her condition.

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HR CASE LAW

Year

Case

Decision

Module

1989

City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Company

Supreme Court ruled that the rigid numerical quota system was unconstitutional; city had not laid proper groundwork and had not identified or documented discrimination.

2

1990

Johnson Controls

Supreme Court held that decisions about the welfare of future children must be left to the parents who conceive, bear, support, and raise them rather than to the employers who hire their parents.

6

1992

Electromation, Inc., v. NLRB

NLRB held that action committees at Electromation were illegal “labor organizations” because management created and controlled the groups and used them to deal with employees on working conditions in violation of the NLRA.

5

1993

E. I. Dupont & Company v. NLRB

Board concluded that Dupont’s six safety committees and fitness committee were employer-dominated labor organizations and that Dupont dominated the formation and administration of one of them in violation of the NLRA.

5

1993

Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc.

Supreme Court ruled that in a sexual harassment case the plaintiff does not have to prove concrete psychological harm to establish a Title VII violation.

2

1993

St. Mary’s Honor Center v. Hicks

Supreme Court ruling that Title VII plaintiffs must show that discrimination was the real reason for an employer’s actions.

2

1993

Taxman v. Board of Education of Piscataway

District court held that a school board could not use racial diversity as an “educational goal” or as a justification for an affirmative action plan granting racial preferences in layoffs where there was no evidence of past bias against racial minorities.

2

1995

McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co.

Supreme Court held that evidence of misconduct acquired after the decision to terminate cannot free an employer from liability, even if the misconduct would have justified terminating the employee.

2

1995

NLRB v. Town & Country Electric

Supreme Court decision related to salting that held that a worker may be a company’s “employee,” within the terms of the National Labor Relations Act, even if, at the same time, a union pays that worker to help the union organize the company.

5

1995

PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond

Case in which district court applied inevitable disclosure doctrine even though there was no noncompete agreement in place. An employee who had left his position in marketing PepsiCo’s All Sport sports drink to work for Quaker Oats Company and market Gatorade and Snapple drinks was enjoined from working for Quaker because he had detailed knowledge of PepsiCo’s trade secrets pertaining to pricing, market strategy, and selling/delivery systems.

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HR CASE LAW

Year

Case

Decision

Module

1998

Faragher v. City of Boca Raton and Ellerth v. Burlington Northern Industries

Court rulings that distinguished between supervisor harassment that results in tangible employment action and that which does not. When harassment results in tangible employment action, the employer is liable.

2

1998

Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Service, Inc.

Ruled that same-gender harassment is actionable under Title VII.

2

1999

Kolstad v. American Dental Association

Ruled that the availability of punitive damages depends on the motive of the discriminator rather than the nature of the conduct.

2

2000

Circuit City Stores v. Adams

Ruled that a pre-hire employment application requiring that all employment disputes be settled by arbitration was enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act.

5

2000 and 2004

NLRB v. Weingarten, Inc.

On June 15, 2004, NLRB ruled by a 3-2 vote that employees who work in a nonunionized workplace are not entitled to have a coworker accompany them to an interview with their employer, even if the affected employee reasonably believes that the interview might result in discipline. This decision effectively reversed the July 2000 decision of the Clinton board, which had extended Weingarten rights to nonunion employees.

5

2001

Crown Cork and Seal Company

NLRB decision that lifted some restrictions on the employer’s use of employee participation committees.

5

2002

EEOC v. Waffle House

Case in which Supreme Court ruled that even if there is a mandatory arbitration agreement in place, relevant civil rights agency can still sue on behalf of the employee.

5

2003

Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger

Supreme Court ruled that the diversity of a student body is a compelling state interest that can justify the use of race in university admissions as long as the admissions policy is “narrowly tailored” to achieve this goal; University of Michigan did not make this showing for its undergraduate program (Gratz case), but the law school admissions program (Grutter case) satisfied this standard.

2

2004

General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc., v. Cline

Supreme Court ruled that the federal age discrimination law does not protect younger workers—even if they are over 40—from workplace decisions that favor older workers.

2

2004

Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders

Supreme Court held that in the absence of a tangible employment action, the Ellerth/Faragher affirmative defense is available in a constructive discharge claim to an employer whose supervisors are charged with harassment.

2

2005

Smith v. Jackson, Mississippi

Supreme Court held that, like Title VII, the ADEA authorizes recovery on a disparate impact theory.

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Year

Case

Decision

Module

2005

IBP, Inc., v. Alvarez

Supreme Court ruling that all time spent donning or doffing unique safety gear is compensable and that the FLSA requires payment of affected employees for all time spent walking between changing and production areas.

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2005

Leonel v. American Airlines

Case in which Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that to issue a “real” employment offer under the ADA, an employer must have completed all nonmedical components of the application process or be able to demonstrate that it could not reasonably have done so before issuing the offer.

2

2007

Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

Supreme Court decision that held that the 180-day time limit for filing a charge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act started after the alleged unlawful employment action and did not restart upon receipt of each successive paycheck; overruled by Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

2

2007

Toering Electric Company

NLRB ruling that an applicant for employment must be genuinely interested in seeking to establish an employment relationship with the employer in order to be protected against hiring discrimination based on union affiliation or activity; creates greater obstacles for unions attempting salting campaigns.

5

2007

Oil Capitol Sheet Metal, Inc.

NLRB decision that provides employers relief in salting cases by announcing a new evidentiary standard for determining the period of back pay; requires the union to provide evidence that supports the period of time it claims the salt would have been employed.

5

2007

Dana Corporation/ Metaldyne Corporation

NLRB ruling that a recognition bar, which precludes a decertification election for 12 months after an employer recognizes a union, does not apply when the recognition is voluntary, based on a card check.

5

2009

Kennedy v. Plan Administrators for Dupont Savings

Supreme Court ruling that awarded retirement benefits to an ex-spouse even though she had agreed to disclaim such benefits, because retiree had never changed beneficiary designation on retirement plan; points out the need for retirement plan administrators to pay attention to divorce decrees and qualified domestic relations orders.

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2009

Ricci v. DeStefano

Supreme Court held that employers may violate Title VII when they engage in race-conscious decision making to address adverse impact—unless they can demonstrate a “strong basis in evidence” that, had they not taken the action, they would have been liable under a disparate impact theory.

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HR Case Law (concluded)

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