Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON, Jun 22, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The U.S. Supreme Court set a new standard for sexual harassment Thursday, defining retaliation as any act that would make an employee reluctant to complain.
The justices ruled unanimously in favor of a woman working for the Burlington Northern railroad who was suspended for 37 days after she complained of being transferred from forklift operator to laborer. Eight justices joined in Stephen Breyer's majority opinion, while Justice Samuel Alito wrote a concurring opinion agreeing with the result but not the legal standard.
The ruling sets a national standard that makes getting compensation for retaliation easier in most of the country.
"Interpreting the anti-retaliation provision to provide broad protection from retaliation helps assure the cooperation upon which accomplishment of the Act's primary objective depends," Breyer wrote.
The railroad argued Sheila White's transfer was not retaliation and that her suspension had been remedied by reinstatement and back pay. Breyer disagreed, saying that interpretation would undermine the law.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
