Supreme Court Expands Employer Liability for Retaliation Under Title VII's "Opposition" Clause
In Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, U.S. No. 06-1595 (January 26, 2009), the United States Supreme Court expanded employers’ liability under Title VII to those who retaliate against employees who disclose unlawful conduct in response to questions that arise during an internal investigation. In Crawford, the employer (“Metro”) initiated an internal investigation into rumors of sexual harassment of its employee relations director (Hughes). During the investigation, Metro interviewed Vicki Crawford, a thirty year employee. Ms. Crawford was asked whether she had witnessed “inappropriate behavior” by Mr. Hughes. She proceeded to describe several instances of sexually harassing behavior. Two other employees also reported being sexually harassed by Mr. Hughes. Although Metro took no action against Hughes, it fired Ms. Crawford and the other two accusers. The reason given for Ms. Crawford’s termination was “embezzlement.” Ms. Crawford subsequently filed an EEOC charge and this litigation claiming retaliation under Title VII’s “opposition” and “participation” clauses.
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