Legalities

Life, Politics and the Law From ABC News Correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg

Jan Crawford Greenburg is a correspondent for ABC News' bureau in Washington DC. She covers politics, the Supreme Court and provides legal analysis for ABC News. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago's law school and is a member of the New York bar.

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Supreme Court on Discrimination

May 27, 2008 10:51 AM

The Supreme Court this morning refused to narrow the scope of two federal discrimination laws, ruling that people who are fired for complaining about age and race bias are protected under federal law.

The Court, ruling in two separate cases, emphasized the long history of allowing so-called "whistleblower" suits against employers who discriminate on the job.

The first case involved a postal worker alleging the Postal Service illegally retaliated against her after she sued for age discrimination. The decision, by Justice Sam Alito, allows her lawsuit to continue. The ruling was 6-3.

The second involved a supervisor at Cracker Barrel restaurant who says he was fired after complaining about race discrimination. The decision, allowing his lawsuit to proceed under a centuries-old civil rights law, was written by Justice Stephen Breyer and was 7-2.

These decisions are in sharp contrast to a sex discrimination suit that the Court decided a year ago this week. That case, rejecting a woman's lawsuit because she filed it too late, was 5-4 and prompted harsh criticism by the liberal justices, led by Justice Ginsburg.

May 27, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (12)

User Comments

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If I chastise a worker of above middle age, then I am accused of age discrimination, even though I might have also chastised a younger worker for the same thing. The same applies is admonish a person of color. They will pull the race card, although I might have given their white co-worker a more severe tongue lashing for the exact same thing! Let's face it! You are damned if you do and damned if you don't!

Posted by: Irnotu | May 27, 2008 11:47:02 AM

If I chastise a worker of above middle age, then I am accused of age discrimination, even though I might have also chastised a younger worker for the same thing. The same applies if I admonish a person of color. They will pull the race card, although I might have given their white co-worker a more severe tongue lashing for the exact same thing! Let's face it! You are damned if you do and damned if you don't!

Posted by: Irnotu | May 27, 2008 11:48:11 AM

"If I chastise a worker of above middle age, then I am accused of age discrimination, even though I might have also chastised a younger worker for the same thing. The same applies if I admonish a person of color. "

since you have so little understanding of the law and management ,you should resign your job, and work full time for the obama campaign.

there, you will be praised for making everything about discrimination regardless of the facts.

Posted by: trettine | May 27, 2008 12:02:14 PM

It will mean that the employers will have to come up with employee agreements
when hired to sign, that often times pay scales are given on education, ability and years service. Have it explicitly written that is fully understood by all, and signed yearly.

Whites will have to start suing, over being discrimminated against when a someone else is hire over them. when they have, the best education, experience and more suited for the job discription.

Posted by: seah | May 27, 2008 12:09:17 PM

I think employees deserve to be fired if they falsely accuse a company of discrimination. We can't tell whether or not these were false allegations, but I despise opportunists.

Posted by: NJ | May 27, 2008 12:37:46 PM

there real acts of discrimination now they are hidden by a polite smile and a closeted intention leading to the same outcome. We are all racist in one form or another, we refuse to admit it.as long as our bias does not cause the livehood of anther. Then when it does your racist actions must be rreverted by the society at large.

Posted by: etubrute | May 27, 2008 12:37:46 PM

Trettine, what gives you the idea that I know nothing about the law or management? I have been running a business for over 35 years and I am very careful to obey the laws. However, that does not keep me from expressing an opinion about the situation as it is in this day and time. Oh, I have also probably attended more management classes than you have total time in school!

Posted by: Irnotu | May 27, 2008 12:44:32 PM

You go Irnotu!

Posted by: HCRC | May 27, 2008 4:25:52 PM

The picture accompanying this story is racist and stereotypical, showing a Caucasian guy pointing angrily at an Oriental woman, while a Caucasian woman takes notes. How dare they make this assumption that only Caucasian men are racist or sexist. That claim is not only absurd, it's not real life or remotely close to it.

Posted by: therockofages | May 27, 2008 8:35:13 PM

I for one think the most discrimated person is a white male with no disabilities, no verterns rights. nothing going for him except he is white

Posted by: scared2roamru | Jun 5, 2008 1:07:55 PM

I, too, find myself almost agreeing with everyone so far. To a certain extent, the whole of humanity is prejiduce to some degree or another. I am married inter-racially, and yet still find myself sometimes trying to feel that way. Racism, prejiduce, descrimination in any form all fall under the negative emotion category. I have resolved myself to the belief that negative emotion is a waste of time and energy on my part, so therefore I am too lazy for these emotions. And yet I still find that I do at times feel this way. But with good reason. (Didn't know there was a good reason for it?) My husband is a Phillipino/Hawaiian (Pacific Islander), and we went back to Hawaii for a while so that the family could meet and get to know me. And at the risk of sounding prejiduce, I now know what it must feel like, sometimes, for a black man to be standing in the middle of a room of white people. The feeling is just overwhelming. All of the looks and stares, the silent talk in another's ear you can tell is about you. Then later, you are told by the one person you could trust in that room, that it was because they don't like white people. This absolutely strengthened my resolve to not be a party to this behavior and that I would make a concious effort to see that I don't. So, while you chew on that real story for awhile, how hard would it be for you or someone else to be the stronger leader, and show the rest of society that it is possible to live and succeed without this way of thinking.

Posted by: Michelle | Sep 21, 2008 11:43:20 PM

I have worked for a large Seafood company and watched in disbelieve for years that the company mangers would discriminate against the Phillipino workers.
Example I had a carpenter Phillipino
that was very skilled in the top 80% he was paid 10 $ a hr a cacassion guy that knew akot less was paid 20 $ hr
This action made me sick ,, I tried several times to argue the point,
Im a hispanic man and hate this kind of treatment no matter what color you are

Posted by: Robert | Jun 11, 2009 5:16:24 PM

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