Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White

Case Updates

The Supreme Court held that actions taken by an employer that do not directly impact the terms and conditions of an employee’s employment can be retaliatory if the actions are materially adverse to the employee.

NCLC asked the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling holding employers at fault for changing an employee’s assigned job responsibilities. The case involves a Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. employee who was temporarily suspended from company service, pending investigation, for not accepting changes in assigned job responsibilities. The employee asserted that Title VII protections under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applied to such action. The lower court held the broad view that job reassignment under temporary suspension constituted an unlawful retaliation by the employer. NCLC argues that Title VII anti-retaliation section should not be used to impinge on management’s traditional prerogatives to assign work.