Thompson V. North American Stainless

Class: MGT 3220-MW 11-12:15

Date: 10/10/2011

Loved Ones Protected by Anti-Retaliation Statues

FACTS: Thompson v. North American Stainless (NAS) is a civil suit brought on after Eric Thompson was fired from NAS. Thompson was fired three weeks after his fiancé, Miriam Regalado, filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging that she was the victim of discrimination. She felt like she was being discriminated against because of her gender.

NAS claimed that Thompson was terminated for performance-based reasons. Thompson filed his own claim with the EEOC claiming that NAS was retaliating against him for Regalado’s claim. This was not successful.

Thompson then sued NAS in the United States District Court under the Title IIV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The 6th Circuit Court held that Thompson was not protected under the anti-retaliation because Thompson wasn’t performing any actions that were protected in the clause.

ISSUE: Is a person in Thompson’s position protected under the retaliation clause of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

DECISION: In a unanimous decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Thompson was a person protected under the “Anti-Retaliation” Clause, which reversed the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision.

REASONING: The United States Supreme Court held that the anti-retaliation protected Thompson because it must be interpreted widely enough to cover any type of employer action that would scare a reasonable worker from bringing charges against their employer. In this case, if Regalado would have known that her fiancé might be terminated because she filed the discrimination claim, she might not have made it.

BUSINESS AND LEGAL STRATEGY: Employers need to ensure that they do not retaliate against any employees when charges are brought against them. This includes anyone who may be thought to be close in nature to the employee...