High Court Offers Relaxed Views on Employment Discrimination Cases

The Supreme Court has issued opinions on two employment discrimination cases recently. The cases involved a procedural dispute (Federal Express Corp. v. Holowecki, No. 06-1322) and the presentation of evidence issue (Sprint/United Management Co. v. Mendelsohn, No. 06-1221).

In Federal Express v. Holowecki, the High Court allowed the age discrimination suit to proceed despite the defendant’s allegation that the plaintiff did not follow proper EEOC procedure when he filed the complaint.

In a majority decision, the Supreme Court advised the agency to clarify its filing requirement and ordered the court to proceed with the trial.

In Sprint/United Management Co. v. Mendelsohn, the Court found that the 10th Circuit Appeals Court had erred in ordering a new trial for the case after it barred presentation of so-called “me too” evidence. The Court also allowed the plaintiff to present the evidence at the trial.