Supreme Court Rules 9–0 for Police Officer in Sex Discrimination Case

The decision in the lateral job transfer lawsuit in St. Louis may make it easier to sue employers in a time when the frequency of such lawsuits is increasing.
Supreme Court Rules 9–0 for Police Officer in Sex Discrimination Case
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan during a group photograph of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2021. Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Matthew Vadum
Matthew Vadum
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The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on April 17 in favor of a Missouri police sergeant who argued that her employer illegally discriminated by giving her a lateral job transfer she didn’t want.

The decision, which found that lower courts had applied the wrong legal standard in the case, is expected to make it easier for employees to sue under federal civil rights law when they are transferred against their will, even if they have not been demoted or suffered a pay reduction.