by The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) opens its 2024-2025 term on October 7, 2024. SCOTUS decisions can quickly change the legal environment for employers. The 2023-2024 SCOTUS term resulted in several decisions affecting national employment law, including cases that limited the power of federal agencies to regulate employment processes and that expanded the kinds of employment decisions that can trigger federal civil rights claims.
Here are three cases pending before SCOTUS this term that have the potential to change current employment policies and practices:
What standard of proof must an employer meet in defending their determination that a job is exempt from overtime requirements? In EMD. Sales Inc. v. Carrera, SCOTUS is being asked to settle the question of what standard of proof employers need to meet to prove exempt job classifications. Some lower courts have held that the employer must only prove the factors supporting exempt status by a preponderance of the evidence (i.e., greater than 50% probability of being true.) Other lower courts have required that an employer must prove their case by a higher standard of clear and convincing evidence (i.e., substantially more likely to be true) when defending challenges to exempt job classifications.
Can a retiree sue their former employer under the ADA for disability discrimination in its post-employment benefit administration? In Stanley v. City of Sanford, a retired employee sued her employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), alleging that a reduction in retiree benefits was discriminatory. She is appealing the decision of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that the ADA does not give retirees the right to sue under the section of the ADA that protects against discrimination in benefits. Other federal circuit courts, including the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, have applied the ADA to allow retirees to sue for discriminatory benefit reductions.
Do state and local government employees have to go through administrative appeals before being able to sue their employers for civil rights violations? In a case of interest to state and local government employers, Williams v. Washington, plaintiffs are challenging a decision of the Alabama Supreme Court that they must exhaust state administrative processes and remedies before suing state government officials under a federal civil rights law, 42 USC Section 1983. The employees claim that COVID-19 regulations violated their constitutional rights.
Throughout the term, SCOTUS will consider whether to accept additional cases. Given the many employment law issues working their way through the lower federal courts, it would not be surprising to see SCOTUS have other employment law issues before them before the end of term in June.
