Higher Education Highlights - Spring 2013

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In This Issue:

- U.S. Supreme Court to Rule on Causation Factor in Retaliation Claims

- Student Sues University Over the Right to Keep a Guinea Pig in a College Dorm for Emotional Support

- Delaware and New Jersey Provide Privacy Protection for Student Social Networking Activities

- Association of Tax-Exempt Schools Formed to Pool Insurance Risk is Not Exempt from Tax, Federal Judge Rules

- 403(b) Plans – New Correction Procedures and Prototype/Volume Submitter Approval Procedures

- Lehigh University Grad Gets C+ in Course and F in Court

- Excerpt from U.S. Supreme Court to Rule on Causation Factor in Retaliation Claims:

"The U.S. Supreme Court will decide “[w]hether Title VII’s retaliation provision and similarly worded statutes require a plaintiff to prove but-for causation (i.e. , that an employer would not have taken an adverse employment action but for an improper motive), or instead require only proof that the employer had a mixed motive (i.e. , that an improper motive was one of multiple reasons for the employment action).” University of Texas Southwestern Med. Ctr. v. Naiel Nassar, M.D. , Petition for Writ of Certiorari filed by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. It is expected that the Court’s decision will resolve a split among circuits and clarify the burden a plaintiff must carry to prove a retaliation claim. The Petition for Writ of Certiorari notes that “mixed motives are easy to allege and difficult to disprove.” The burden of proving a single, “but-for” causation is greater because it requires that a plaintiff prove that an employment action was the result of retaliatory animus, not just that retaliation was a motivating factor in the employment action. Put another way, if a defendant can escape liability by demonstrating that the adverse action was motivated by a proper purpose, the plaintiff’s prospects of success are dramatically diminished."

Please see full publication below for more information.

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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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