The United States Supreme Court has ruled that terminating an employee as punishment for his fiancée filing a charge of discrimination is retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
We know that Title VII prevents employers from retaliating against employees who engage in “protective activity,” such as filing a charge of discrimination. However, until recently, it was unclear whether Title VII prevented retaliation against one employee based upon the “protected activity” of another. In Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP, the Supreme Court held that it does – under the right circumstances.
Eric Thompson and his fiancée, Miriam Regalado, were both employees of North American Stainless (NAS). In February 2003, NAS learned that Regalado filed a charge of discrimination accusing it of sex discrimination. Three weeks later, NAS fired Thompson. Believing that NAS fired him to punish his fiancée for filing a charge of discrimination, Thompson sued NAS for retaliation under Title VII. After Thompson’s case was dismissed, he appealed to the Supreme Court.
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