Legal Momentum Praises U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Crawford Case

Supreme Court Rules Against Employer Retaliation

January 26, 2009 -

Legal Momentum applauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling today in Crawford v. Metropolitan Gov’t of Nashville and Davidson Co., Tenn. In a resounding victory for employees everywhere, the Court ruled that workers who provide information during an employer’s investigation of a sexual harassment or other discrimination complaint are protected from retaliation by federal law. Federal law makes it just as illegal for an employer to retaliate against someone who complains of discrimination as it is for an employer to discriminate in the first place. 

In its 7-2 decision in favor of Vicky Crawford -- who was fired after she corroborated a co-worker’s sexual harassment complaint against her boss by disclosing that the same supervisor harassed her – the Court rejected the argument that the law’s ban on retaliation did not apply to Ms. Crawford because she did not file her own harassment complaint.The law’s protection is much broader than that, said the Court, and protects employees who oppose discrimination in other ways – such as by honestly answering an employer’s questions, like Ms. Crawford did.   

The anti-discrimination laws succeed or fail in large part based on employees’ willingness to speak up about misconduct. “The Court did a service to all employees today by recognizing that Vicky Crawford and people like her need to feel confident that if they disclose what they know, they won’t be punished for it,” says Irasema Garza, President of Legal Momentum. “But the Court’s ruling also benefits employers, because when workers feel safe voicing concerns about discrimination and harassment, employers can fix those problems before they become lawsuits.”    

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