The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will rehear a case to decide whether its standard for proving workplace discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act improperly screens out legitimate discrimination Title VII complaints.
In Hamilton et al. v. Dallas County, No. 21-10133 (5th Cir. Aug. 3, 2022), a Fifth Circuit panel held that a gender-based scheduling policy giving only male detention officers full weekends off was not unlawful discrimination under Circuit precedent. The scheduling policy, which was purportedly based on safety concerns, allowed female officers equal time off, but only during weekdays or by combination of one weekday and one weekend day.
The three-judge panel upheld the trial court’s dismissal of the officers’ complaint, finding the scheduling policy did not amount to an “ultimate employment decision.” Thus, it explained, the policy did not fall within the types of adverse employment actions prohibited by Title VII under the Fifth Circuit’s well-established interpretive rule. The rule limits disparate treatment claims to decisions such as “hiring, granting leave, discharging, promoting, or compensating.” Welsh v. Fort Bend Independent School District, 941 F.3d 818, 824 (5th Cir. 2019), cert. denied, 141 S.Ct. 160 (2020). Further, the rule does not govern other distinct categories of discrimination claims falling under the rubric of “disparate impact” or “hostile environment.”
While the three-judge panel noted that it...
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