On August 18, 2023, in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upended long-standing precedent, significantly broadening the types of adverse employment actions that could give rise to an actionable claim. Prior to this decision, and for nearly thirty years, Fifth Circuit precedent required a plaintiff under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to show he or she had been subjected to an “ultimate employment decision” to state a cognizable discrimination claim.

Quick Hits

• In an August 18, 2023, decision, the Fifth Circuit reasoned that to limit disparate treatment claims to those involving ultimate employment decisions ignored the “terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” language of the anti-discrimination provision.
• The Fifth Circuit held that “[t]he days and hours one works are quintessential ‘terms or conditions’ of one’s employment.”
• The Fifth Circuit held that Title VII “does not permit liability for de minimis workplace trifles,” but left open the question of the minimum level of harm that needs to be associated with any claim predicated on the “terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” language of Title VII’s anti-discrimination provision.

Background

In April 2019, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department transitioned from a seniority-based scheduling policy to a gender-based scheduling policy pursuant to which only male detention offers were given full weekends off from work. In contrast, the female detention officers...

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