Supreme Court Hands Employers a Victory in Title VII Case

The United States Supreme Court issued a 5-4 verdict on June 24, 2013 clarifying that an employee alleging unlawful retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 must be able to prove that a retaliatory motive was the “but-for” cause of an adverse employment action.

This decision ensures that the burden of proof is never on the employer. Now, the employee must be able to prove that the impermissible, retaliatory motive was the main reason and not simply a reason for the employer’s averse action. By this standard, employees pushing the allegations must be able to prove that “the unlawful retaliation would not have occurred in the absence of the alleged wrongful action or actions of the employer.”