Example Of Thompson V. North American Stainless, LP Research Paper

Issue: Did the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit err by granted North American Stainless’ motion for summary judgement based on their argument that Thompson’s claim was not allowed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
Rule: An employer is prohibited from discriminating against any of its employees as retaliation for filing a charge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. An employee can file a charge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against an employer if they believe that the employer’s unlawful agreement practice was aggrieved them. The term aggrieved is meant to be interpreted in the broadest possible sense.
Analysis: North American Stainless firing of Thompson, by all intents and purposes, was in retaliation for his fiancé’s filing of her own prior and separate Title VII claim against them for sexual discrimination. Accordingly, while North American Stainless did not directly retaliate against Regalado, they did so indirectly by firing Thompson. This is so because firing a close family member would tend to make an employee hesitant to filing a Title VII claim, which is protected by the law. In addition, while Thompson’s claim against North American Stainless was not specifically among the list of issues that are normally brought under a Title VII claim, such as sexual discrimination; the clear text of the law allows for any aggrieved party. In this case, Thompson’s claim satisfies the definition of aggrieved in the sense that he was an employee of North American Steel, and he has suffered as a result of his firing in retaliation of his fiancé’s filing of a Title VII claim, which is an unlawful employment practice.
Conclusion: The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit did err in granting North American Stainless’ motion of summary judgment (Thompson v. North American Stainless, 2011). The case is sent back to be reheard according to the requirements as set for in this opinion.

References

Thompson v. North American Stainless. 567 U.S. __ (2011). Retrieved from http://law.cornell.edu/supct/html/09-291.ZO.html