Supreme Court to decide if university staff can sue over sex discrimination
A women's basketball coach and art professor from Georgia urged the high court to ensure that federal civil rights protections are available equally across the country.
WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court added a dispute over a landmark civil rights law to its docket on Monday, agreeing to hear a sex discrimination appeal from two former Georgia university employees.
MaChelle Joseph and Thomas Crowther sued their respective universities under Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding. But the 11th Circuit dismissed their cases, holding that the civil rights law didn't provide a private right of action for employees.
Joseph and Crowther said their appeal presented a matter of exceptional national importance because the lower court ruling threatened to destabilize enforcement of other antidiscrimination statutes.
"The decision below vitiates the national uniformity of Title IX," the former staff members wrote. "Whether an employee can sue for employment discrimination under Title IX — which governs every educational institution receiving federal funds — now depends entirely on where she works."
Joseph was the head coach of the women's basketball team at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 2003 to 2019. During her tenure, the team secured over 300 victories, including reaching the Sweet Sixteen in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
After observing persistent disparities between the resources provided to the women's team compared to the men's program, Joseph filed an internal complaint against the university for discrimination in 2019.
Joseph said administrators began to investigate her instead, placing her on administrative leave. The university found a culture of high-pressure coaching, with some players expressing concern over Joseph's verbal treatment of them.
Georgia Tech fired Joseph shortly after the report was released. Joseph then filed discrimination charges against the school.
Thomas Crowther was an art professor at Augusta University for over a decade until several students reported him for sexual harassment. Crowther disputed the claims, but the school opened a Title IX investigation that led to a one-semester suspension. His faculty contract was subsequently not renewed for the following academic year.
Crowther filed Title IX claims against the university, arguing that comparable accusations against female faculty had not resulted in similar sanctions or job consequences.
The Supreme Court will review the 11th Circuit's ruling against Joseph and Crowther next term.