Supreme Court to Tackle Non-Title VII Mixed Motive Standard
I was just completing an exam review today with my employment discrimination law students and I noted that they should remember that the old Price Waterhouse standard might still apply to mixed motive cases under Section 1981, the ADEA, ADA, and retaliation claims under Title VII. The argument is that the Civil Rights of Act of 1991 only applies to Title VII claims and not to the other laws which are not mentioned in the amendment.
Today, the Supreme Court decided to take cert. in the case of Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., No. 08-441 (opinion below: Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. (8th Cir 05/14/2008), which will help decide exactly what standards should apply in a non-Title VII mixed-motive discrimination case.