KBK partner Carolyn Wheeler was recently interviewed by Bloomberg Law for the article, “Sex-Based Scheduling Suit Sparks Review of Title VII Limitation.”

The full Fifth Circuit is being asked to reinstate a lawsuit accusing the Dallas County Sherriff’s Department of using an illegal gender-based scheduling policy. Specifically, the court is considering whether to reverse precedent that limits Title VII actions to “ultimate employment decisions,” such as hiring or promoting. While attorneys for the county argue that reversing such precedent would “open the floodgates” to trivial litigation, those in favor of the change, like Ms. Wheeler, disagree.

One would still have to prove an adverse action is because of a protected characteristic, “and that’s a natural limit on what kinds of things you’d be able to challenge” because of how difficult it is, Ms. Wheeler said. She added that when the US Supreme Court did away with the ultimate employment decision requirement for retaliation claims in Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. v. White, lawyers raised similar concerns that didn’t materialize.

Read the full article here.