Supreme Court Won’t Test Working Conditions Under Anti-Bias Law

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider whether a Defense Department employee can sue under federal anti-discrimination laws for being denied a transfer to escape what she considered discriminatory treatment by a supervisor.

The case raises questions over whether adverse working conditions should trigger protections under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, an issue that’s divided lower federal appeals courts. The U.S. Solicitor General’s Office previously asked the high court to resolve in a similar case.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that denying DOD business process analyst Ashidda Forgus’s lateral transfer request doesn’t ...