Texas Loses High Court Clash on Veteran Discrimination Suits (1)

The federal government’s “war powers” are broad enough to include the ability to force states to defend themselves in employment discrimination suits filed by service members, the US Supreme Court said.

Writing for a 5-4 court on Wednesday, Justice Stephen Breyer said the government’s interest in ensuring that it can raise an army means states aren’t immune from suits by veterans claiming they were discriminated against because of a service-related disability.

“Upon entering the Union, the States implicitly agreed that their sovereignty would yield to federal policy to build and keep a national military,” Breyer wrote for the majority, which ...