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For Immediate Release: June 29, 2009
Contact: Adrienne Ammerman or Mary Robbins, 202-588-5180
Gains and Losses for Women in 2008-09 Supreme Court Decisions
National Women’s Law Center Releases New Analysis of Impact on Women
(Washington, DC) As the U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up its 2008-2009 term today, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) released a new analysis of several crucial decisions that demonstrate the impact of the Court on women’s lives, available here: www.nwlc.org/pdf/SupremeCourt2008-2009.pdf.
“The cases that came before the Supreme Court this term illustrate the very real impact of the Court on the day-to-day lives of women across the country,” said NWLC Co-President Marcia D. Greenberger.
In Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee, the Supreme Court safeguarded women’s and girls’ rights by allowing them to pursue remedies for gender discrimination in schools under both Title IX and the Constitution. In Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, the Court ruled that employees are protected from being subject to retaliation for cooperating with an employer’s internal investigation of discrimination. “The Court’s decisions in these two cases kept hard-won protections in place,” Greenberger said.
The outcome in two other cases was not as positive. “In AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen, the Supreme Court ignored the realities of the workplace and the intent of Congress and ruled against female workers,” Greenberger said. As Justice Ginsburg noted in a strong dissent in the case, the Court’s decision permitted AT&T to pay women lower pension benefits for the rest of their lives.
“Today, in Ricci v. DeStefano, five Justices have issued an opinion that sets back the cause of equal employment opportunity, making it more difficult for women and minorities to compete fairly to secure jobs,” Greenberger stated. “The Court today crafted a new standard in Ricci that represents a significant change in the law and that will dramatically affect women’s and minorities’ employment opportunities.”
“The Hulteen and Ricci decisions, in particular, demonstrate that the Roberts Court cannot be counted on to recognize or to uphold the civil rights protections of the utmost importance to women, because they repeatedly ignore the realities of the workplace for women and employees,” Greenberger said.
“These cases underscore why every seat on the Supreme Court is of paramount importance to women,” she added. “It is absolutely critical to the women of this country that any nominee to the Supreme Court has a strong commitment to upholding and enforcing women’s basic legal rights and protections.”
For a fact sheet summarizing the above cases and their impact on women, view: www.nwlc.org/pdf/SupremeCourt2008-2009.pdf.
To view NWLC’s amicus briefs on the above cases, visit the following links:
For more information on the Supreme Court and women’s rights, see: http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/EveryVoteCountsMay2009.pdf.
For more information or to interview Marcia D. Greenberger, please contact Adrienne Ammerman or Mary Robbins at 202-588-5180.
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