Supreme Court Rules for Worker in Discrimination Suit

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he Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling regarding a railroad worker, has made it easier for workers to show they have suffered retaliation after accusing employers of discrimination, the Associated Press reported.

Justices voted 9-0 that a female railroad forklift operator for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway was improperly punished when her employer temporarily suspended her and reassigned her to more physically demanding duties as a yard worker, AP said.

The ruling significantly eases the legal standard for showing retaliation and could lead to more litigation against companies, AP reported.

Justices defined retaliation as any action taken by an employer that would intimidate a “reasonable employee” into backing off from a discrimination complaint, AP said.

In the case, BNSF employee Sheila White had accused a supervisor of sexual harassment. The railroad suspended the foreman, but simultaneously transferred White to work as a track worker at BNSF’s rail yard in Memphis, Tenn., a more physically demanding job, AP reported.

White, who is now disabled, was awarded $43,500 in compensatory damages, and the case will return to a lower court for a jury to determine punitive damages, the New York Times reported.

BNSF would not comment on the case to news sources, citing only its comments in the court filing, the Times reported.