US employment law extends to many topics. While its legal basis stems from a handful of US laws enforced by the EEOC, it continually develops based on common law formed from court decisions. These five decisions form some of the essential foundations of modern employment law in the areas of citizenship, gender, religious, and sexual harassment discrimination.

1. Gibson v. West

The US Supreme Court, in Gibson v. West, ruled that Congress did provide the EEOC the legal authority to require a federal agency to pay compensatory damages if the administrative agency finds the agency guilty of a Title VII discrimination violation.

• Michael Gibson, an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs, charged it denied him a promotion due to his gender. The VA found against him, but the EEOC reversed the decision and awarded him the promotion and backpay. The VA, for a time, ignored the order.
• After three months, he filed for a court order in Federal District Court to force the VA to comply with the EEOC finding. This prompted the VA to comply with the EEOC promotion order, but it denied the compensatory damages for back pay.
• In the Supreme Court case, the VA argued the EEOC didn’t have the authority to mandate a federal agency to pay compensatory damages, but the Court disagreed.

2. Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp.

In another Title VII-related case, Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp., the Supreme Court found that the law’s gender discrimination ban included negating an employer’s ability to use gender-related factors in hiring.
Specific to the case, the Court determined that it’s illegal for an employer to use separate hiring policies for women with small children and men with small children.

3. Espinoza v. Farah Manufacturing Co.

Title VII also protects against discrimination based upon national origin. In Espinoza v. Farah Manufacturing Co., the Supreme Court held the protections of Title VII extend to both US citizens and non-citizens. Further, it determined that limiting its protections to citizens would actually violate Title VII since that could result in the discrimination of employees located within the US on the basis of national origin.

4. Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison

The legal case, Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, produced the Supreme Court’s initial Title VII religious discrimination decision. In it, The Court found for Hardison, holding that employers must offer reasonable accommodation for an employee’s religious practices unless it constituted an undue hardship. The Court defined hardship for the employer as anything more than de minimis cost.

5. Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson

Another “first” in Title VII Supreme Court decisions, Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, represents the first time sexual harassment was upheld as a violation of the law. In its opinion, The Court referenced EEOC sexual harassment policy.