The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a closely watched case that could reshape how employees at schools and universities pursue sex discrimination claims. In Crowther v. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, the justices will decide whether Title IX, a law that prohibits sex discrimination in education, allows employees to sue their institutions directly.
The case stems from two lawsuits filed by Georgia educators: MaChelle Joseph, a former Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach who says she was fired after raising concerns about unequal treatment compared to the men’s program, and Thomas Crowther, an Augusta University professor who alleges he was treated unfairly in a Title IX investigation that led to his nonrenewal. Both claim they were victims of sex discrimination in their employment.
Their claims were dismissed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which held that Title IX does not provide employees with a private right to sue. Writing for the court, Chief Judge William Pryor emphasized that the statute’s text does not clearly authorize lawsuits by employees.
After the plaintiffs appealed, the Supreme Court called for the Trump administration to weigh in. In an April 9 brief, the Solicitor General D. John Sauer agreed the Court should hear the case, pointing to a deep divide among federal appeals courts on the issue, even while siding with the university’s position on the merits. Most federal circuits have allowed Title IX employment claims, while the 11th Circuit has taken the opposite view. At the heart of the dispute is whether Title IX can serve as an alternative to, or overlap with, Title VII, the primary federal law governing workplace discrimination.
The Supreme Court’s ruling could have significant practical effects, determining whether thousands of employees at federally funded schools nationwide can turn to Title IX as an additional tool to challenge workplace discrimination.
