Clark County School District v. Breeden
United States Supreme Court
532 U.S. 268 (2001)
Shirley Breeden (plaintiff), an employee of the Clark County School District (defendant), objected after her male supervisor read aloud a sexually explicit line from a job applicant's file and laughed about it with a coworker. Breeden complained to several District officials. Years later, in 1997, she was transferred to a different position and sued the District for retaliation under Title VII, claiming she was punished both for her complaints and for later filing an EEOC charge. The district court granted summary judgment to the District, the court of appeals reversed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether Title VII prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who oppose the employer's discriminatory employment practices, where the underlying conduct opposed was an isolated, offhand incident.