Supreme Court Redefines Harm Threshold in Employment Discrimination Cases

In April 2024, in the case of Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, the United States Supreme Court lowered the standard for the degree of harm an employee must experience in order to bring an employment discrimination action pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  

The plaintiff in Muldrow was a female sergeant in the St. Louis Police Department who was transferred, over her objections, from a plainclothes position in a prestigious Intelligence Department to a uniformed job elsewhere.  Muldrow’s male commander initiated her transfer because “a male officer seemed a better fit for the very dangerous work” in the Intelligence Division.  While Muldrow’s rank and pay remained the same, her responsibilities and perks did not.  Both lower courts had dismissed Muldrow's claims because she did not experience a "materially significant disadvantage" as a result of the transfer.  The Supreme Court, however, reversed this decision, holding that an employee challenging a job transfer under Title VII needs to show some harm with respect to a term or condition of employment, but that the harm need not be significant.