On April 17, 2024, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling lowered the bar employees must clear to prove discrimination in job transfer lawsuits. In the case at bar, a police officer who worked as a task force officer with an intelligence unit in the FBI was reassigned by a new unit commander who cited that the intelligence unit’s work was “very dangerous.” Her new assignment stripped her of a regular work schedule, a vehicle, and her status with the FBI.

The Court reversed the appellate ruling against the officer and outlined a less-stringent test for these types of discrimination claims. Rather than showing a “significant” or “material” harm due to discrimination based on someone’s sex, race, religion, or national origin, the employee only must show “some” harm. The test is ambiguous, but the point is clear – any different treatment of employees based on a protected status is likely to land employers in hot water.