U.S. Supreme
Supreme Court Rules Against State Worker’s Equal Protection Claim
Posted Jun 9, 2008, 10:33 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a “class of one” equal protection claim by a worker who says she was fired from her state job because of discrimination.
The 6-3 decision (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) said Anup Engquist cannot bring such a claim unless she was a member of a class targeted for discrimination, the Associated Press reports. The majority opinion by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the “class of one” theory does not apply in the public employment context.
Roberts said the government has broad powers as an employer. “Although government employees do not lose their constitutional rights when they accept their positions, those rights must be balanced against the realities of the employment context,” he wrote.
The case is Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture.
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