| Description |
The issue of the availability of whistleblower protection has recently surfaced, this time with respect to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in the case of Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education. The Supreme Court first recognized a private right of action to enforce Title IX's prohibition against sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal financial assistance in 1979 in Cannon v. University of Chicago. The question before the Court in Jackson was whether Title IX includes a prohibition of and a remedy for retaliation against those who complain of discrimination based on sex, including complainers who are not victims of the discrimination that is the subject matter of the complaint. 8 In a closely divided five to four decision on March 29, 2005, the Supreme Court held that Title IX prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers and provides a private right of action in such a situation.
The importance of the Jackson decision also lies in its clear illustration of the hermeneutical divide between Supreme Court justices on statutory construction and, by implication, the significance of the appointment of judges who are either textualist or contextualist in their approach to statutory construction. (Description from Source) |