First - Can federal employees bring retaliation claims under Title VII. The Court concluded (in alignment with other circuits) that, yes, federal employees may bring retaliation claims under Title VII.
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Title VII initially (in 1964) contained provisions prohibiting private employment discrimination, and private employment retaliation. In 1972, Congress amended Title VII to prohibit federal employment discrimination - but that provision does not expressly address retaliation.
As the Court held, federal employees may still bring retaliation claims - but does the same standard apply? In a well-known case, Burlington Northern, the Supreme Court contrasted the standard under the private employment discrimination provision (requiring an adverse employment action, affecting terms and conditions of employment), and the anti-retaliation provision (requiring only a materially adverse action - that would dissuade a reasonable person from engaging in protected activity).
Which standard applies to federal employees (given that they only have the anti-discrimination provision but not the express anti-retaliation provision)? We still don't know. The Court did note, however, that the D.C. Circuit and 7th Circuit both applied the Burlington Northern standard to federal sector employees.
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