Patterson v. McLean Credit Union

1989-06-15

Headline: Court narrows 1866 civil-rights law, rules racial workplace harassment claims fall under Title VII rather than Section 1981, limiting employees’ ability to sue employers under §1981 for post‑hire harassment.

Holding: The Court held that Section 1981 protects only making and enforcing contracts, so post‑hire racial harassment is not actionable under §1981 (Title VII covers it), and it reversed the trial court’s promotion‑instruction error.

Real World Impact:

Limits use of Section 1981 for workplace harassment; such claims proceed under Title VII.
Affirms that Section 1981 still bars racial discrimination in forming or enforcing contracts.
Allows promotion claims under Section 1981 without requiring proof of superior qualifications.

Topics: workplace discrimination, racial harassment, employment promotions, civil rights law

Summary

Background

A black woman who worked for a credit union from 1972 until a 1982 layoff sued her employer after alleging long‑term racial harassment, denial of training, being passed over for promotion to an intermediate accounting clerk job, and eventual discharge; she also pressed a state tort claim. The trial court refused to let the jury decide the Section 1981 harassment claim and instructed the jury in a way the plaintiff later challenged; the jury found for the employer on the promotion and discharge claims and the Court of Appeals affirmed.

Reasoning

The Court first declined to overrule its prior decision that Section 1981 applies to private contracts, reaffirming that the statute forbids racial discrimination in the making and enforcement of contracts. But the Court held that §1981 covers only actions at contract formation or steps that impair access to legal enforcement; routine post‑hire conduct that shapes the day‑to‑day terms of employment (racial harassment) does not fall under §1981 and is more properly addressed under Title VII (the federal workplace anti‑discrimination law). The Court also found the trial court’s instruction on the promotion claim erroneous: plaintiffs need not prove they were strictly better qualified, and may use varied evidence to show the employer’s stated reason was a pretext.

Real world impact

The decision sends workplace harassment claims into the Title VII process and preserves §1981 for contract formation and enforcement problems; the promotion claim was remanded for retrial under correct proof rules.

Dissents or concurrances

A dissent argued §1981 should reach severe workplace harassment and Congress’ history supports a broader reading; another Justice gave a partly different view on application to employment facts.