Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp.

Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp., 400 U.S. 542 (1971), was a United States Supreme Court landmark case in which the Court held that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employer may not, in the absence of business necessity, refuse to hire women with pre-school-age children while hiring men with such children. It was the first sex discrimination case under Title VII to reach the Court.

Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp.
Argued December 9, 1970
Decided January 25, 1971
Full case namePhillips v. Martin Marietta Corporation
Citations400 U.S. 542 (more)
91 S. Ct. 496; 27 L. Ed. 2d 613
Holding
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employer may not, in the absence of business necessity, refuse to hire women with pre-school-age children while hiring men with such children.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · William O. Douglas
John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr.
Potter Stewart · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
Case opinions
Per curiam
ConcurrenceMarshall
Laws applied
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII

Background

The Martin Marietta Corporation had a policy which did not allow the hiring of mothers with pre-school aged children because they were assumed to be unreliable employees; Ida Phillips, a mother, applied for a job at the company and was denied because of her circumstance as a mother. Phillips sued under Title VII claiming that the policy was discriminatory.

Opinion of the Court

The Supreme Court unanimously held that the Marietta Corp. policy did discriminate on the basis of sex and overturned the lower courts finding, then sent the case back to the lower court for trial.[1] In sending this case back, the Court suggested that the employer may be able to justify the discrimination using the Bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ) Exception.

References
  1. Baron, Ava (1981). "Protective Labor Legislation and the Cult of Domesticity". Journal of Family Issues. SAGE Publications. 2 (1): 25–38. doi:10.1177/0192513X8100200103.


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