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Is Title VII 15-employee threshold jurisdictional?
January 10, 2006 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
I don't see how Title VII's definition of what "employer" means can be construed as a limitation on federal court jurisdiction. Yet several Circuits have so held, and the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow on this question.
Part of the definition of "employer" is that the employer have 15 or more employees. In this case, size does matter. Smaller employers simply are excluded from the reach of the statute.
Title VII has all sorts of definitions: "employer," "employee," "labor organization," etc. These definitions are designed to identify what entities are within the statute. Title VII's definitions are not written in jurisdictional terms. I'm talking here about the plain language of a statute.
The US Government's brief [see all briefs here] agrees with me. (Wow!)
Jenifer Arbaugh sued in federal court under Title VII and state tort law. After a jury verdict for Arbaugh, the trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants and vacated the verdict because the defendant corporation did not employ 15 or more employees and thus was not an "employer" under Title VII. The 5th Circuit affirmed.
The US Supreme Court granted certiorari to review the 5th Circuit decision.
The 5th Circuit held that Title VII's 15-employee threshold determines federal court subject matter jurisdiction, and is not merely a matter going to the merits of a Title VII claim.
If this is jurisdictional, then it can be raised for the first time at any time (even after verdict, or on appeal), and it means that the federal court has zero jurisdiction over the state law claim as well. If it's a matter of the merits, then it has to be raised in a timely manner and decided just like any other factual issue.
The Courts of Appeals are split on this issue. Courts holding it is jurisdictional are the 4th, 6th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Circuits. Courts holding it is non-jurisdictional are the 2nd, 7th, and Federal Circuits.
Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp (Docket No. 04-944)
Oral argument January 11, 2006
Decision below: Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp (5th Cir 08/02/2004)
Briefs: http://www.lawmemo.com/docs/us/arbaugh/
For a related law review article, see Jurisdiction and Merits at Ross' Employment Law Reviews.
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