WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether individuals may sue if they suffer retaliation for complaining about unlawful sex discrimination.
The case, which turns on Title IX of the Education Amendments, involves a girls' basketball coach in Birmingham, Ala., and should be heard next term.
A section of Title IX says no person may be a target of discrimination based on gender in any education program supported by federal funds. The Supreme Court ruled in 1979 that individuals who suffer such discrimination are entitled to sue under the law.
At issue in the current case is whether someone who has not been the target of discrimination, but has been the alleged target of retaliation for complaining about such discrimination, also has the right to sue.
Roderick Jackson says when he discovered that the girls team was being denied equal funding and equal access to equipment and facilities, he complained to his supervisors.
Shortly after those complaints, he began to receive negative evaluations and was eventually relieved of his coaching duties, he said.
