Petitions of the week
on Aug 2, 2019 at 9:09 am
This week we highlight petitions pending before the Supreme Court that address, among other things, the ability of the Securities and Exchange Commission to seek and obtain disgorgement as “equitable relief”; how to assess whether a state-law test for determining employment classification is pre-empted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act; and to what the phrase “terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” in Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies.
The petitions of the week are:
Issues: (1) Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit erred by holding that New Jersey’s statutory test for determining employment classification is not pre-empted under the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, applying a novel pre-emption test that conflicts with the decisions of the Supreme Court and deepening the already existing circuit split; and (2) whether the presumption against pre-emption applies in the context of a statutory express pre-emption clause when the claims at issue involve areas historically regulated by the states.
Issue: Whether the “terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” covered by Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are limited only to hiring, firing, promotions, compensation and leave.
Issue: Whether the Securities and Exchange Commission may seek and obtain disgorgement from a court as “equitable relief” for a securities law violation even though the Supreme Court has determined that such disgorgement is a penalty.
