Supreme Court of the United States
Walters v. Metropolitan Educational Enterprises, Inc.
January 14, 1997519 U.S. 202
Summary
Justice Scalia delivered the unanimous opinion holding that Title VII’s employee threshold turns on the existence of employment relationships, not whether employees work or receive compensation on particular days. Under this payroll method, an employee counts for each working day during the employment relationship, although payroll appearance alone does not establish employee status under traditional agency principles. Metropolitan satisfied the threshold for at least 38 weeks in 1990 and therefore was an employer covered by Title VII for the retaliation claim. The Court reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded. There were no separate opinions.
Holding
- How employees are counted under Title VII’s definition of employer.. An employer satisfies the employee threshold when it maintains employment relationships with at least 15 individuals for each working day in at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, regardless of whether those individuals work or receive compensation on a particular day.
- Whether Metropolitan was a covered employer for the retaliation claim.. Metropolitan met Title VII’s employee threshold for purposes of the retaliatory-discharge claim.
Docket 95-259
Cited authorities
- 29 C.F.R. §§825.105
- 78 Stat. 253
- 29 U.S.C. § 630
- 29 U.S.C. §2611
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