Supreme Court of the United States
Nevada Department of Human Resources v. William Hibbs
March 5, 2003538 U.S. 1
Summary
The Court held that state employees may recover money damages in federal court for a State's violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act's family-care provision. Congress clearly expressed its intent to abrogate state sovereign immunity, and the provision was a valid exercise of Congress's enforcement power because it was congruent and proportional to the documented pattern of gender-based discrimination in leave administration. Several Justices dissented, arguing that the statute imposed a substantive entitlement rather than a remedial measure.
Holding
- Clear expression of intent to abrogate state sovereign immunity. The Family and Medical Leave Act unmistakably expresses Congress's intent to authorize private damages actions against States and public agencies in federal court.
- Validity of the abrogation under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Congress validly abrogated state sovereign immunity for damages actions under the Act's family-care provision because the provision is congruent and proportional to the injury it seeks to prevent and remedy.
Docket 01-1368
Cited authorities
- Rule 80.8
- Rule 80.8
- Rule 80.8
- Rule 80.8
- Rule 80.8
- Rule 80.8
- 29 U.S.C. § 2612
- 107 Stat. 9