ADL Applauds Supreme Court Decision in Family Leave Case
New York, NY, May 27, 2003 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today hailed the Supreme Court’s decision allowing a physician who worked for the State of Nevada to recover damages from the state for violating his rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act. ADL leaders described the ruling as a “welcome departure from recent Supreme Court decisions making it more difficult for individuals to sue states for violations of their civil rights,” and expressed hope that the case will “mark a renewed understanding of Congress’ important role in safeguarding the civil rights of all Americans.”
Glen A. Tobias, ADL National Chairman, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:
ADL hails the Court’s decision in Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs as a welcome departure from recent Supreme Court decisions making it more difficult for individuals to sue states for violations of their civil rights. We hope that it will mark a renewed understanding of Congress’ important role in safeguarding the civil rights of all Americans.
Throughout the past ten years, the Supreme Court has taken steps to make it more and more difficult for Congress to legislate civil rights laws. Thus, while this case was specifically about the Family Medical Leave Act, it was also about the broader issue of whether Congress can protect state workers from discrimination by state governments. We hope today’s decision will prove to be a turning point in the Court’s thinking on this issue.
ADL joined a brief authored by noted former acting Solicitor General Walter Dellinger for the National Women’s Law Center and over thirty other organizations.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
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