Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education

Lisa Marie AmabileEDU 361

Professor Chamblin

Background

• In 1972, The Board of Education and the teachers union in Jackson, Michigan added a “layoff provision” to their collective bargaining agreement that would protect employees who were members of certain minority groups against layoffs.

• Collective bargaining• In 1974, when layoffs became necessary, the tenured

teachers were kept and probationary minority teachers were laid off, they believed that this resulted in a violation to the 14th amendment and Civil Rights Act of 1964 ( Brown v. Board of Education)

Background

• The District Court upheld the constitutionality of the layoff.• Stated that these layoffs were permissible. • The Court of Appeals affirmed. • Later a petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.• Certiorari - a writ issuing from a superior court calling up the

record of a proceeding in an inferior court for review. • The argument was that they were laid off because of their race. • Violation the 14th amendment which is Equal Protection Clause and

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Case of Wendy Wygant

• Schools then laid off some non-minority teachers while keeping other minority teachers with less seniority, Wendy Wygant, a displaced non-minority teachers, challenge the layoff in district court.

• The displaced non-minority teachers sued in federal court, alleging the violation of the 14th amendment.

• The District Court dismissed the teachers’ claims, holding that racial preferences were permissible as an attempt to remedy societal discrimination by providing role models for minority schoolchildren.

• The U.S Court of Appeals affirmed

Case of Wendy Wygant

• The United States Supreme Court reversed the decision. They believed the importance of this case was serious.

• Certiorari• Other judgments: Justice O’Connor, Justice

White, Justice Marshall, Justice Stevens.

Case of Wendy Wygant

• In a 5 to 4 decision, the Court argued that Wygant’s layoff stemmed from race and that it did violate the Equal Protection Clause.

• Affirmative Action • In Brown v. Board of Ed they rejected the racial

preferences because it had to be based on prior discrimination.

Final Decision

• The Wygant decision imposed a higher burden on government to justify affirmative actions programs, especially when white employees are laid off in order to kept minority employees.

• Wygant won in her favor. But she raised more questions that it answered. Her case was and open question.

References

• www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/.../USSC_CR_0476_0267_ZS.html

• www.enotes.com/wygant-v-jackson-board-education.../wygant-v-jackson-board-education

• www.pbs.org/beyondbrown/brownpdfs/wygantjackson.pdf

• legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Wygant+v.+Jackson+Board+of+Education