On December 3, 2024, in Terrell v. Alabama State University, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that Title IX does not provide an implied private right of action for sex discrimination in employment, deepening a split among the circuit courts.strong>
Quick Hits
- The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Terrell v. Alabama State University that Title IX does not provide an implied right of action for sex discrimination in employment.
- The court vacated and remanded the plaintiff’s sex discrimination claims under the Equal Pay Act and Clarke-Figures Equal Pay Act for further proceedings, citing an incorrect analytical framework applied by the district court.
- The decision deepens a split with other circuits that have held Title IX provides a cause of action for employment discrimination, potentially prompting review by the Supreme Court of the United States or legislative clarification.
The court wrote that:
- The Supreme Court of the United States has never extended Title IX’s implied private right of action to employment discrimination claims.
- The U.S. Congress likely did not intend Title VII and Title IX to provide overlapping employment discrimination remedies.
- While Title IX provides an implied right of action for students, it does not extend to sex discrimination claims of nonstudent employees of educational institutions.
Background
The plaintiff, Sha’ola Terrell, served as the senior associate athletic director for internal operations at Alabama State University (ASU) from October 2018 to September 2021. In addition to this role, she was designated as the “Senior Woman Administrator,” a leadership position intended for the highest-ranking female involved in the management of an intercollegiate athletics program. Terrell alleged that she had a history of complaining about not being compensated for the senior woman administrator role, which had a line item in ASU’s budget for $15,000 in 2019 and $10,000 in both 2020 and 2021. She claimed to have sent a memo to Dr. Jason Cable, ASU’s athletic director, in August 2021, asking to be paid the budgeted amount for that role…