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Eleventh Circuit Takes Title IX Off the Table for Employee Private Actions

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether Title IX allows employees to sue educational institutions for sex discrimination. 

MaChelle Joseph was the head women’s basketball coach at Georgia Tech from 2003 through 2019. She complained repeatedly about the men’s basketball team consistently receiving more money, support, staff, and resources from the university. Georgia Tech received various complaints about Joseph from members of her staff and the NCAA. Joseph expressed concerns to officials that the Athletic Department was retaliating against her because she protested the team’s disparate treatment. After a player and additional staff members complained about Joseph, Georgia Tech initiated an investigation. Georgia Tech terminated Joseph’s employment after the investigation. She sued under Title VII and Title IX.

The Eleventh Circuit addressed the issue of whether Title IX gives employees a private right of action for employment discrimination for the first time. The court noted that its sister circuits have split on the issue. Title IX does not expressly create a private right of action for employees. Thus, the court considered whether Congress intended to imply such a right. This circuit court concluded that it was “unlikely.” It reached this conclusion because “Title VII’s express private right of action and Title IX’s implied right of action. . .provide overlapping remedies. Judicially implied rights of action require expressions of congressional intent to create both a right and a remedy.” The circuit court did not find Congress intended for an additional right regarding employees under Title IX.