Supreme Court takes pregnancy bias suit against Fulton DA’s office
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide if the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office can beat a former staffer’s pregnancy bias lawsuit with a legal defense it didn’t argue until the last minute.
Jasmine Younge was the deputy chief of staff and director of policy and programs for former Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, who hired her in April 2019, case records show. She was fired in July 2019, a couple of weeks after telling Howard she was pregnant.
Younge, who had a salary of just over $120,000 as the DA’s third in command, sued Howard and his office in February 2020. Months later, Howard was defeated by Fani Willis in an election. He was dismissed from Younge’s case in 2022.
In March 2023, a federal judge in Atlanta ended the claims against the DA’s office, finding that because Younge was a member of an elected official’s personal staff, she wasn’t entitled to Civil Rights Act protections against employment discrimination.
The judge’s ruling was upheld last year by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, though the appellate court noted the DA’s office had failed to timely raise the “personal staff” defense it ended up defeating the lawsuit with.
On Monday, the Supreme Court granted Younge’s request to decide if the DA’s office can get away with that.
Representatives for the DA’s office and Younge did not comment Tuesday on the ruling.
In agreeing to review the case, the Supreme Court cited a part of the rules for federal litigation requiring defendants like the DA’s office to plead any defenses they have when they officially respond to a complaint.
In Younge’s case, the DA’s office did not initially argue that her claims failed because she was a member of Howard’s personal staff.
The DA’s office did not raise that defense in 2020 when first responding to Younge’s complaint and seeking its dismissal, case records show. Nor did the office argue the personal staff defense in 2021, when it filed an official answer to the lawsuit and exchanged evidence.
It wasn’t until 2022 that the DA’s office argued Younge was exempt from employment discrimination protections because of her status as a member of an elected official’s personal staff. That argument came as the DA’s office sought to end Younge’s case before it went to trial.
In court filings, the DA’s office said Younge had serious performance issues, treated Howard “appallingly” and was the subject of many complaints from co-workers during her short employment. It said Howard decided at the end of June 2019 to fire Younge after witnessing her mistreat a staff attorney, a day or two before Younge told Howard she was pregnant.
In throwing out Younge’s case, U.S. District Judge William Ray said Younge was not prejudiced by the fact the DA’s office had waited so long to argue the personal staff defense. He said the evidence that Younge and the DA’s office exchanged in 2021 during the discovery phase focused on matters “highly relevant” to that defense.
The 11th Circuit agreed, saying Younge wasn’t unfairly surprised by the late argument after going through “copious discovery evidence” about whether she was a member of an elected official’s personal staff. The appellate court also said Younge hadn’t taken the trial court’s offer to exchange more evidence on that point.
In her petition to the Supreme Court, Younge said there should be consequences for the DA’s office and defendants like it when they fail to follow federal litigation rules. She said federal appellate courts around the country have issued conflicting decisions on this topic.
In response, the DA’s office argued there is no need to review Younge’s case, saying it had referred to Younge as a member of Howard’s personal staff from early 2021, when it officially answered her lawsuit. Younge was not prejudiced by the fact her case was decided on the merits rather than a technicality, the DA’s office told the Supreme Court.
The court has added the case to its October 2026 term. An argument date has yet to be set.
About the Author
Journalist Rosie Manins is a legal affairs reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
