A New Standard for Title VII Opposition Cases: Fitting the Personnel Manager Double Standard into a Cognizable Framework

This article examines how courts apply Title VII’s anti-retaliation protections inconsistently, especially when the plaintiff is a personnel manager. Although Title VII prohibits retaliation against any employee who opposes discriminatory practices, courts often deny protections to personnel managers under the rationale that their job duties require greater loyalty to their employer. The article critiques the doctrinal confusion created by this “personnel manager double standard” and proposes a new legal framework that clarifies when opposition activity by any employee—including personnel managers—should be protected. The proposed framework aims to preserve necessary employer authority while ensuring that legitimate opposition to discrimination is not punished, both by carving out two exceptions and a factor test respectively. Relevant statutes and agencies discussed in the article include Section 704(a) of Title VII, the EEOC, along with the Hochstadt balancing test.