Johnson v Transportation Agency (1986)

The two above cases both resulted in a broadening of the scopes and protections of the Civil Rights Act via jurisprudence. In Johnson v Transportation Agency (1986), a very different result was reached that shows the changing nature and understanding of discrimination and how it work in society. The difference in this case is also directly and explicitly related to the differences in the original plaintiffs in each of these cases. Willie Griggs and Mechelle Vinson were both representatives of groups that traditionally experienced unfavorable discrimination, and both of their cases revolved around contemporary instances of this discrimination. Paul Johnson, however, was not a member of such a group, and this changed the very nature of his suit in the Court's opinion.

Johnson and a female coworker, Diane Joyce, were both employed at the Santa Clara Transportation Agency, and both qualified for promotions to the...
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