Harper v. Trans World Airlines

525 F.2d 409 (1975)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Harper v. Trans World Airlines

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
525 F.2d 409 (1975)

Facts

Donna Harper (plaintiff) was employed by Trans World Airlines (the airline) (defendant) as a part-time sales agent in the St. Louis division beginning in 1969. The airline had a policy that prohibited married couples from working together in the same department. In the event coworkers got married, they had 30 days to decide which spouse would transfer to another department or terminate employment. If the couple did not make the decision voluntarily, the less senior spouse would be discharged. In 1971, Harper married John Harper, who had worked in the same department since 1967. The couple did not make a voluntary election as to which spouse would transfer or terminate employment, so Harper was terminated because she had less seniority. Prior to Harper’s termination, five other married couples had the policy applied to them, and in four cases the wife terminated employment. There was no evidence that the airline discriminated against women in hiring, compensation, or otherwise. The evidence reflected that women filled 53 percent of the highest-earning positions and comprised a large majority of the workforce at the St. Louis division. Harper sued the airline for sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After a nonjury trial, the district court entered judgment for the airline. Harper appealed. Harper argued that the policy would result in the discharge of more women than men because wives would have greater incentive to leave their jobs due to lower incomes and fewer promotional opportunities.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Gibson, C.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership