Circumventing Congress's Comprehensive Schemes: The Third Circuit Allows Employees of Educational Institutions to Bypass Title VII and Bring Claims Under Title IX in Doe v. Mercy Catholic Medical Center

Abstract

Five of the U.S. Courts of Appeals are currently split as to whether employees bringing claims of sex-based employment discrimination are able to use either Title VII or Title IX of the Civil Rights Act as avenues of relief where both statutes are concurrently applicable. On March 3, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Doe v. Mercy Catholic Medical Center, became the most recent circuit to address this issue. Joining the First and Fourth Circuits, the Third Circuit held that the concurrent applicability of Title VII and Title IX did not preclude the plaintiff employee’s private causes of action under Title IX. This Comment argues that by ignoring Title VII’s administrative remedial schemes, the Third Circuit improperly circumvented congressionally imposed structures to make Title VII the primary avenue of relief for claims of employment discrimination.