Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/12pdf/11-556_11o2.pdf
Page Number: 45

Cite as:  570 U. S. ____ (2013) 

11 

GINSBURG, J., dissenting 

truckdrivers requiring a 28-day on-the-road trip.  Monika 
Starke participated in the program.  Trainees like Starke 
were  paired  in  a  truck  cabin  with  a  single  “lead  driver” 
who lacked authority to hire, fire, promote, or demote, but
who  exercised  control  over  the  work  environment  for  the 
duration  of  the  trip.  Lead  drivers  were  responsible  for
providing instruction on CRST’s driving method, assigning 
specific tasks, and scheduling rest stops.  At the end of the 
trip,  lead  drivers  evaluated  trainees’  performance  with  a
nonbinding pass or fail recommendation that could lead to 
full  driver  status.    Over  the  course  of  Starke’s  training
trip, her first lead driver, Bob Smith, filled the cabin with
vulgar sexual remarks, commenting on her breast size and 
comparing the gear stick to genitalia.  A second lead driver, 
David  Goodman,  later  forced  her  into  unwanted  sex  with 
him,  an  outrage  to  which  she  submitted,  believing  it
necessary  to  gain  a  passing  grade.  See  EEOC  v.  CRST 
Van  Expedited,  Inc.,  679  F. 3d  657,  665–666,  684–685 
(CA8 2012).

In each of these cases, a person vested with authority to
control  the  conditions  of  a  subordinate’s  daily  work  life
used  his  position  to  aid  his  harassment.    But  in  none  of 
them would the Court’s severely confined definition of su-
pervisor  yield  vicarious  liability  for  the  employer.    The 
senior  elevator  mechanic  in  charge,  the  Court  today  tells 
us, was Mack’s co-worker, not her supervisor.  So was the 
store manager who punished Whitten with long hours for 
refusing  to  give  him  what  he  wanted.    So  were  the  lead 
drivers  who  controlled  all  aspects  of  Starke’s  working 
environment, and the yard worker who kept other employ-
ees from helping Rhodes to control the heat in her truck.   

As  anyone  with  work  experience  would  immediately 
grasp,  James  Connolly,  Michael  Poladian,  Matt  Mara,
Matt  Green,  Bob  Smith,  and  David  Goodman  wielded 
employer-conferred  supervisory  authority  over  their  vic-
tims.  Each  man’s  discriminatory  harassment  derived