In the case of Clark County School District v. Shirley A. Breeden, 2000, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Breeden who had filed a lawsuit against her employer, Clark County School District for sexual discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The issue began when Breeden was subjected to a sexually explicit comment by her male colleagues during a meeting which she reported to higher authorities. Following this incident, she claimed that her employer retaliated against her by assigning unfavorable job duties and denying promotions or transfers. The lower courts dismissed these claims stating that they did not meet the standard for adverse employment action as required under Title VII law because they were not significant enough to constitute retaliation or discrimination. However, on appeal at the Supreme Court level it was held that any form of retribution from an employer following an employee's complaint about workplace discrimination could be considered unlawful retaliation regardless if it meets certain severity standards or not; thus reversing previous court rulings dismissing such cases based on lack thereof.

In the case of Clark County School District v. Shirley A. Breeden, there was no formal dissenting opinion issued by any justice on the Supreme Court. The court ruled unanimously (9-0) in favor of Breeden, holding that her employer's single incident of sexual harassment did not warrant a hostile work environment claim under Title VII but that she could proceed with her retaliation claim because she had been transferred to a less desirable position after filing a complaint about the incident.