Discrimination against an employee on the basis of sex stereotyping—that is, a person's nonconformity to social or other expectations of that person's gender—constitutes impermissible sex discrimination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The employer bears the burden of proving that the adverse employment action would have been the same if sex discrimination had not occurred. Decided May 1, 1989 (argued October 31, 1988). Opinion of the Court: William J. Brennan → go there Dissenting: Kennedy. Topic: Discrimination based on sex. Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228 (1989), is a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court on the issues of prescriptive sex discrimination and employer liability for sex discrimination. The employee, Ann Hopkins, sued her former employer, the accounting firm Price Waterhouse. She argued that the firm denied her partnership because she did not fit the partners' idea of what a female employee should look and act like. The employer failed to prove that it would have denied her partnership anyway, and the Court held that constituted sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Wiki link