The Court didn’t grant cert in any cases today. It did, however, call for the views of the Solicitor General in Staub v. Proctor Hospital, 09-400, a case presenting the question of the proper standard to employ in determining whether an employer can be held liable based on the unlawful intent of officials who influenced an employment decision but did not ultimately did not make the decision. The Court granted cert on that question once before, in BCI Coca-Cola Bottling of Atlanta v. EEOC, but the case apparently was settled before the Supreme Court could resolve the question. It therefore seems likely that the Court will take the case if the Solicitor General is of the view that the case is an appropriate vehicle to resolve the question. (As an aside, the case comes from my hometown of Peoria, Illinois.)
This is the SG’s merits brief in that case, and this is the SG’s brief at the cert stage; he recommended denial of cert on the ground that the case was a poor vehicle, but the Court granted anyway.