⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit hears oral argument in Colestock versus DeJoy. The appellant, a former United States Postal Service employee, appeals a district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Postmaster General on claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The case arises from events at a small post office where the appellant alleges she was subjected to sexual harassment by her supervisor and then retaliated against when she reported the conduct. The core legal issues on appeal include whether genuine disputes of material fact preclude summary judgment on the retaliation claim, whether a hostile work environment claim is timely under the continuing violation doctrine, and whether the employer has shown a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for termination. The employer's stated reason for the termination rests in part on an Inspector General report. The government says that report records the appellant acknowledging that she took pay at a rate she was not entitled to receive, drank on postal premises, and engaged in sexual acts while on the clock. The appellant does not contest that the pay was improper, but says the conduct was coerced by her supervisor, and she disputes that the drinking or the sexual conduct took place during her work hours. The appellant contends the district court improperly resolved factual disputes about coercion, pretext, and causation that should be decided by a jury.

Colestock v. DeJoy (No. 25-2941) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued August 4, 2026.