Porter Smith, Petitioner v. Michigan Department of Corrections, et al.

Porter Smith asks the Supreme Court to decide whether Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act lets people sue for retaliation. The petition challenges a divided Sixth Circuit decision that said the law does not allow those lawsuits, unlike other federal appeals courts.

The case has not been scheduled for argument. The petition says the Sixth Circuit's 2-1 decision broke from every other circuit and conflicted with the Rehabilitation Act's direct use of the Americans with Disabilities Act's anti-retaliation rule.

The answer matters to people who say they were punished after complaining about disability discrimination. If the law is read differently by region, those people may have a lawsuit in some federal courts but not others.

It asks whether the Rehabilitation Act lets a person sue for retaliation. The petition challenges a Sixth Circuit decision that said the law does not.

People who say they were punished after complaining about disability discrimination could be affected. The answer could change whether those lawsuits are allowed in different federal courts.

The Court must decide whether to take the case. If it does, the next big step will be written arguments and oral argument scheduling.