On March 20, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5 to 4 decision that Congress exceeded its authority in subjecting States to private lawsuits under the self-care provision of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Although it is well established that Congress enacted the family care provisions of the FMLA pursuant to its Fourteenth Amendment mandate to ensure equal protection of all citizens, the Court ruled that the FMLA's self-care provision was not tied to an identified pattern of sex-based discrimination and, therefore, does not permit suits against the states by their employees. Coleman v. Maryland Court of Appeals