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The Supreme Court’S Open-Ended Protection Against Third-Party Retaliation, Jessica Fink
The Supreme Court’S Open-Ended Protection Against Third-Party Retaliation, Jessica Fink
Jessica Fink
For a number of years, courts have struggled with how to treat claims of “third party retaliation” – situations where an employee engages in some protected activity for purposes of Title VII, but where the employer retaliates not against that employee, but rather against one of his/her coworkers. Until very recently, federal courts arrived at varying conclusions regarding the viability of third-party retaliation claims under Title VII. However, in January 2011 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court finally weighed in on this issue, holding in Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP that Title VII would bar employers from engaging in third-party …
Protected By Association? The Supreme Court’S Incomplete Approach To Defining The Scope Of The Third-Party Retaliation Doctrine, Jessica Fink
Jessica Fink
For decades, courts have struggled with how to treat claims of “third party retaliation” – situations where one employee engages in some protected activity for purposes of Title VII but where the employer retaliates not against that employee, but rather against one of his or her coworkers – his or her spouse, or sibling, or mere workplace acquaintance. While some courts have permitted these third-party retaliation claims in order to ensure robust safeguards against workplace discrimination, other courts have deemed this type of employer conduct to be outside the scope of Title VII’s retaliation provision. With its January 2011 decision …
A Crumbling Pyramid: How The Evolving Jurisprudence Defining “Employee” Under The Adea Threatens The Basic Structure Of The Modern Large Law Firm, Jessica Fink
Jessica Fink
Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as well as other federal antidiscrimination laws, only “employees” as defined by the statute are permitted to sue. In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts have provided guidance regarding when partners in large law firms might be deemed “employees” protected by these laws. What has emerged from the courts’ decisions in these cases is a test that places significant emphasis on the amount of power and control that a partner has within a firm: Partners deemed to lack a sufficient amount of power and control within their firms may be …
Unintended Consequences: How Antidiscrimination Litigation Increases Group Bias In Employer-Defendants, Jessica Fink
Unintended Consequences: How Antidiscrimination Litigation Increases Group Bias In Employer-Defendants, Jessica Fink
Jessica Fink
In recent years, employees have turned with increasing frequency to the courts to redress alleged violations of their civil rights in the workplace, often bringing suits under laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Indeed, employment discrimination claims consistently consume a substantial (and rising) portion of the federal court docket. In the four-plus decades since the passage of Title VII, however, the nature of workplace bias itself has changed, becoming more difficult to detect in many cases. Some employers, often with the help of counsel, have learned to finesse their workplace actions to avoid the …