Law Commons^™

Beyond Title Vii: Litigating Harassment By Nonemployees Under The Ada And Adea, Kate Bradley

Washington Law Review

Employees in the United States are protected from unlawful harassment that rises to the level of a “hostile work environment.” Federal circuits recognize that employers could be liable under Title VII when their employees experience hostile work environments because of harassment from nonemployees. However, outside of Title VII, not all federal circuits have recognized that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protect employees from hostile work environments.

As a result, employees are vulnerable with respect to age and disability-based harassment. This Comment argues that all federal circuits should allow …

Transparency And Reliance In Antidiscrimination Law, Steven L. Willborn

Catholic University Law Review

All antidiscrimination laws have two structural features – transparency and reliance – that are important, even central, to their design, but have gone largely unnoticed. On transparency, some laws, like the recent salary-ban laws, attempt to prevent the employer from learning about the disfavored factor on the theory that an employer cannot rely on an unknown factor. Other laws require publication of the disfavored factor, such as salary, on the theory that it is harder to discriminate in the sunlight. Still other laws are somewhere between these two extremes. The Americans with Disabilities Act, for example, limits but does not …

It's Alright, Ma, It's Life And Life Only: Have Universities Been Meeting Their Legal Obligations To High-Risk Faculty During The Pandemic?, Gary J. Simson, Mark L. Jones, Cathren K. Page, Suzianne D. Painter-Thorne

Pepperdine Law Review

Even those universities most firmly committed to returning to in-person instruction in fall semester 2020 recognized that for health reasons some exceptions would need to be made. The CDC had identified two groups—people age sixty-five and over and people with certain medical conditions—as persons "at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19," and it had spelled out various special precautions they should take to avoid contracting the virus. Given the CDC's unique stature, universities very reasonably could have been expected to grant exceptions to faculty falling into either group, but that's not what many universities did. We argue that, properly …

Age Discrimination--Extraterritorial Application Of The Age Discrimination In Employment Act--Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Determines That A United States Corporation Operating In West Germany Is Subject To Suit Under The Age Discrimination In Employment Act--Employer's Defense Based On Compliance With West German Law Rejected, Chris Lauderdale

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Comments On The Agency And Its Role In Employment Discrimination Law, Mary Kathryn Lynch

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights Litigation From The October 2007 Term, Martin A. Schwartz

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Envisioning A Future For Age And Disability Discrimination Claims, Alison Barnes

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article considers the reasons for reinterpretations of age and disability and examines the fundamental reasons for changes in the implementation of both the ADA and ADEA. Part I presents the basic structure and relevant requirements of the two statutes and comments on the reasons their legislative purposes are not often seen as overlapping. Part II discusses the recent Supreme Court decisions that have undermined the purposes and implementation of both the ADA and ADEA and chilled causes of action based on the ADA and ADEA. Part III projects the current problems with anti-discrimination causes into the future, when older …

Deference And Disability Discrimination, Rebecca Hanner White

Michigan Law Review

For thirty-five years, the civil rights community has paid scant attention to administrative law principles. Those interested in advancing on-the-job equality for this country's working men and women (or in preserving employer autonomy vis-a-vis federal encroachment) have all but ignored what many consider the arcane technicalities of administrative law. This state of affairs is strange when one considers that administration and enforcement of each of our major federal laws outlawing employment discrimination have been confided to an administrative agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). The EEOC, however, has historically been given short shrift by litigants and by the judiciary. …

A Uniform Standard For Exemplary Damages In Employment Discrimination Cases, Judith J. Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

The standards for exemplary damages in employment discrimination cases are in disarray. The major federal provisions that prohibit private employment discrimination, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"),2 42 U.S.C. § 1981 ("§ 1981"), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), and the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), all have an indistinguishably worded standard for assessing exemplary damages: "reckless indifference to federally protected rights."

Unprotected Until Forty: The Limited Scope Of The Age Discrimination In Employment Act Of 1967, Bryan B. Woodruff

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Adea Doctrinal Impediments To The Fulfillment Of The Wirtz Report Agenda, Michael C. Harper

University of Richmond Law Review

Ideally, this symposium marking the three-decade anniversary of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) would present an opportunity to assess how well the ADEA has achieved its plausible goals. However, I recognize that any definitive assessment of the success of a statute like the ADEA, which requires the modification of the behavior of social actors, must depend on the kind of sophisticated empirical study for which I have neither the time, resources or capability. I also recognize that defending my identification of the goals of the ADEA might itself require an entire essay.

Retirement Incentives In The Twenty First Century: The Move Toward Employer Control Of The Adea, Judith A. Mcmorrow

University of Richmond Law Review

Retirement has become an increasingly important topic of public policy discussion in the United States, as well as an accepted, and even cherished, goal for many American workers. Consequently, it is not surprising that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) recognized, somewhat inartfully, the importance of retirement. When originally passed, the ADEA expressly provided an exemption for any bona fide employee benefit plan such as a retirement, pension, or insurance plan, which is not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of the ADEA. In 1986, Congress amended the ADEA to eliminate mandatory retirement, but made clear in its legislative …

Wards Cove Packing Or Not Wards Cove Packing? That Is Not The Question: Some Thoughts On Impact Analysis Under The Age Discrimination In Employment Act, Mack A. Player

University of Richmond Law Review

Assume two employers, A and B. Each gives a separate objective test to select employees for a particular position. Employer A utilizes a pen-and-paper, multiple choice examination that has questions in three major categories: 1) biology and genetics which includes DNA theory, cloning, etc.; 2) astrophysics, with questions about time, space, light relationships, "black holes," novas, etc. and 3) microprocessor engineering, the internet, silicon chips, and the like.

The Age Discrimination In Employment Act At Thirty: Where It's Been, Where It Is Today, Where It's Going, Howard C. Eglit

University of Richmond Law Review

Thirty-three years ago, in the course of debating the legislation that eventually was enacted into law as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Congress began-albeit very tentatively-to address age discrimination in the workplace. While it rejected attempts to amend the 1964 bill to include age within the then-pending menu of proscribed bases for workplace decision-making, i.e., race, color, national origin, religion, and sex, Congress did direct the Secretary of Labor to undertake a study to ascertain the nature and extent of age bias in employment and to make recommendations for dealing with this discrimination, if it in fact existed.

Employment Law: Mckennon V. Nashville Banner Publishing Co. And After-Acquired Evidence--A Convincing Resolution To Employer/Employee Misconduct Or An Incomplete Assessment Of The Issue?, William D. Fisher

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Does Pretext Plus Age Equal The Sum Of The Judgement?, Susan Childers North

University of Richmond Law Review

In deciding cases under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), several circuit courts of appeals have interpreted the tripartite test set forth in McDonnell Douglas v. Green to mean that a plaintiff could prevail in proving individual disparate treatment by proving a prima facie case and that the employer's proffered reasons were a pretext. The Third, Seventh and Eighth Circuits concluded that a showing that a proffered justification is pretextual is equivalent to a finding that the employer intentionally discriminated. In other words, "the plaintiff is entitled to judgment as a matter of law when, in the third stage …

Discrimination, Deceit, And Legal Decoys: The Diversion Of After-Acquired Evidence And The Focus Restored By Mckennon V. Nashville Banner Publishing Company, Elissa J. Preheim

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Checking The "Trigger-Happy" Congress: The Extraterritorial Extension Of Federal Employment Laws Requires Prudence, Derek G. Barella

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Charge-Filing Requirement Of The Age Discrimination In Employment Act: Accrual And Equitable Modification, Jim Beall

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that ADEA causes of action should accrue when the plaintiff discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, that she has been injured by an adverse employment action such as discharge, demotion, denial of a position or promotion, or receipt of pay lower than employees doing the same job. Courts should equitably modify the filing period for the time in which the plaintiff reasonably failed to file a charge even though she already knew of the adverse employment action. Such a situation arises largely in two contexts: (1) when an employer engages in active misconduct that keeps the plaintiff …

Can You Have Your Cake And Eat It Too? Ratification Of Releases Of Adea Claims, Lisa M. Imbrogno

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Troubled economic conditions exacerbate acts of employment discrimination. It is a common concern that employers will replace their older, more expensive workers with younger employees who will work at lower salaries. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") was enacted by Congress to combat age discrimination against workers forty years of age and over. This Note focuses on one issue that has arisen out of the ADEA -- employers' use of waivers through which employees agree to release employers from any age discrimination claims in exchange for additional severance pay and benefits. Specifically, this Note analyzes whether an employee who …

Judicial And Administrative Interpretations Of The Bona Fide Occupational Qualification As Applied To The Age Discrimination In Employment Act, Tracy Karen Finkelstein

Cleveland State Law Review

This note will examine administrative and judicial standards used to prevent age discrimination in employment decisions. The first section will analyze the ADEA, enacted in response to the growing concern about age discrimination. The second section will discuss the Bona Fide Occupational Qualification exception to the ADEA's prohibition against age discrimination. Finally, the concerns particular to the airline industry regarding its age-related policies will be presented together with the responses of the FAA, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the judiciary in an attempt to clarify and resolve the difficulties inherent in situations where safety is a major concern.

Two (Federal) Wrongs Make A (State) Right: State Class Action Procedures As An Alternative To The Opt-In Class Action Provisions Of The Adea, Janet M. Bowermaster

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article argues that the opt-in class action of the ADEA is an anachronism and that age-discrimination litigants can take advantage of the broader protection afforded to Title VII litigants by bringing their ADEA suits as Rule 23 class actions in state courts. A comparison of the two statutes reveals similar purposes and nearly identical substantive provisions, but procedural provisions that provide less protection to victims of age discrimination, including widely disparate class-action provisions.

The Bfoq Defense In Adea Suits: The Scope Of "Duties Of The Job", Robert L. Fischman

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines these three possible interpretations of which job characteristics a court must examine when determining the validity of a BFOQ defense to an ADEA suit and concludes that the Eighth Circuit's standard is correct. Because disputes over which interpretation is proper arise almost exclusively in cases involving public safety occupations, this Note discusses the standards for measuring that scope within the framework of the policy considerations associated with public safety. Part I of this Note discusses the three current standards used to determine the scope of the BFOQ defense. Part II illuminates the problems inherent in having three …

Notice To Class Members Under The Fair Labor Standards Act Representative Action Provision, Thomas Ashby

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Federal courts currently apply different standards concerning the permissibility of notice. Although the Ninth Circuit forbids notice and the Seventh Circuit grants plaintiffs a right to send notice, the Second Circuit permits notice only in appropriate cases. This Note advocates that plaintiffs in FLSA and ADEA actions should be allowed to notify potential class members in appropriate cases. Part I analyzes inherent court powers, statutes, legislative history, and federal policies relating to notice. It concludes that enactment of FLSA and ADEA remedies did not alter the inherent power of federal courts to permit or prohibit notice. On the contrary, only …

Mandatory Retirement And The Constitution: Challenging The Factual Basis Underlying Legislative Classifications, Vernon Townes Grizzard

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Set-Offs Against Back Pay Awards Under The Federal Age Discrimination In Employment Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note proposes a theory to govern set-offs against ADEA damage awards that best effectuates congressional ~tent. It suggests that courts should set off those types of benefits received after a violation that, had they been lost because of a violation, would have been included in the damage award. Part I identifies the proper measure of damages under the ADEA as the net loss of 'job-related benefits," doubled in cases of willful violation. It explains first that job-related benefits should be broadly defined to include unemployment compensation and social security benefits as well as wages, and second that the congressional …

Constitutional Limitations On Mandatory Teacher Retirement, Paula Shives Hoskins

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Age Discrimination In Employment: The 1978 Adea Amendments And The Social Impact Of Aging, Thomas J. Reed

Seattle University Law Review

This article will explore the sociology behind the original Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the structure of the 1967 ADEA, its weaknesses and strengths during its ten-year life, and the effectiveness of the 1978 amendments in dealing with the problems inherent in the original Act.

National League Of Cities V. Usery: Its Implications For The Equal Pay Act And The Age Discrimination In Employment Act, Ellen B. Spellman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In National League of Cities v. Usery, the Supreme Court invalidated the application of the FLSA minimum wage and maximum hours provisions to certain essential state government activities as an unconstitutional intrusion on state sovereignty. This article will explore the implications of that decision with respect to the application of the EPA and the ADEA to state and local governments.

Part I contains a brief discussion of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Amendments. Part II discusses National League with reference to traditional commerce clause interpretation. Part III analyzes the difficulties of applying the decision, particularly the problem of …

Preliminary Relief In Employment Discrimination Cases, Richard F. Richards

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.