Law Commons^™

Evidentiary Inequality, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Publications

Federal employment discrimination law is rife with evidentiary inequality. Courts allow employers to draw from a broad palette of evidence to defend against discrimination claims, while highly restricting the facts from which plaintiffs can prove their claims. This Article draws from hundreds of cases to show how judges favor the employer's evidence and disfavor the plaintiff's evidence across multiple dimensions, such as time, witnesses, documents, relevance, and reliability. Judges have created a host of named doctrines that severely restrict the evidence plaintiffs are allowed to use to prove their discrimination claims. At the same time, a host of unnamed, and …

Co-Worker Evidence In Court, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Publications

This symposium explores ways to empower workers. Many employment laws rely on workers filing private rights of action to enforce the underlying substantive law. Unfortunately, when workers file these claims in court, courts often do not allow them to rely on evidence from their co-workers. While courts regularly allow employers to submit co-worker evidence of a plaintiff's poor performance or lack of qualifications, they often diminish or exclude a plaintiff's co-worker evidence that the plaintiff performed well or possessed desired qualifications. This Article identifies and explores this evidentiary inequality. It argues that efforts to empower workers must include the power …

The Emerging Statutory Proximate Cause Doctrine, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Publications

The year 2011 marked the birth of a new idea. The United States decided Staub v. Proctor Hospital and for the first time invoked common law proximate cause in the context of federal employment discrimination law. It is rare in jurisprudence to be present at the birth of an idea and then see that idea develop over its first decade. This Article charts the emerging proximate cause doctrine from its early days as a baby doctrine. Now, the doctrine is pre-adolescent, with all of the changes and turmoil that phrase entails.

Into The Weeds: Modern Discrimination Law, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Publications

Modern discrimination law is the law of minutiae. Judicial energy is not primarily focused on large questions about why workplace inequality exists or how to prevent it. It is not even focused on whether the plaintiff in a particular case was treated differently because of a protected trait. Instead, judicial energy centers on interpreting and applying an ever-growing phalanx of complicated court-created ancillary doctrines.

Since the 1970s, the federal courts have created a number of frameworks to analyze discrimination claims. Each framework provides a roadmap for proving a certain theory of discrimination. Over time, the courts have added bells and …

Killing The Cat's Paw, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Publications

In federal employment discrimination law, courts apply the label "cat's paw" to describe certain cases. Judge Richard Posner first used the term cat's paw in the context of federal discrimination jurisprudence, invoking a fable about an enterprising monkey who tricks a cat into getting hot chestnuts from a fire.' As the cat removes the hot chestnuts from the fire, the monkey eats them, leaving the cat with nothing except burnt paws.

In its traditional form, a cat's paw case is one in which a biased individual passes along negative information about a worker to an "unbiased" decisionmaker. The "unbiased" decisionmaker …

Caught By The Cat's Paw, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Publications

Federal employment discrimination law is enamored with court-created doctrines with catchy names. A fairly recent addition to the canon is the concept of the "cat's paw," formally recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in Staub v. Proctor Hospital. With its name coined by Judge Richard Posner and drawn from a fable, the concept of cat's paw has taken ground quickly, discussed in hundreds of cases. The Supreme Court recognized the cat's paw theory in a case where a hospital fired a worker. The person who made the ultimate decision did not have impermissible bias. However, her decision was influenced by …

Harassment: A Separate Claim?, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Publications

In 2017, media attention focused on sexual harassment as victims reported harassment and assault as part of the #MeToo movement. Although many of the accounts focused on sexualized treatment, this treatment often occurred within a broader context of unequal treatment, such as pay inequality and the disproportionately low promotion rate of women into leadership positions. For decades, legal scholars have noted the interplay between broader work constructs and harassment.

This Article argues that viewing harassment as a separate, standalone claim likely misinterprets Title VII and the Supreme Court's jurisprudence surrounding harassment. Unfortunately, this error represents the dominant view among federal …

The Purposes Of Title Vii, Chuck Henson

Faculty Publications

Some things have an obvious and enduring purpose. The purpose of a hammer is to drive nails. The purpose of a saw is to cut wood. The purpose of nails is to fasten, for example, the freshly cut wood by being driven by a hammer. For other things, like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Act" or "1964 Act"), purpose seems mutable or hidden. For example, finishing the sentence today: "The purpose of Title VII is . . ." presents a problem. It has presented the same problem since 1964. What Title VII does is not obvious …

Sexual Harassment Of Low-Income Women In Housing: Pilot Study Results, Rigel C. Oliveri

Faculty Publications

In recent months, high-profile and influential figures in media, government, and entertainment have been brought down by credible allegations that they have engaged in sexual misconduct. These revelations have sparked an important national discussion about the prevalence of sexual harassment in American society and the ways in which powerful people can use their positions both to exploit their vulnerable targets and to escape the consequences of their actions.

The conversation is a necessary starting point, but the focus on high-status workplaces overlooks other contexts in which sexual harassment occurs. This Article focuses on one overlooked, significant national problem: the sexual …

You Down With Mwbe? Yeah You Know Me: A Summary Of The Mbe, Wbe, And Dbe Programs In The State Of Missouri, Shomari Benton, David Lloyd

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

The State of Missouri and Missouri municipalities want to encourage minority and women owned businesses in their communities. The governments have created formalized programs to utilize these businesses. The purpose of these programs is to increase participation of women, minority, and other historically disadvantaged businesses in government related contracts. To bid upon or enter into government related contracts, minority, women, and other historically disadvantaged groups must apply for and receive program certification by different government entities. The certification application and process can be confusing, time consuming, and costly. But with guidance, can be navigated and be beneficial to minority and …

Picking Cotton For Pennies: An Exploration Into The Law’S Modern Endorsement Of A Free-Prison Workforce, Renee Elaine Henson

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

The Thirteenth Amendment made slavery unconstitutional, but also created an exception where “[n]either slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” This carve-out opened the door for prison-dependent companies to make handsome profits from large scale prison labor. Inmates must work full time in demanding conditions, and are paid nominally in return. Inmates do not receive minimum wages because they are excluded from the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) through judicial interpretation. Low wages …

Employees Beware: How Sb 43 Takes Missouri Anti-Discrimination Law Too Far, Emily Crane

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

SB 43 passed through the Missouri Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Eric Greitens on June 30, 2017. Ostensibly intended to bring Missouri’s anti-discrimination law in line with analogous federal law, SB 43 amended the Missouri Human Rights Act and thereby improperly increased the legal burden on employment discrimination plaintiffs. This article examines the causation standards under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act and contrasts those with the newly-amended Missouri Human Rights Act to demonstrate just how far Missouri law has gone. In so doing, this article ultimately concludes …

Letter, Lloyd Gaines To George L. Gaines; Discusses Job Waiting Tables., Lloyd L. Gaines

Gaines Family Correspondence

No envelope. 2 page note on 3x6 paper, black ink. Date: Sunday nite, Jan. 3rd. No year indicated. Discusses job waiting tables.

Are My Cornrows Unprofessional?: Title Vii's Narrow Application Of Grooming Policies, And Its Effect On Black Women's Natural Hair In The Workplace, Renee Henson

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

Employer grooming policies are ubiquitous and apply to all in the workplace, however, the hair standards within these policies do not permit women to wear a myriad of ethnic hairstyles at work. Banning ethnic hairstyles like braids, cornrows, and dreadlocks adversely and disproportionally affects black women. Banning ethnic styles because they are deemed unprofessional forces many black women to spend inordinate amounts of money and time to ensure their hair is “professional looking enough” to attain gainful employment and climb the corporate ladder. This article examines Title VII’s role in allowing this practice where black women are not permitted to …

How University Title Ix Enforcement And Other Discipline Processes (Probably) Discriminate Against Minority Students, Ben L. Trachtenberg

Faculty Publications

This Article argues that university discipline procedures likely discriminate against minority students and that increasingly muscular Title IX enforcement - launched with the best of intentions in response to real problems - almost certainly exacerbates yet another systemic barrier to racial justice and equal access to educational opportunities. Unlike elementary and secondary schools, universities do not keep publicly available data on the demographics of students subjected to institutional discipline, which prevents evaluation of possible disparate racial impact in higher education. Further, several aspects of the university disciplinary apparatus-including broad and vague definitions of offenses, limited access to legal counsel, and …

Race, Rhetoric, And Judicial Opinions: Missouri As A Case Study, Brad Desnoyer, Anne Alexander

Faculty Publications

This Essay studies the relationship between race, rhetoric, and history in three twentieth century segregation cases: State ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, Kraemer v. Shelley, and Liddell v. Board of Education. Part I gives a brief overview of the scholarship of Critical Race Theory, majoritarian narratives and minority counter-narratives, and the judiciary’s rhetoric in race-based cases. Part II analyzes the narratives and language of Gaines, Kraemer, and Liddell, provides the social context of these cases, and traces their historical outcomes.

The Essay contends that majoritarian narratives with problematic themes continue to perpetuate even though court opinions have evolved to use …

Beyond Disparate Impact: How The Fair Housing Movement Can Move On, Rigel C. Oliveri

Faculty Publications

Disparate impact theory is a vital tool for fair housing advocates. It allows them to challenge institutional behaviors that harm minority groups and municipal practices that perpetuate long-standing segregated patterns, without having to go through the difficult process of identifying a specific bad actor with explicitly discriminatory motives. Disparate impact theory has been a failure for fair housing advocates. It is overly complicated, infrequently used, and seldom leads to plaintiff success. Moreover, the availability of this theory has led to the underdevelopment of the law surrounding intentional discrimination, which has ultimately made all cases with circumstantial evidence more difficult to …

Title Vii Works - That's Why We Don't Like It, Chuck Henson

Faculty Publications

In response to the universal belief that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is not fulfilling its purpose, this Article presents a different perspective on the reality of this federal employment discrimination law. Title VII is fulfilling the purpose of the Congress that created it. The purpose was not the eradication of all discrimination in employment. The purpose was to balance the prohibition of the most obvious forms of discrimination with the preservation of as much employer decision-making latitude as possible. Moreover, the seminal Supreme Court decision, McDonnell Douglas v. Green, accurately implemented this balance. This Article …

Between A Rock And A Hard Place: Landlords, Latinos, Anti-Illegal Immigrant Ordinances, And Housing Discrimination, Rigel C. Oliveri

Faculty Publications

In the face of federal inability to effectively police our national borders and to remove unauthorized immigrants, many local governments have recently sought to take measures into their own hands by passing anti-illegal immigrant ("AII") ordinances. These ordinances usually contain a combination of provisions restricting housing, employment, and public benefits for unauthorized immigrants, among other things.This Article focuses on AII provisions that are targeted at private rental housing, which typically take the form of sanctions against landlords who rent to unauthorized immigrants.

Is Acquisition Everything? Protecting The Rights Of Occupants Under The Fair Housing Act, Rigel C. Oliveri

Faculty Publications

This article addresses a recent trend among the federal courts to deny housing discrimination claims under the Fair Housing Act in cases where the plaintiff was an occupant of the housing at the time the discrimination occurred. Put another way, the courts have begun to read the FHA as protecting only the right to obtain housing, not the right to occupy that housing free of discrimination.The trend began with a 2004 Seventh Circuit opinion authored by Judge Richard Posner in the case of Halprin v. The Prairie Single Family Homes. Halprin dismissed most of the claims of a Jewish couple …

Undermining Individual And Collective Citizenship: The Impact Of Exclusion Laws On The African-American Community, S. David Mitchell

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to expose felon exclusion laws as a method for undermining the individual and collective citizenship rights of the African-American community, and to call for their abolition.

New Look At Sexual Harassment Under The Fair Housing Act: The Forgotten Role Of 3604, Rigel C. Oliveri, Robert G. Schwemm

Faculty Publications

This Article argues that § 3604(c) is applicable in virtually every sexual harassment case involving housing and that its applicability means the FHA can be a more effective statute for attacking sexual harassment than Title VII. Part I reviews the law governing sexual harassment in housing, including the role that Title VII precedents have had in shaping this law. Part II shows how § 3604(c) goes further than its Title VII counterpart in prohibiting statements that are often at the heart of a sexual harassment claim and identifies some specific situations in which § 3604(c) may be helpful in challenging …

Reinforcing The Myth Of The Crazed Rapist: A Feminist Critique Of Recent Rape Legislation, Christina E. Wells, Erin Elliott

Faculty Publications

Part I of this article reviews these new legislative provisions, discussing their requirements as well as the general impetus behind their enactment. Part II discusses both the history of rape prosecution and feminist efforts in the 1970s and 1980s to eliminate barriers to successful rape prosecutions. This part also elaborates upon the myth of the crazed rapist and its relationship to feminist reform efforts. Part III explains how the current legislation is rooted in and reinforces that myth by encouraging unsupportable distinctions among rape defendants. Finally, Part IV discusses the feminist response to such laws and argues for a more …

The Case Against Private Disparate Impact Suits, Thom Lambert

Faculty Publications

This article argues that the Third Circuit, and the courts that have implicitly approved private disparate impact suits, have erred in construing Title VI to permit private plaintiffs to sue federally funded entities for discrimination based on disparate impact alone. From a policy standpoint, permitting private disparate impact suits is a bad idea, for the threat of such suits will lead to deterrence of actions and decisions that have incidental disparate effects but are, on the whole, good.

Panel Remarks Civil Rights Division Association Symposium: The Civil Rights Division At Forty, Michael A. Middleton

Faculty Publications

Welcome to all of you to the second of our Symposia. This is the fortieth year of the Civil Rights Division. Our focus this morning will be the Division's past and where it should be going in the future.

Environmental Inequity: Economic Causes, Economic Solutions, Thom Lambert, Christopher Boerner

Faculty Publications

The article examines one such shortcoming: namely, that existing research fails to account for the dynamic nature of the housing market. Analyzing data from the St. Louis metropolitan area, this study finds that economic factors--not siting discrimination--are behind many claims of environmental racism. This phenomenon suggests the need to develop public policies that fit the economic nature of the problem. In particular, a policy that compensates individuals living near industrial sites is the key to securing environmental justice.

Fairness In Civil Rights Arbitration, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Remark: Brown V. Board: Revisited, Michael A. Middleton

Faculty Publications

[T]he Negro needs neither segregated schools nor mixed schools. What he needs is Education. What he must remember is that there is no magic, either in mixed schools or in segregated schools. A mixed school with poor and unsympathetic teachers, with hostile public opinion, and no teaching of truth concerning black folk, is bad. A segregated school with ignorant placeholders, inadequate equipment, poor salaries, and wretched housing, is equally bad. Other things being equal, the mixed school is the broader, more natural basis for the education of all youth. It gives wider contacts; it inspires greater self-confidence; and suppresses the …

Internal Dispute Resolution: The Transformation Of Civil Rights In The Workplace, John M. Lande, Lauren B. Edelman, Howard S. Erlanger

Faculty Publications

Many employers create internal procedures for the resolution of discrimination complaints. We examine internal complaint handlers' conceptions of civil rights law and the implications of those conceptions for their approach to dispute resolution. Drawing on interview data, we find that complaint handlers tend to subsume legal rights under managerial interests. They construct civil rights law as a diffuse standard of fairness, consistent with general norms of good management. Although they seek to resolve complaints to restore smooth employment relations, they tend to recast discrimination claims as typical managerial problems. While the assimilation of law into the management realm may extend …

After We're Gone: A Commentary, Michael A. Middleton

Faculty Publications

Professor Bell has placed before us a basic question that must be dealt with by all who wish to resolve the difficulties inherent in governing a free society. That question is one with which the framers of our Constitution grappled and that baffles us still. How does a society effectively govern itself and at the same time guarantee equal liberty for all? More specifically, in the racial context presented by The Chronicle of the Space Traders, when may government act for the benefit of society in a manner that is detrimental to some of its citizens because of their race?