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The Coddling Of The American Worker's Mind: The Anti-Free Speech Nature Of Popular Labor Law Reforms, Daniel V. Johns Mar 2022

The Coddling Of The American Worker's Mind: The Anti-Free Speech Nature Of Popular Labor Law Reforms, Daniel V. Johns

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

As the nation enters an era in which a new presidential administration will likely push such labor law reforms, it is worth considering whether transparently anti-free speech reform measures make sense for the future of labor policy and law. This Article argues that they do not. Because employee free choice is furthered, not diminished, by hearing both sides of an issue, American workers should have the opportunity to hear and evaluate employer speech in the course of union campaigns. Only then can employees make an informed decision about their workplace future. In the end, freedom of speech furthers employee freedom …


Gender-Stereotyping Theory, Freedom Of Expression, And Identity, Carlos A. Ball May 2020

Gender-Stereotyping Theory, Freedom Of Expression, And Identity, Carlos A. Ball

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article argues that the expressive components of gender-stereotyping theory serve to delink the equality protections afforded by that theory from fixed and predetermined identity categories in helpful and positive ways. Many have viewed American antidiscrimination law as being normatively grounded in the notion that there are certain identities that, because of their stable and immutable characteristics, deserve equality-based protections. Gender-stereotyping theory can help make the normative case for a more pluralistic understanding of equality, one that is grounded in the need to protect the fluid and multiple ways in which gender is performed or expressed rather than focusing, as …


Innocent Beware: On Religion Clause Jurisprudence And The Negligent Retention Or Hiring Of Clergy, Mark Strasser Oct 2013

Innocent Beware: On Religion Clause Jurisprudence And The Negligent Retention Or Hiring Of Clergy, Mark Strasser

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Culture Matters: Cultural Differences In The Reporting Of Employment Discrimination Claims, Andrew Tae-Hyun Kim Dec 2011

Culture Matters: Cultural Differences In The Reporting Of Employment Discrimination Claims, Andrew Tae-Hyun Kim

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Why don’t reasonable people complain about discrimination? Behavioral science evidence points to structural barriers, like the fear of retaliation and the lack of sociocultural power in the workplace, that discourage employees from reporting. By not reporting perceived discriminatory or harassing conduct, the employee not only underutilizes Title VII’s administrative scheme—which was created precisely to remedy and deter such conduct—but also incurs a heavy litigative cost in employer liability suits. This Article claims that for certain minority groups, namely Asian Americans, certain cultural differences significantly heighten those structural barriers and consequently leave them underprotected in the legal system. The Article locates …


A Right Without Remedy: State Employees After Seminole Tribe And Alden, Heather Lueke Dec 2001

A Right Without Remedy: State Employees After Seminole Tribe And Alden, Heather Lueke

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Over the past decade, courts have wrestled with state employees 'private legal remedy for a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. As a result of the decisions in Seminole Tribe v. Florida and Alden v. Maine, state employees lost their right to sue for such violations. This note examines the dilemma faced by employees who find themselves without a path of recourse against state employers. It concludes that both Seminole Tribe and Alden should be overturned because the decisions leave state employees with no realistic remedy


Mission Impossible: On Baker, Equal Benefits, And The Imposition Of Stigma, Mark Strasser Dec 2000

Mission Impossible: On Baker, Equal Benefits, And The Imposition Of Stigma, Mark Strasser

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In Baker v. State, the Vermont Supreme Court held that the state constitution required same-sex couples be afforded the same benefits and protections that married couples receive. While the state did not need to recognize same-sex marriage, at the very least, it needed to create a parallel system providing equal benefits. Professor Mark Strasser argues that a civil union alternative ultimately would not meet the court's requirements because it cannot possibly provide this requisite equality. His central concern is the differing treatment that same-sex marriage and domestic partnerships receive from other states. Additionally, Professor Strasser notes that such a system …


There's Nothing Special About Sex: The Supreme Court Mainstreams Sexual Harassment, Rebecca Hanner White Apr 1999

There's Nothing Special About Sex: The Supreme Court Mainstreams Sexual Harassment, Rebecca Hanner White

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In this Essay, Professor White argues that the Supreme Court finally has merged analysis of sexual harassment law with other claims of intentional discrimination. Professor White contends that the Court's decision in Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson created confusion over the proper analysis of sexual harassment claims by seemingly embracing quid pro quo and hostile work environment theories as distinct forms of discrimination and by suggesting that at least some sexual harassment claims may warrant a revised approach to employer liability. In the wake of Meritor, sexual harassment claims increasingly were evaluated differently from other claims of disparate treatment, …


Taking Discrimination Seriously: Oncale And The Fate Of Exceptionalism In Sexual Harassment Law, Steven L. Willborn Apr 1999

Taking Discrimination Seriously: Oncale And The Fate Of Exceptionalism In Sexual Harassment Law, Steven L. Willborn

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In both the case law and the literature, sexual harassment is treated as an exceptional and unique form of discrimination. In this Article, Professor Willborn expands on the Supreme Court's recent decision in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. to argue that this exceptionalism should be rejected and that harassment law should return to its roots in the broader body of antidiscrimination law. Professor Willborn begins by articulating the contours of a discrimination-centered model of sexual harassment and explaining how it differs from currently accepted views. He then reviews the Supreme Court's recent cases on sexual harassment, concluding that they …


Strengthening Title Vii: 1997-1998 Sexual Harassment Jurisprudence, Elizabeth D. Evans Apr 1999

Strengthening Title Vii: 1997-1998 Sexual Harassment Jurisprudence, Elizabeth D. Evans

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Faragher, Ellerth, And The Federal Law Of Vicarious Liability For Sexual Harassment By Supervisors: Something Lost, Something Gained, And Something To Guard Against, William R. Corbett Apr 1999

Faragher, Ellerth, And The Federal Law Of Vicarious Liability For Sexual Harassment By Supervisors: Something Lost, Something Gained, And Something To Guard Against, William R. Corbett

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In this Essay, the author faces his nightmare exam question: he must define "sexual harassment" to the satisfaction of several potential graders with different perspectives on sexual harassment law. His valiant effort to justify his response leads him to a discussion of the federal law of vicarious liability for sexual harassment by supervisors after the Supreme Court's recent rejection of tort law respondeat superior analysis for such claims under Title VII. The author argues that, while the rejection of the tort standard for vicarious liability in Title VII claims removes the longstanding connection between Title VII law and state tort …


Private Amici Curaie And The Supreme Court's 1997-1998 Term Employment Law Jurisprudence, Andrew P. Morriss Apr 1999

Private Amici Curaie And The Supreme Court's 1997-1998 Term Employment Law Jurisprudence, Andrew P. Morriss

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The amicus curiae brief has become a common occurrence in today's legal arena, especially with the proliferation of private interest groups that specialize in numerous topics of political and social interest. The substantial increase in the use of amici briefs, however, has sparked criticism concerning both the costs (in effort and resources) associated with filing these griefs and the persuasive effect (or lack thereof) the briefs have on the Court. Much of this criticism arises from the failure of many interest groups to posit "legal" arguments that apply the facts of a given case to the law. Instead, the amici …


The Plain Meaning Of Oncale, Catherine J. Lanctot Apr 1999

The Plain Meaning Of Oncale, Catherine J. Lanctot

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The unanimous Supreme Court opinion in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. caught many observers by surprise. Even more surprising than the Court's unanimity on the divisive issue of same-sex harassment, however, was the author of the opinion-the deeply conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. Many commentators suggest that the opinion's requirement that plaintiffs prove that the harassment was "because of sex" will hamper lawsuits arising from single-sex work environments. Attempts to fit the decision within traditional Title VII jurisprudence inevitably will be clouded by conjecture about Scalia's true intent. Indeed, after one year of experience with Oncale, the judicial record is …


Civil Rights Without Remedies: Vicarious Liability Under Title Vii, Section 1983, And Title Ix, Catherine Fisk, Erwin Chemerinsky Apr 1999

Civil Rights Without Remedies: Vicarious Liability Under Title Vii, Section 1983, And Title Ix, Catherine Fisk, Erwin Chemerinsky

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The Supreme Court has taken an inconsistent approach to allowing vicarious liability under major civil rights statutes. In recent cases, the Court has permitted qualified vicarious liability for supervisors' sexual harassment under Title VII, but rejected vicarious liability under Title IX. Earlier, the Court rejected vicarious liability for local governments sued under Section 1983. In this Article, Professors Fisk and Chemerinsky describe the Court's inconsistent approaches and argue that they cannot bejustfied by the text or legislative history of these statutes. Professors Fisk and Chemerinsky argue that each of these statutes is meant to achieve the same purpose, deterring civil …


"Because The Constitution Requires It And Because Justice Demands It": Specific Speech Injunctive Relief For Title Vii Hostile Work Environment Claims, Cecilee Price-Huish Dec 1998

"Because The Constitution Requires It And Because Justice Demands It": Specific Speech Injunctive Relief For Title Vii Hostile Work Environment Claims, Cecilee Price-Huish

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Abusive speech often is used effectively by harassers in the workplace to intimidate, terrorize, objectify, and humiliate their intended victims, thus helping to secure and maintain social inequality in the workforce, especially among racial and gender minority employees. Pursuant to the adoption of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the United States Supreme Court, in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, interpreted the statute's anti-employment discrimination mandate as imposing liability for conduct or words in the workplace that have the purpose or effect of interfering with an employee's work performance or of creating an intimidating or hostile work …