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The Gross Beast Of Burden Of Proof: Experimental Evidence On How The Burden Of Proof Influences Employment Discrimination Case Outcomes, David Sherwyn, Michael Heise Feb 2015

The Gross Beast Of Burden Of Proof: Experimental Evidence On How The Burden Of Proof Influences Employment Discrimination Case Outcomes, David Sherwyn, Michael Heise

Michael Heise

Scholarly and public attention to the burden of proof and jury instructions has increased dramatically since the Supreme Court's 2009 decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. Gross holds that the so-called mixed-motive jury instruction, which we call the motivating factor instruction, is not available in age, and possibly disability and retaliation cases. The decision prompted an outcry from the plaintiffs' bar and Congress has proposed legislation to overturn Gross. Despite the outcry, a simple question persists: Does the motivating factor jury instruction influence case outcomes? Results from our experimental mock jury study suggest that such jury instructions do …


Discrimination Cases In The Supreme Court’S 1998 Term, Eileen Kaufman Nov 2013

Discrimination Cases In The Supreme Court’S 1998 Term, Eileen Kaufman

Eileen Kaufman

In the Supreme Court's 1997 Term, the Supreme Court had decided a record number of statutory discrimination cases. However, that record was exceeded in the Supreme Court's 1998 Term with the Court addressing issues arising under Title VII, which covers discrimination in employment; Title IX, which covers discrimination in schools; and most significantly, the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability. Overall, the term scored significant victories for employers who were given considerable latitude to set their own physical characteristic standards and who were, to a large extent, immunized from liability for punitive damages. There was an …


The Part And Parcel Of Impairment Discrimination, Michelle Travis Dec 2012

The Part And Parcel Of Impairment Discrimination, Michelle Travis

Michelle A. Travis

The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) has been heralded for restoring the protected class of individuals with disabilities to the broad scope that Congress intended when it enacted the original Americans with Disabilities Act over two decades ago. But the ADAAA accomplished something even more profound. By restricting the accommodation mandate only to individuals whose impairments are or have been substantially limiting, and by expanding basic antidiscrimination protection to cover individuals with nearly all forms of physical or mental impairment, the ADAAA extricated disability from the broader concept of impairment and implicitly bestowed upon impairment the …


The Supreme Court 1997- 1998 Labor And Employment Law Term (Part Ii): The Nlra, Takings Clause, And Ada Cases, Marley S. Weiss Dec 2011

The Supreme Court 1997- 1998 Labor And Employment Law Term (Part Ii): The Nlra, Takings Clause, And Ada Cases, Marley S. Weiss

Marley S. Weiss

No abstract provided.


Beyond The Ada: How Clinics Can Assist Law Students With “Non-Visible” Disabilities To Bridge The Accommodations Gap Between Classroom And Practice, Alexis Anderson, Norah Wylie Oct 2011

Beyond The Ada: How Clinics Can Assist Law Students With “Non-Visible” Disabilities To Bridge The Accommodations Gap Between Classroom And Practice, Alexis Anderson, Norah Wylie

Norah Wylie

This article examines how best to educate law students with disabilities so that they can successfully transition from classroom to practice. At the very time that the importance of experiential learning is being trumpeted as critical to the preparation of all law students for practice, all too little attention has been given to the role of clinical education in helping students with non-visible disabilities succeed in their chosen careers. Increasingly, law students are seeking accommodations for a range of mental health, cognitive, and learning disabilities. Law schools have become more adept at providing accommodations in academic classes to qualified students …


Survey Of The Federal Government On Supervisor Practices In Employment Of People With Disabilities, Susanne M. Bruyere, William Erickson, Richard L. Horne Jan 2008

Survey Of The Federal Government On Supervisor Practices In Employment Of People With Disabilities, Susanne M. Bruyere, William Erickson, Richard L. Horne

Susanne Bruyère

In 1999, the Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities (PTFEAD) funded Cornell University to conduct a survey of federal sector HR and EEO representatives regarding their experience implementing the employment disability nondiscrimination requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990(ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. One of the recommendations from this research was to conduct a follow-up study of federal agency supervisors and managers about their experience in accommodation and employment of persons with disabilities in the federal sector, and in addition to inquire about their awareness of the series of Executive …


Recapturing The Transformative Potential Of Employment Discrimination Law, Michelle A. Travis Dec 2004

Recapturing The Transformative Potential Of Employment Discrimination Law, Michelle A. Travis

Michelle A. Travis

Although antidiscrimination law has helped address explicit prejudice in the workplace, significant disparities remain, particularly for workers with disabilities and women with caregiving responsibilities. Much of this inequality results from subtler causes, including the ways that employers organize the when, where, and how of work performance. This Article analyzes the role that employment discrimination law could play in transforming the traditional organization of work. In particular, this Article challenges the full-time face-time norm, around which most top-level jobs are designed. This norm refers to the bundle of default preferences that employers have for full-time positions, unlimited hours or rigid work …


Perceived Disabilities, Social Cognition, And "Innocent Mistakes", Michelle A. Travis Dec 2001

Perceived Disabilities, Social Cognition, And "Innocent Mistakes", Michelle A. Travis

Michelle A. Travis

This Article uses social cognition literature to analyze one form of non-prototypic employment discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). When enacting the ADA, Congress recognized that discrimination against individuals with disabilities is so pervasive that it reaches beyond those who possess substantially limiting impairments. Therefore, the ADA protects not only individuals who have an actual disability, but also non-disabled individuals who are mistakenly regarded as disabled by their employer. The field of social cognition, particularly causal attribution theory, studies why, how, and when we misperceive other individuals' capabilities. By taking an interdisciplinary approach, this Article concludes …


Leveling The Playing Field Or Stacking The Deck? The "Unfair Advantage" Critique Of Perceived Disability Claims, Michelle A. Travis Dec 1999

Leveling The Playing Field Or Stacking The Deck? The "Unfair Advantage" Critique Of Perceived Disability Claims, Michelle A. Travis

Michelle A. Travis

In Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Congress recognized that the fears, misperceptions, and stereotypes about disabled individuals are so pervasive that employment discrimination reaches beyond those who actually possess substantially limiting impairments. Accordingly, the ADA protects not only employees with actual disabilities, but also those nondisabled employees who mistakenly are regarded as disabled by their employers. This Article analyzes to what extent those with perceived disabilities should receive the same substantive safeguards as those who are actually disabled. Specifically, the Article argues that applying the traditional forms of the ADA's reasonable accommodations and essential …