Law Commons^™

Taking The Square Peg Out Of The Round Hole: Addressing The Misclassification Of Transgendered Asylum Seekers, Ellen A. Jenkins

Golden Gate University Law Review

Part I provides the basic definitions and understandings this Comment will adopt within the transgender paradigm and provides an overview of United States asylum procedures and the immigration court structure. Part II discusses asylum applications based on sexual orientation and will address how subsequent cases have erroneously applied this social group to transgender applicants. Part II further highlights examples of adjudicatory issues that transgender asylum seekers may face as a result of not identifying as homosexual. Part III showcases the recognition and protection afforded to transgender plaintiffs in pivotal civil discrimination cases and, as a result, how their rights have …

Making-Up Conditions Of Employment: The Unequal Burdens Test As A Flawed Mode Of Analysis In Jespersen V. Harrah's Operating Co., Megan Kelly

Golden Gate University Law Review

Part I of this Note reviews Title VII and foundational caselaw, including cases regarding sex discrimination and appearance standards. Part II examines the Ninth Circuit's Jespersen opinion. Part III compares the Supreme Court decision in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, which expanded Title VII protection to include gender stereotyping, with the Jespersen holding. Part III also explores a Seventh Circuit case, Carroll v. Talman Federal Savings and Loan Association of Chicago, and Judge Thomas's dissent in Jespersen, which both argue for inclusion of less tangible factors such as gender stereotyping in the unequal burdens test. Part III finally contends that the …

Eastern Men, Western Women: Coping With The Effects Of Japanese Culture In The United States Workplace, Becky Kukuk

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article examines the kaigaitenkinsha's effects on women employees in the U.S. workplace and recommends solutions to mitigate their potentially discriminatory impact. Part II, Section A, surveys the kinds of sex discrimination that women encountered at Japanese companies aside from those alleged at Mitsubishi. Section B reviews U.S. equal employment opportunity laws to provide a framework from which to understand U.S. women's employment rights and to compare the Japanese employment laws outlined in the next section. Section C seeks to explain why the kaigaitenkinsha discriminate against women by reviewing the history of women's employment in Japan and Japan's equal employment …

Considering Hybrid Sex And Age Discrimination Claims By Women: Examining Approaches To Pleading And Analysis - A Pragmatic Model, Sabina F. Crocette

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment examines two ways in which the legal system does not adequately consider older women's claims of discrimination. The issues are presented in two conceptual groupings. The first grouping discusses how barriers to the recognition of hybrid age and sex discrimination claims are created when courts do not analyze the evidence of discrimination together as evidence of discrimination against "older women." Often, courts analyze hybrid claims of age and sex discrimination separately under Title VII and the ADEA, even when the evidence of discrimination points to a hybrid claim involving discrimination directed at a subset of a protected group, …

Union Power, Soul Power: Intersections Of Race, Gender And Law, Wendy L. Wilbanks

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment will cover three main topics. First, this Comment will tell the story of the Charleston strike and the individual women involved. Second, this Comment will examine, through the eyes of those individuals, the unique ways in which race and gender come together to create unique circumstances that deserve legal consideration. For both of these sections, I use the women's own voices to illustrate and reinforce substantive points. Third, this comment will describe the 10-day strike notice provision, examining how it would have affected the Charleston workers had it been enacted in 1969 during the time of the strike. …

Divinity Vs. Discrimination: Curtailing The Divine Reach Of Church Authority, Whitney Ellenby

Golden Gate University Law Review

Church authority to practice gender discrimination in employment decisions represents the collision of principles of religious liberty on one hand, and the need to eradicate invidious discrimination on the other. In order to secure the free exercise of religion, the First Amendment prohibits legislation which interferes with or significantly abridges religious belief or conduct. To the extent that employment decisions represent the extension of religious belief, churches have a strong claim of immunity from judicial review of their decisions. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 thus exempts religious entities from civil liability when their discriminatory conduct is …

Discovering Our Connections: Reflections On Race, Gender And The Other Tales Of Difference, Madelyn C. Squire

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article is a reflective essay that was written as a result of the author's participation in a symposium held on September 12, 1992 at the American University Washington College of Law on "Discovering Our Connections: Race and Gender in Theory and Practice of the Law." The writer's panel was assigned the topic, "Philosophy, Morality and Foundations of Law" from which to address the symposium subject. The essay explains and addresses why African American women find it difficult to embrace the feminist agenda and reflects on whether there is common ground or some connection among the multivalent interests of race …

Johnson V. Santa Clara County Transportation Agency: Affirmative Action Expanded Under Title Vii, Theresa Marks

Golden Gate University Law Review

This note discusses the guidelines established in Johnson. It will suggest that under the Johnson standards, general societal discrimination may provide a sufficient basis for imposing voluntary, sexually classified remedies under Title VII It will further suggest that voluntary affirmative action in response to general societal discrimination is consistent with the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of Congress's intent in enacting Title VII Finally, this note will evaluate the potential benefit the Johnson decision brings to women's rights as well as noting the problems presented by the Court's failure to clearly delineate appropriate standards for affirmative action.

Employment Discrimination, Marcia Leitner

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Meritor Savings Bank V. Vinson: Title Vii Liability For Sexual Harassment, Suzanne Egan

Golden Gate University Law Review

In Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson,! the United States Supreme Court addressed the issue of sexual harassment for the first time. The Court held that when sexual harassment creates a hostile or offensive working environment, it is actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Court interpreted Title VII as demonstrating a congressional intent to preserve the economic, psychological and emotional benefits of employment. This interpretation has been advanced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and in lower court opinions. The Supreme Court rejected the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that an …

Judicial Indifference To Pornography's Harm: American Booksellers V. Hudnut, Penelope Seator

Golden Gate University Law Review

This paper will evaluate the opinions of the district court and the Seventh Circuit that held that an Indianapolis ordinance violated the first amendment, with particular attention to the courts' treatment of the demonstrated harms of pornography (II). The paper argues that pornography is a practice of discrimination through which women are subordinated on the basis of sex (III). When pornography is understood in the context of social reality, it is seen as a practice of sex discrimination, just as racial segregation is understood as a practice of race discrimination when it and its meaning are seen in the context …

California Federal Savings & Loan Association V. Guerra: The State Of California Has Determined That Pregnancy May Be Hazardous To Your Job, Susan Spalter Berman

Golden Gate University Law Review

In California Federal Savings & Loan Association v. Guerra, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the facial validity of California Government Code section 12945(b)(2). The court vehemently rejected a federal preemption argument and held that a law setting a minimum leave for pregnancy disabilities did not, on its face, discriminate against men or conflict with the purpose of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 19644 as amended in 1978 by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). The issue of whether the PDA allows any different treatment for pregnancy has divided the feminist community.

Survey: Women And California Law, Alan Black, Katherine Hardy

Golden Gate University Law Review

This survey of California law, a regular feature of the Women's Law Forum, summarizes recent California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions of special importance to women. A brief analysis of the issues pertinent to women raised in each case is provided.

Bobb V. Municipal Court: A Challenge To Sexism In Jury Selection And Voir Dire, Randy Riddle

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note discusses how sexism in the jury selection and voir dire processes can operate to produce a voir dire which violates of a prospective juror's guarantee of equal protection. It then outlines California's use of strict scrutiny to analyze gender-based classifications. Third, the Note reviews and evaluates the three Bobb opinions. Finally, the significance of Justice Miller's opinion is discussed.

Rostker V. Goldberg: The Uneven Development Of The Equal Protection Doctrine In Military Affairs, Sara Macdwyer

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note examines the Court's refusal in Goldberg to apply heightened scrutiny to a discriminatory statute. The Court never satisfactorily answered the constitutional challenge: Whether, under the equal protection component of the fifth amendment's due process clause, women as a class may be excluded from military registration. Further, this Note argues that the Court improperly and unnecessarily deferred to congressional findings in ruling that Congress acted within its authority by registering only men.

Liability Of Bias: A Comparative Study Of Gender-Related Interests In Negligence Law, Yifat Bitton

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This article examines a feminist argument concerning the gendered structure of tort law in which interests that can be identified as gendered are subject to different levels of recognition resulting from gender bias. Using a comparative methodology, the article contends that negligence law regarding pure-economic loss and indirect-emotional harm is constructed along lines of gender bias. The argument is underlined by the notion of gender-related interests, establishing pure-economic loss as male-related and indirect-emotional harm as female-related. On its first comparative analysis, the similarities and differences between these two harms as perceived by tort conventions and principles should have yielded leverage …

Survey: Women And California Law, Elaine Booras

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Pregnancy Benefits, Benign Sex Discrimination, And Justice: Why Does It Matter How We Ask The Questions?, Patricia Ann Boling

Golden Gate University Law Review

One purpose of this essay will be to respond to this argument by showing what sorts of considerations are pertinent and what conclusions are warranted if one considers the underlying issue in pregnancy benefits cases to be distributive justice, and then contrasting this with the considerations and judgments indicated by a more comprehensive view of sex discrimination. There are other reasons as well for maintaining the debate about the proper perspective on pregnancy disability issues. The Court's difficulties in convincingly justifying the refusal to equate pregnancy with sex-based discrimination in Geduldig and Gilbert, and in distinguishing the seniority and pregnancy …

Equal Pay For Comparable Worth, Jolie Lipsig

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment will briefly trace the history of job segregation from colonial America to the present, and explore the relationship between the Equal Pay Act and Title VII in light of the controversial Bennett Amendment. The interpretation of this Amendment, which limits the effect of the Equal Pay Act on Title VII, has lead to arguments both for and against adoption of a comparable worth standard by the courts. A comparison of opinions of the various courts concerning the amendment will follow, focusing on the emerging theory of equal pay for comparable worth. A discussion of different job evaluation techniques …

The Evolution Of Title Ix: Prospects For Equality In Intercollegiate Athletics, Christina Johnson

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment will analyze the development of Title IX, as it affects female athletes, from its inception in 1972 to the publication by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) of the final policy interpretation in December of 1979. In particular, the final policy will be carefully scrutinized to determine whether it is consistent with and, more specifically, how well it serves the important public policy goals which informed the statute. Although the analysis will reveal weaknesses in HEW's policy, specific remedies are suggested which will aid in ensuring equal opportunity for intercollegiate sportswomen.

Women Judges Unite: A Report From The Founding Convention Of The National Association Of Women Judges, Lynn C. Rossman

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Older Women And Pensions: Catch 22, Frances Leonard

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Remedies For Sex-Discriminatory Health And Safety Conditions In Male-Dominated Industrial Jobs, Ellen Shapiro

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Job-Related Sexual Harassment And Union Women: What Are Their Rights?, Barbara M. White

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sexual Harassment In The Workplace: A Practitioner's Guide To Tort Actions, Alice Montgomery

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Litigation Strategy On Behalf Of The Outstanding High School Female Athelete, Donna J. Hitchens

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Discrimination Outside Of The Office: Where To Draw The Walls Of The Workplace For A "Hostile Work Environment" Claim Under Title Vii, Douglas R. Garmager

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it "an unlawful employment practice for an employer . . . to discriminate against any individual" on the basis of sex. Accordingly, in Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, the Supreme Court recognized that sex discrimination in employment can give rise to a hostile work environment claim under Title VII. The scope of a hostile work environment claim has not been interpreted uniformly by the lower courts, however, as a circuit split exists today over whether conduct occurring outside the workplace is relevant to a hostile work environment claim. …

The (Mis)Categorization Of Sex In Anglo-American Cases Of Transsexual Marriage, John Parsi

Michigan Law Review

The United States' promise to establish equality for all has been challenged by post-operative transsexuals seeking recognition in their acquired sex. The birth certificate is the legal gateway to changing other legal documents; but the process for changing the birth certificate varies widely from state to state. This lack of national uniformity makes post-operative transsexuals' recognition of their acquired sex complicated at best and impossible at worst. This Note details the legal progression from non-recognition to recognition of post-operative transsexuals' acquired sex in the United Kingdom and through the European Court of Human Rights. The Note goes on to explore …

Erasing Boundaries: Masculinities, Sexual Minorities, And Employment Discrimination, Ann C. Mcginley

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article analyzes the application of employment discrimination law to sexual minorities-lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex individuals. It evaluates Title VII and state anti-discrimination laws' treatment of these individuals, and is the first article to use masculinities research, theoretical and empirical, to explain employment discrimination against sexual minorities.

While the Article concludes that new legislation would further the interests of sexual minorities, it posits that it is neither necessary nor sufficient to solving the employment discrimination problems of sexual minorities. A major problem lies in the courts' binary view of sex and gender, a view that identifies men and …

From Nondiscrimination To Civil Marriage, Elizabeth Burleson

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

No abstract provided.