Law Commons^™

Labor Pains: The Inadequacies Of Current Federal Pregnancy Laws And The Alternative Routes To Accommodation, Sara Alexander

Mississippi College Law Review

Although many women are able to work through their pregnancies without employer accommodations, some pregnant workers who require accommodations "are forced out of their jobs unnecessarily when minor adjustments would enable them to keep working." In 2003, a hardware assembler in Ohio was terminated after her doctor limited her weight-lifting to twenty pounds and ordered that she work no more than eight hours at a time. In 2009, a retail worker in Kansas was fired because she needed to keep a water bottle with her in order to stay hydrated and prevent bladder infections. In 2011, an activity director at …

The Work-Rule Doctrine Doesn't Work After Reeves V. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Grafton Bragg

Mississippi College Law Review

This Note is about an existing plague on employment-law jurisprudence in the Fifth Circuit. Small and big companies alike can terminate an employee for no discriminatory reason but then be tagged with a lawsuit that has a fair chance of success, just because the disgruntled former employee is willing to lie or the parties disagree over the facts. This is true even though no evidence of actual discrimination exists. The work-rule doctrine changes at-will employment to good-will employment under the guise of federal employment discrimination statutes. Whatever your position is on the longstanding at-will employment regimes, there can be no …

The Public’S Companies, Andrew K. Jennings

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

This Essay uses a series of survey studies to consider how public understandings of public and private companies map into urgent debates over the role of the corporation in American society. Does a social-media company, for example, owe it to its users to follow the free-speech principles embodied in the First Amendment? May corporate managers pursue environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) policies that could reduce short-term or long-term profits? How should companies respond to political pushback against their approaches to free expression or ESG?

The studies’ results are consistent with understandings that both public and private companies have greater public …

“You Don’T Bring Me Flowers Anymore”: President Clinton, Paula Jones, And Why Courts Should Expand The Definition Of “Adverse Employment Action” Under Title Vii’S Anti-Retaliation Provision, Lawrence Rosenthal

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Anti-discrimination statutes such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) prohibit discrimination based on individuals’ protected characteristics. In addition to prohibiting this type of status-based discrimination, these statutes also prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who assert their rights under the statutes or who assist others in asserting their rights.

Over the past several years, retaliation charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) have made up an increasingly high percentage of all charges filed with the agency. Specifically, …

Utah Antidiscrimination Efforts: Shortcomings, Challenges, And The Way Forward, Greta L. Asay

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Despite being a pro-business state, Utah is not considered employee-friendly; employment discrimination is prevalent, in spite of the state and federal laws in place to protect against it. The state agency that is in place to safeguard employees against unlawful discrimination is the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division (UALD), established by the Utah Antidiscrimination Act (UADA). While the UALD has the potential to be a powerful legal guardrail for employees, it currently is not fulfilling this potential. This paper explores the shortcomings of the UALD and argues that changes should be made to strengthen the authority of the UADA.

Climate Discrimination, Duane Rudolph

Catholic University Law Review

This Article focuses on the coming legal plight of workers in the United States, who will likely face discrimination as they search for work outside their home states. The Article takes for granted that climate change will have forced those workers across state and international boundaries, a reality dramatically witnessed in the United States during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. During that environmental emergency (and the devastation it wrought), workers were forced across boundaries only to be violently discriminated against upon arrival in their new domiciles. Such discrimination is likely to recur, and it will threaten the livelihoods of …

A Road To Resolution For Federal Whistleblowers' Mixed Case Claims, Devin Redding

West Virginia Law Review

Since the birth of the United States, whistleblowers have held our nation’s government accountable for illegal, fraudulent, and harmful behavior. The triumphs and failures of whistleblowers are deeply entwined with our nation’s struggle for independence, civil rights, and economic freedom. Nevertheless, employees who bravely expose misdeeds at all levels of our federal government are often bullied and discriminated against on the basis of sex, gender, age, disability, and more. In recent decades, and despite improved whistleblower protections, federal whistleblowers increasingly suffer from adverse employment actions and discrimination as reprisal for their disclosures. Employees looking toward our administrative law systems and …

Promoting Change In The Face Of Retrenchment, Marcia Mccormick

FIU Law Review

This article delves into the challenges of teaching antidiscrimination law and the complexities students face in reconciling legal doctrines with their expectations of justice. It explores the persistent inequalities embedded in wage gaps, labor market segregation, and more, highlighting the transformative potential of addressing stereotypes. Professor Kerry Stone's book, "Panes of the Glass Ceiling," is lauded for unveiling deeply ingrained cultural assumptions, offering tools to challenge them. The article reflects on hidden assumptions exposed in Stone's work and discusses the ideological pushback against education aimed at revealing and dismantling stereotypes. It concludes with a call for a nuanced understanding of …

Panel 2 - Unreported Shortcomings Of Title Ix, Lisa Taylor, Leslie Annexstein, Elizabeth Kristein, Natasha Martin, Elizabeth Kristen

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

MODERATOR: Hello, everyone, and welcome to our second panel, Unreported Shortcomings of Title IX. I’m going to start off with a quick introduction of our moderator. Today we have Dean Lisa Taylor who is our Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Affinity Relations at WCL. She is much beloved by students of the Journal and students of WCL in general. And I know she is going to kick off a great panel. Dean Taylor, it’s all yours.

Big Data Affirmative Action, Peter N. Salib

Northwestern University Law Review

As a vast and ever-growing body of social-scientific research shows, discrimination remains pervasive in the United States. In education, work, consumer markets, healthcare, criminal justice, and more, Black people fare worse than whites, women worse than men, and so on. Moreover, the evidence now convincingly demonstrates that this inequality is driven by discrimination. Yet solutions are scarce. The best empirical studies find that popular interventions—like diversity seminars and antibias trainings—have little or no effect. And more muscular solutions—like hiring quotas or school busing—are now regularly struck down as illegal. Indeed, in the last thirty years, the Supreme Court has invalidated …

Is It Hot In Here Or Is It Just Me? A Call For Menopause Equity In The Workplace, Leslie Mullins

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

In a society where many topics related to female reproduction are considered taboo, menopause is especially stigmatized because of its intersection with age and a perception that a woman’s value ends with her reproductive ability.1 As described by Gail Sheehy (“Sheehy”) in The Silent Passage, menopause is “one of the most misunderstood passages in a woman's life.”2 Menopause causes shame and stigma because of its association with middle age in a culture obsessed with youth.3 The failure of courts to extend available protections to claims related to menopause denies millions of working persons protections from unlawful discrimination under the Americans …

Ministerial Employees And Discrimination Without Remedy, Charlotte Garden

Indiana Law Journal

The Supreme Court first addressed the ministerial exemption in a 2012 case, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC. The ministerial exemption is a defense that religious employers can invoke in discrimination cases brought by employees who qualify as “ministerial,” and it is rooted in the First Amendment principle that government cannot interfere in a church’s choice of minister. However, Hosanna-Tabor did not set out a test to determine which employees are covered by this exemption, and the decision was susceptible to a reading that the category was narrow. In 2020, the Court again took up the ministerial exemption, …

Employment Law—Antidiscrimination—Falling Into The Legal Void: How Arkansas Can Protect Unpaid Interns From Discrimination And Harassment, Christina Redmann

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Protective Styles, A Protected Class: Revisiting Eeoc V. Catastrophe Management Solutions, Staci Campbell

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

For years, Black people have been forced to place extra thought into their appearance, especially in the workplace. Extra thought and extra effort all to avoid being looked down upon as unkept or unprofessional. Finally, there is a wave of legislation being introduced and passed to rectify this problem. While strides are being made, there is still much work to be done. The amount of work left to be done is illustrated by a slew of unfavorable federal cases brought in the face of discrimination against Black hair and hairstyles. This paper explores one of those cases as well as …

The Ministerial Exception: Our Lady Of Guadalupe School And Antidiscrimination Employment Laws, Shelly A. Yeini

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Ministerial Exception (ME) is a legal doctrine providing that antidiscrimination employment laws do not apply to the relationship between religious institutions and their ministers. Such a notion appears in various democracies, as it aims to confront a shared problem: the attempt to solve the clash between antidiscrimination employment laws and religious autonomy. Liberal democracies strive to protect employees from discrimination, as well as to accommodate freedom of religion, which cannot be fulfilled without the existence of religious organizations. While being able to choose their staff is at the heart of the existence of religious institutions, the fulfillment of such …

Caste Discrimination And Federal Employment Law In The United States, Brian Elzweig

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employer Liability For Sex Harassment Through The Lens Of Restorative Justice, Emily Rees

Cleveland State Law Review

Title VII cases alleging sex harassment have become almost completely deferential to employers who have anti-harassment policies. In this Note, I discuss legal and sociological influences on this development and propose using restorative justice focused mediation to avoid rendering Title VII entirely ineffective. Mediation should only be compelled as a remedy—after a court finds that harassment occurred, but that the plaintiff cannot prove her employer knew about the harassment. Instead of dismissing these cases—where judges have already found illegal discrimination—some corrective action should be imposed on the employer for its failure to maintain a harassment-free workplace. Focusing mediation on principles …

Challenges In Bringing Gender Equity Into The Workplace: Addressing Common Concerns Women Have When Deciding To Hold Employers Accountable For Gender Discrimination, Siobhan Klassen

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Gender Equity From A Marxist And Existentialist Perspective, Alexandria Lopez

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Wearing My Crown To Work: The Crown Act As A Solution To Shortcomings Of Title Vii For Hair Discrimination In The Workplace, Margaret Goodman

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Qualified Does Not Mean Over Qualified: The Ada’S Accommodation Of Last Resort Should Not Be A Competition!, Dana Ortiz-Tulla

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dignity Transacted: Emotional Labor And The Racialized Workplace, Lu-In Wang, Zachary W. Brewster

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In interactive customer service encounters, the dignity of the parties becomes the currency of a commercial transaction. Service firms that profit from customer satisfaction place great emphasis on emotional labor, the work that service providers do to make customers feel cared for and esteemed. But performing emotional labor can deny dignity to workers by highlighting their subservience and requiring them to suppress their own emotions in an effort to elevate the status and experiences of their customers. Paradoxically, the burden of performing emotional labor may also impose transactional costs on some customers by facilitating discrimination in service delivery. Drawing on …

Salary History And The Equal Pay Act: An Argument For The Adoption Of “Reckless Discrimination” As A Theory Of Liability, Kate Vandenberg

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

The Equal Pay Act (EPA) purports to prohibit employers from paying female employees less than male employees with similar qualifications; however, the affirmative defenses provided in the EPA are loopholes that perpetuate the gender pay gap. In particular, the fourth affirmative defense allows for wage differentials based on a “factor other than sex.” Many federal circuits have read this defense broadly to include wage differentials based on salary history. That is, an employer can pay a female employee less than her male counterparts because she was paid less by her previous employer. While salary history was once viewed as an …

Title Vii And The Unenvisaged Case: Is Anti-Lgbtq Discrimination Unlawful Sex Discrimination, Ronald Turner

Indiana Law Journal

As discussed herein, courts and individual judges recognizing or not finding actionable Title VII anti-LGBTQ14 claims have offered different rationales in support of their conflicting positions, including three justifications discussed in this project: (1) the meaning of Title VII’s “because of sex” prohibition, (2) the Supreme Court’s and circuit courts’ construction of the “because of sex” provision in the context of sex stereotyping and gender nonconformity discrimination as applied to the anti- LGBTQ question, and (3) associational discrimination theory. Claim-recognizing jurists have looked to Title VII’s text, Supreme Court and circuit court precedent, and the views of the Equal Employment …

To Protect Or Not To Protect, An Empirical Approach To Predicting Where The Fourth Circuit Would Stand On Coverage For Sexual Orientation Discrimination Under Title Vii, Mary Stuart King

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Split Over Sex: Federal Circuits And Executive Agencies Split Over Sexual Orientation Discrimination Under Title Vii, Darria Turner

Catholic University Law Review

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 expressly prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of an individual’s sex. Since its enactment, neither Congress nor the Supreme Court has definitively stated whether sex discrimination based on sexual orientation is protected under Title VII. Though the judicial interpretation of sex has evolved, courts have routinely held that the protections of Title VII do not extend to claims based on sexual orientation discrimination. As three circuits faced these claims, a split was created in the circuits as well as in the two agencies tasked with the enforcement of Title VII. This …

Title Ix And Title Vii: Parallel Remedies In Combatting Sex Discrimination In Educational Employment, Lynn Ridgeway Zehrt

Marquette Law Review

The federal circuit courts of appeals are divided over the proper relationship between Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments Act of 1972 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the federal courts disagree over whether an employee of an educational institution may sue her employer for employment discrimination under either Title IX or Title VII. Some courts have concluded that these employees may not bring employment discrimination claims under Title IX, holding that Title VII provides the sole avenue for obtaining monetary relief for employment discrimination against educational institutions. Other courts have reached the opposite …

Surviving The “Pretext” Stage Of Mcdonnell Douglas: Should Employment Discrimination And Retaliation Plaintiffs Prove “Motivating Factors” Or But-For Causation?, Alexandra Zabinski

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

No abstract provided.

Does It Pay To Be A Manager? The Significance Of The Manager Rule In Analyzing Retaliation Claims Under Title Vii, Cristina Giappone

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note argues that the manager rule should be applied to Title VII cases but in a new and very specific and detailed context involving a case-by-case analysis, similar to that of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s reasoning in Rosenfield v. GlobalTranz Enterprises, Inc. This Note is comprised of three parts. Part I provides the history of Title VII generally, and discusses the emergence of the manager rule in the FLSA context. Part II addresses how different federal circuit courts have either recognized or rejected the manager rule as it applies to retaliation …

The Devil You Don’T Know: Implicit Bias Keeps Women In Their Place, Michele N. Struffolino

Pace Law Review

While men’s claims of gender bias in the family law system are acknowledged, this article focuses on how bias, whether implicit or explicit under the guise of unconscious attitudes or behavior, continues to place women at a systemic disadvantage. Although implicit bias also impacts outcomes in child abuse and neglect actions involving the state, the focus of this article is the impact of implicit bias in actions between women and men in the family courts, in particular those issues involved in the dissolution of the relationship and the family unit. First, the emergence of implicit social cognition theory will be …