Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 6 of 6
Full-Text Articles in Labor and Employment Law
Reflections On The Supreme Court's 1988 Term: The Employment Discrimination Decisions And The Abandonment Of The Second Reconstruction, Mark S. Brodin
Reflections On The Supreme Court's 1988 Term: The Employment Discrimination Decisions And The Abandonment Of The Second Reconstruction, Mark S. Brodin
Mark S. Brodin
No abstract provided.
The Demise Of Circumstantial Proof In Employment Discrimination Litigation: St. Mary's Honor Center V. Hicks, Pretext, And The "Personality" Excuse, Mark S. Brodin
Mark S. Brodin
Since the enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the courts have struggled to define the burdens of proof surrounding the central issue of an employer's alleged discriminatory intent. What evolved was the McDonnell Douglas framework, premised upon established concepts of circumstantial proof and inference. The approach permits plaintiffs lacking direct proof to nonetheless establish a violation of the Act by proving that the employer's explanation of the challenged decision was pretextual. In St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, a closely-divided Supreme Court substantially altered the McDonnell Douglas framework. Discrediting the reasons offered by the employer …
The Standard Of Causation In The Mixed-Motive Title Vii Action—A Social Policy Perspective, Mark S. Brodin
The Standard Of Causation In The Mixed-Motive Title Vii Action—A Social Policy Perspective, Mark S. Brodin
Mark S. Brodin
In this Article, Professor Brodin explores the causal-relation problem in individual employment discrimination suits alleging disparate treatment brought under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The effort in this Article is to define a theory of causation for the individual disparate treatment case that is consistent with the goals of title VII as well as with the realities and limitations of our adversary system of adjudication. Professor Brodin surveys the problem, traces the development of relevant case law and concludes with a proposal of causal analysis that separates issues of liability from those of remedy.
The Demise Of Circumstantial Proof In Employment Discrimination Litigation: St. Mary's Honor Center V. Hicks, Pretext, And The 'Personality' Excuse, Mark S. Brodin
Mark S. Brodin
Since the enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the courts have struggled to define the burdens of proof surrounding the central issue of an employer's alleged discriminatory intent. What evolved was the McDonnell Douglas framework, premised upon established concepts of circumstantial proof and inference. The approach permits plaintiffs lacking direct proof to nonetheless establish a violation of the Act by proving that the employer's explanation of the challenged decision was pretextual. In St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, a closely-divided Supreme Court substantially altered the McDonnell Douglas framework. Discrediting the reasons offered by the employer …
Costs, Profits, And Equal Employment Opportunity, Mark S. Brodin
Costs, Profits, And Equal Employment Opportunity, Mark S. Brodin
Mark S. Brodin
Professor Brodin explores the clash between the antidiscrimination principle embodied in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and employer self-interest in minimizing costs and maximizing profits. While precedent explicitly rejects a cost defense to an action brought under the statute, some courts have subtly adopted the equivalent under the guise of the business necessity defense to a disparate impact action. Permitting employers to utilize selection devices that disproportionately exclude minorities or women merely because they are less expensive than more sophisticated personnel procedures without discriminatory impact violates Title VII’s mandate, which imposes the costs of equal opportunity …
Ricci V. Destefano: The New Haven Firefighters Case And The Triumph Of White Privilege, Mark S. Brodin
Ricci V. Destefano: The New Haven Firefighters Case And The Triumph Of White Privilege, Mark S. Brodin
Mark S. Brodin
Ricci v. DeStefano is the most important recent Supreme Court pronouncement on one of the landmark enactments of the 1960s, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The decision, authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, held that the white firefighters who topped the civil service list by virtue of their test scores were entitled to promotion, notwithstanding the disparate impact the test had on African-American candidates. The case has the potential to significantly curtail impact litigation under the statute, and certainly will discourage employers from monitoring their selection devices to remove “artificial, arbitrary, and unnecessary barriers to employment when …