Law Commons^™

Mutual Marginalization: Individuals With Disabilities And Workers With Caregiving Responsibilities, Nicole B. Porter

Faculty Publications

This Article explores the marginalization of two groups of employees--individuals with disabilities and workers with caregiving responsibilities. One might argue that these two groups have little in common. However, while these groups are not perfectly aligned, they do have much in common in the workplace. First, these employees are unable to consistently meet their employers' expectations of an "ideal worker." Thus, they often must seek adjustments or modifications in the workplace to accommodate for their failure to conform to the ideal-worker norm. The need for accommodation causes both groups of employees to suffer from "special-treatment stigma," which manifests itself in …

Finding A Fix For The Fmla: A New Perspective, A New Solution, Nicole B. Porter

Faculty Publications

When the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") was enacted in 1993, it was considered landmark legislation.... Yet, despite the promise of the FMLA, by almost all accounts it has not achieved much.... Over the years, scholars have proposed many solutions to improve the FMLA.

[...]

In this article, I am taking a different perspective and proposing a reform that I have not seen proposed before. Of all of the problems with the FMLA, the one that gets the least attention is the frequency with which employees abuse their rights under the FMLA and the difficulty employers have administering the …

Women, Unions, And Negotiation, Nicole B. Porter

Faculty Publications

In a period when union membership is at an all-time low (at least in the private sector), some (or perhaps many) people have given up hope that the labor movement can be revived. I believe that the labor movement still has the potential to be successful but needs to be re-imagined and reinvigorated. One way (among many) of doing this is to increase women's attachment to the labor movement. Now that women comprise nearly 47 percent of the workforce, it makes sense to have a concentrated effort to increase their union participation.

Not only will more women in unions increase …

Choices, Bias, And The Value Of The Paycheck Fairness Act: A Response Essay, Nicole B. Porter

Faculty Publications

In the previous article written by Gary Siniscalco, Lauri Damrell, and Clara Morain Nabity [The Pay Gap, the Glass Ceiling, and Pay Bias: Moving Forward Fifty Years After the Equal Pay Act], the authors argue that the pay gap is not primarily caused by employer discrimination, but rather can be attributed to many factors, including the "glass ceiling" and choices made by women regarding occupation, caregiving, and commitment to the workforce. Thus, they argue that we should not place blame on employers and focus on the reach of anti-discrimination laws, and should instead acknowledge that there is a …

Lessons From The Dolphins/Richie Incognito Saga, Kerri Lynn Stone

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Caregiver Conundrum Redux: The Entrenchment Of Structural Norms, Nicole B. Porter

Faculty Publications

Scholars and feminists (and feminist scholars) have been debating ways to ameliorate the work-family conflict for several decades. For some of us writing in this area, it seems as if the debate is endless and ineradicable. Unfortunately, this Article does not end the debate with some brilliant solution. Instead, I attempt to explain why the "caregiver conundrum" is so unwieldy and unyielding. The reason, I argue, is because of the entrenchment of structural norms in the workplace. By structural norms, I am referring to employers' rules and practices regarding hours, shifts, schedules, attendance, leaves of absence, etc.--basically, when and where …

The New Ada Backlash, Nicole B. Porter

Faculty Publications

[T]his paper explores whether courts are using the reasonable accommodation provision or the qualified individual inquiry to limit the number of individuals entitled to the special protection of the ADA...

This paper will proceed in five parts. Part II provides a brief history of the ADA, both of its structure and legislative history. It then proceeds to a discussion of the major Supreme Court cases that dramatically narrowed the coverage of the ADA through a narrow interpretation of what it means to be an individual with a disability. I will also discuss why courts may have narrowly construed the statute. …

A Defining Moment: A Review Of Disability & Equity At Work, Why Achieving Positive Employment Outcomes For Individuals With Disabilities Requires A Universal Definition Of Disability, Nicole B. Porter

Faculty Publications

This book, Disability & Equity at Work, describes its goal as "to discuss factors contributing to disabled persons' inequality at work and to offer proposals for leveling this uneven playing field." The book is an interdisciplinary, international review of the laws, policies, initiatives, and studies regarding the employment situation of individuals with disabilities. It is a compilation of fifteen different chapters by different authors, which cover a wide variety of subject matters. Some chapters focus on low- and middle-income countries, where individuals with disabilities often have low employment and high poverty rates. And some chapters focus on problems that …

Organizational Responsibility For Workplace Racial And Sexual Harassment: The Stories Of One Company's Workers, Cheryl L. Wade

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

I begin this Article with the testimony of an African-American man who, along with hundreds of African-American coworkers, brought a race discrimination suit against an industrial construction and fabrication limited liability company ("LLC") doing business in Texas and Louisiana. The company, Turner Industries ("Turner"), rigorously defended itself against the allegations, and rather than settle the case, Turner and ten of the plaintiffs went to trial in October 2012. A jury awarded two of the ten plaintiffs in the 2012 Bellwether trial $2 million each in damages, but the plaintiff whose testimony I include above lost at trial and was …