Law Commons^™

Undocumented Workers And Concepts Of Fault: Are Courts Engaged In Legitimate Decisionmaking, Christine N. Cimini

Articles

This Article examines judicial decisionmaking in labor and employment cases involving undocumented workers. Labor and employment laws, designed to protect all workers regardless of immigration status, often conflict with immigration laws designed to deter the employment of undocumented workers. In the absence of clarity as to how these differing policy priorities should interact, courts are left to resolve the conflict. While existing case law appears to lack coherence, this Article identifies a uniform judicial reliance upon “fault-based” factors. This Article offers a structure to understand this developing body of law and evaluates the legitimacy of the fault-based decisionmaking modalities utilized …

Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari. Dellinger V. Science Applications International Corp. (No. 11-598), 2011 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs Lexis 2153, Eric Schnapper, Zachary A. Kitts, John J. Rigby

Court Briefs

QUESTIONS PRESENTED (1) Does the anti-retaliation provision in section 15(a)(3) of the Fair Labor Standards Act apply to retaliation by an employer against a job applicant? (2) Is the private cause action provided by section 16(b) of the FLSA available to a job applicant who is retaliated against by an employer?

Brief For Respondent, Duryea, Pa. V. Guarnieri, 564 U.S. 379 (2011) (No. 09-1476), 2011 Wl 175871, Cynthia L. Pollick, Eric Schnapper

Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Reply Brief For Petitioner. Thompson V. North American Stainless, Lp, 562 U.S. 170 (2011) (No. 09-291), 2010 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs Lexis 2135, Eric Schnapper, David O'Brien Suetholz, Lisa S. Blatt, Anthony Franze

Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Reply Brief. Staub V. Proctor Hospital, 562 U.S. 411 (2011) (No. 09-400), 2010 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs Lexis 1916, Patricia Ann Millet, Eric Schnapper, Julie L. Galassi

Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Brief For Petitioner, Thompson V. North American Stainless, Lp, 562 U.S. 170 (2011) (No. 09-291), 2010 Wl 3501186, Eric Schnapper, David O'Brien Suetholz, Lisa S. Blatt

Court Briefs

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

Section 704(a) of Title VII forbids an employer from retaliating against an employee because he or she engaged in certain protected activity. The questions presented are:

(1) Does section 704(a) forbid an employer from retaliating for such activity by inflicting reprisals on a third party, such as a spouse, family member or fiance, who is closely associated with the employee who engaged in such protected activity?

(2) If so, may that prohibition be enforced in a civil action brought by the third party victim?

Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari. Perez V. Saks Fifth Avenue, Inc. (No. 09-1535), 2010 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs Lexis 4245, Eric Schnapper, Erika Deutsch Rotbart

Court Briefs

QUESTION PRESENTED Where a discrimination plaintiff asserts that the ultimate decisionmaker who dismissed her was influenced by a different official who acted with an unlawful motive, must the plaintiff prove that the unltimate decisionmaker was a "mere conduit" for the motives of the unlawfully motivated official?

Supplemental Brief For Petitioner. Thompson V. North American Stainless, Lp, 562 U.S. 170 (2011) (No. 09-291), 2010 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs Lexis 2990, Eric Schnapper, David Suetholz

Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Race, Sex And Genes At Work: Uncovering The Lessons Of Norman-Bloodsaw, Elizabeth Pendo

Articles

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 20081 ("GINA") is the first federal, uniform protection against the use of genetic information in both the workplace and health insurance. Signed into law on May 21, 2008, GINA prohibits an employer or health insurer from acquiring or using an individual's genetic information, with some exceptions.

One of the goals of GINA is to eradicate actual, or perceived, discrimination based on genetic information in the workplace and in health insurance. Although the threat of genetic discrimination is often discussed in universal terms - as something that could happen to any of us -the use …

Ask, Don’T Tell: Ethical Issues Surrounding Undocumented Workers’ Status In Employment Litigation, Christine N. Cimini

Articles

The presence of an estimated 11.5 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, of which an estimated 7.2 million are working, has become a flashpoint in the emerging national debate about immigration. Given these statistics, it is not surprising that many undocumented workers suffer injuries in the workplace that are typically legally cognizable. Even though undocumented workers are entitled to a number of legal remedies related to their employment, seeking legal relief often raises heightened concerns about the disclosure of their status. This article explores lawyers' increasingly complex ethical obligations with regard to a client's immigration status in the context …

Brief Amici Curiae Of The National Employment Lawyers Association, The Naacp Legal Defense And Educational Fund, Inc., And Marianne Sawicki, In Support Of Respondent, 549 U.S. 1334 (2007) (No. 06-341), 2007 Wl 966520, Eric Schnapper, Marissa Tirona, Theodore Shaw

Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Supplemental Brief For Respondent, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Ry. Co. V. White, 548 U.S. 53 (2006) (No. 05-259), 2006 Wl 690256, Donald A. Donati, William B. Ryan, Eric Schnapper

Court Briefs

Respondent submits this supplemental brief pursuant to Rule 25.5 of this Court.

Under the unique circumstances of this case, the brief for the United States constitutes "intervening matter that was not available in time to be included in a brief." A majority of the government’s argument consists of an attack on the literal reading of section 704(a) advanced respondent. If this Court were to adopt the government’s narrow reading of section 704(a), it is far from certain that respondent would prevail. The original panel of the Sixth Circuit that heard this case applied a version of the "materially adverse" formulation …

By Any Other Name?: On Being "Regarded As" Black, And Why Title Vii Should Apply Even If Lakisha And Jamal Are White, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Mario L. Barnes

Articles

Applying theories concerning the social construction of race, this Article borrows from the definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the courts' analyses of disability discrimination cases under the "regarded as" disabled provision of the ADA, which allows a plaintiff to bring a claim against an employer who regards the plaintiff as having an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. Using the "regarded as" provision as a model, this Article proposes a new method for recognizing discrimination claims based on the use of proxies for race-even when those proxies have been used …

The Character Of Discrimination Law: The Incompatibility Of Rule 404 And Employment Discrimination Suits, Lisa Marshall Manheim

Articles

This Note illustrates how violations of Rule 404 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (which prohibits litigants from relying on certain propensity proofs) occur routinely. It demonstrates that the ineffectiveness of the ban in the context of discrimination suits cannot be blamed on clever lawyers or negligent judges, but rather is a predictable consequence of the dearth of evidence available to discrimination plaintiffs. This Note concludes by arguing that this subtle but problematic incongruity justifies a reform of the Rule.

Coverage Of Reproductive Technologies Under Employer-Sponsored Health Care Plans, Elizabeth Pendo

Articles

The federal courts have issued two important decisions regarding non-discriminatory insurance coverage of conditions and treatments associated with sex, disability or both, such as prescription contraception and infertility treatment. Cases like Erickson and Saks are important because, as ERISA scholars know, state law mandates regarding coverage are unlikely to lead to uniform results due to the structure of ERISA's preemption provisions, and none of the federal proposals addressing infertility treatment or prescription contraception have been enacted to date.

What I would like to do is outline the impact of ERISA in this area, and offer some thoughts on one of …

The Customer Is Always Right . . . Not!: Employer Liability For Third Party Sexual Harassment, Lea B. Vaughn

Articles

This article will ask a series of questions. What is third party sexual harassment? Under what conditions does it occur? Does it differ in any significant respects from traditional notions of sexual harassment? Should those differences, if any, make a difference in the way that the legal system addresses third party harassment? And indeed, should the problem be addressed solely through the legal system? What might an employer do to alleviate sexual harassment of this type?

The thesis of this article is that third party sexual harassment is a prevalent form of harassment that the legal system does not currently …

Victimized Twice -- The Intersection Of Domestic Violence And The Workplace: Legal Reform Through Curriculum Development, Lea B. Vaughn

Articles

Domestic violence is at least a two-fold problem for American society. On the one hand, it is one of the leading causes of violence at the workplace against women. On the other, it prevents many women from attaining the economic security that would enable them to escape violence. After describing the background of this problem, this paper will canvass current legal remedies that are available to help battered women achieve economic security. This survey leads to the conclusion that the current pastiche of remedies is often ineffective because of their piecemeal approach to the problem, or because current doctrine does …

From Office Ladies To Women Warriors?: The Effect Of The Eeol On Japanese Women, Jennifer S. Fan

Articles

In this Article, Jennifer Fan argues that existing laws in Japan do not adequately protect working women from sex discrimination. Specifically, Fan examines the Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL), a law designed to prevent discrimination against women in the workplace, and concludes that the EEOL is little more than a paper tiger that preserves the status quo. After briefly discussing the legal sources of protection for working women in Japan before the passage of the EEOL, Fan examines the creation of the EEOL, its substantive provisions, and its legal impact. Through her analysis of recent sexual harassment cases in light …

Some Of Them Still Don't Get It: Hostile Work Environment Litigation In The Lower Courts, Eric Schnapper

Articles

This Article describes how the courts of appeals have decided sexual harassment cases in the five years since Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 510 US 17 (1993). In some circuits, events have unfolded largely as Justice Scalia anticipated: the trier of fact—ordinarily a jury—applies the hostile work environment standard announced in Meritor and elaborated upon in Harris.

Judicial Creation Of Norms In Japanese Labor Law: Activism In The Service Of — Stability?, Daniel H. Foote

Articles

This Article begins by examining the judiciary's role in employment litigation. Part II then considers the implications of this and related examples of judicial creation of norms in Japan. Plainly, in this context the stereotype of a passive judiciary with little significance for private parties is inaccurate. Yet do these cases truly reflect judicial "activism"? What is their significance with respect to the separation of powers debate? Even with regard to the sphere of private ordering, what judicial philosophy do they reflect? This Article then examines the impact that this judicially created set of employment norms has had, both on …

Japan’S ‘Foreign Workers’ Policy: A View From The United States, Daniel H. Foote

Articles

No abstract provided.

Article Xx Of The Afl-Cio Constitution: Managing And Resolving Inter-Union Disputes, Lea B. Vaughn

Articles

Labor, as embodied by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), is perceived by many as a monolithic force but, in reality, is composed of a coalition of sometimes competing interests. Not surprisingly, and often raucously, the unions within the AFL-CIO compete for members in both representation and work assignment disputes. Traditional legal doctrine implies that National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) proceedings present the only means to resolve inter-union disputes and that these disputes can be understood solely as legal issues; however, this is not the case. For almost thirty years, the AFL-CIO has …

A Survey Of The Washington Industrial And Safety Act’S First Months Of Operation, Hugh D. Spitzer

Articles

The still brief existence of the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA)' has not begun to yield a full view of its operations, effects, strengths and weaknesses. But a look at the preliminary data compiled by the Division of Industrial Safety and Health of Washington's Department of Labor and Industries does give one an idea of the shape that the Act's enforcement will take, as well as its effect on the business and working communities.' This comment will provide a brief overview of Washington's early experience with the Act, based on statistics and interviews with the individuals responsible for …