Law Commons^™

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

The 1999 survey period was another active year for employment discrimination litigation in the Eleventh Circuit and before the United States Supreme Court. In addition to the many cases decided by the Eleventh Circuit, the Supreme Court rendered several key decisions defining the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act and redefining the concept of sovereign immunity. The Court also set standards for punitive damages awards under Title VII. Each of these decisions are discussed in detail below.

Mixed-Motive Cases On Employment Discrimination Law Revisited: A Brief Updated View Of The Swamp, Robert Belton

Mercer Law Review

In 1973 the Supreme Court enunciated an analytical framework in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green with the purpose of providing plaintiffs in statutory employment discrimination cases a full and fair opportunity to prove intentional discrimination despite the unavailability of direct evidence. The McDonnell Douglas framework is used primarily in cases litigated under the disparate treatment theory of discrimination and is based upon presumptions and burden-shifting schemes. McDonnell Douglas was the predominant analytical framework for statutory employment discrimination cases until the Supreme Court decided Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins in 1989. ...

Congress overturned the fundamental holding of Price Waterhouse in the …

Price Waterhouse: Alive And Well Under The Age Discrimination In Employment Act, H.Lane Dennard Jr., Kendall L. Kelly

Mercer Law Review

Judicial application of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA") may be the most divergent of the employment discrimination laws because the ADEA is a hybrid of two statutes: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 19642 ("Title VII") and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ("FLSA"). The ADEA incorporates only selected portions of each of these statutes. For example, the general prohibition against age discrimination contained in the ADEA parallels the substantive provisions of Title VII, while the remedial provisions mirror, at least in part, the FLSA. Courts, however, have generally approached the ADEA in …

The Mixed-Motive Defense In Workplace Discrimination Actions And Its Procedural Issues In The Eleventh Circuit, Richard A. Weller

Mercer Law Review

Being fired from one's place of employment is an unfortunate incident that many Americans face on one or more occasions during their lifetimes. Discharged employees obviously experience some degree of economic loss by losing salaries and benefits. Even when rightfully discharged, employees may suffer emotional and psychological harm because of their perceived failure. This harm may be magnified when the employee has been discharged for wrongful, illegal reasons.

However, in some cases an employer may have legitimate, legal reasons to terminate an employee and simultaneously have illegal, discriminatory reasons. In such a "mixed-motives" situation, employers may be able to limit …