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Full-Text Articles in Law
Beyond Mcdonnell Douglas, Sandra F. Sperino
Beyond Mcdonnell Douglas, Sandra F. Sperino
Faculty Articles and Other Publications
Since 1973, the McDonnell Douglas framework has been a key analytical structure in employment discrimination law. Academic debate regarding the framework has alternately sounded its death knell, posited its irrelevance, or asserted its continued vitality. What has gone unnoticed in this discussion is the gradual weakening of the framework over the past two decades. Rather than casting this test into oblivion, courts are slowly chipping away at its preeminent place as a proof structure.
Little by little, courts are gradually eroding the McDonnell Douglas test's power through both procedural and substantive means. Procedurally, courts have questioned, rejected or diminished the …
Revitalizing State Employment Discrimination Law, Sandra F. Sperino
Revitalizing State Employment Discrimination Law, Sandra F. Sperino
Faculty Articles and Other Publications
Over the past few decades, federal discrimination law has become captive to an increasingly complex web of analytical frameworks. The courts have been unable to articulate a consistent causation or intent standard for federal law or to provide a uniform account of the type of injury the plaintiff is required to suffer. Part of this failure is demonstrated in the ever-increasing rift between how courts construct the discrimination inquiry for federal age discrimination claims and claims based on other traits, such as sex and race.
Unfortunately, the courts are unnecessarily taking state employment discrimination claims into this federal morass. When …
Discrimination Statutes, The Common Law, And Proximate Cause, Sandra F. Sperino
Discrimination Statutes, The Common Law, And Proximate Cause, Sandra F. Sperino
Faculty Articles and Other Publications
The Supreme Court has recently hinted that courts should use proximate cause in Title VII cases. This Article anticipates future judicial forays into this area and argues that proximate cause principles should not be imported into federal discrimination law. This inquiry dovetails into a broader conversation about the proper role of proximate cause in federal statutes, a subject which has produced a fractured jurisprudence.
Courts and commentators have often indicated that employment discrimination law is a tort. While this statement may be true, it is too general to provide guidance on whether to apply proximate cause. It ignores that both …