Law Commons^™

Constitutional Law—State Employees Have Private Cause Of Action Against Employers Under Family And Medical Leave Act—Nevada Department Of Human Resources V. Hibbs, 538 U.S. 721 (2003)., Gabriel H. Teninbaum

ExpressO

The Eleventh Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that non-consenting states are not subject to suit in federal court. Congress may, however, abrogate the states’ sovereign immunity by enacting legislation to enforce the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. In Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, the Supreme Court of the United States considered whether Congress acted within its constitutional authority by abrogating sovereign immunity under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which allows private causes of action against state employers to enforce the FMLA’s family-leave provision. The Court held abrogation was proper under the FMLA and state …

Comparing Remedies For School Desegregation And Employment Discrimination: Can Employees Now Help Schools?, Candace Saari Kovacic-Fleishcer

San Diego Law Review

This Article compares and contrasts the lack of success in desegregating the schools with the greater success in eliminating discrimination from the workplace and suggests that the workplace and schoolhouse can act together for the benefit of both. Part II theorizes that Brown might, in hindsight, have been more successfully implemented and demonstrates why what might have been done earlier probably would not work today. Part III compares the plight of students who have not been helped by Brown with the plight of working parents whose family demands have kept them from sharing fully in the promise of Title VII. …

Bilingualism And Equality: Title Vii Claims For Language Discrimination In The Workplace, James Leonard

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Linguistic diversity is a fact of contemporary American life. Nearly one in five Americans speak a language other than English in the home, and influxes of immigrants have been a constant feature of American history. The multiplicity of languages in American society has touched nearly all aspects of American culture, and specifically has added new and important challenges to the American workplace. Chief among these new concerns are the growing number of legal claims centered around language discrimination in the workplace. The common vehicle for these claims has been Title VII, and there is considerable support in the academic literature …

Should Noncommercial Associations Have An Absolute Right To Discriminate?, Andrew Koppelman

Law and Contemporary Problems

An association is more likely to win immunity from an antidiscrimination law, the more clearly its message is a discriminatory one. Boy Scouts of America v. Dale is in some tension with this rule, but the opinion is so muddled that it establishes no new rule to displace the old one.

I Do' Kiss And Tell: The Subversive Potential Of Non-Normative Socialsexual Expression From Within Cultural Paradigms, Elaine Craig

Dalhousie Law Journal

Using a comparative analysis of the equality movements of sexual minorities in Canada and India the author identifies a symbiosis between the subversive benefits of a deconstructionist approach to equality and the practical achievements to be gained by a rights-based model of social justice. The analysis is conducted through an examination of the role that the expression of same-sex desire plays in the legal and social positions of sexual minorities in Canada and India The author argues that the acquisition of rights can provide sexual minorities with greater access to dominant cultural rituals and that such access provides opportunities to …

For The Rest Of Their Lives: Seniors And The Fair Housing Act, Robert G. Schwemm, Michael Allen

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

America's population is growing older. According to the 2000 census, more than 35 million people in the United States (12% of the total population) are over 65 years old. These figures are expected to grow dramatically in the early decades of the twenty-first century as the "Baby Boom" generation reaches retirement age and as improvements in health care make it possible for more people to live to an advanced age.

Providing housing for this segment of the American population is already a massive industry and one that will certainly grow as the number of, older persons increases. One of the …

How Racial Profiling And Other Unnecessary Post-9/11 Anti-Immigrant Measures Have Exacerbated Long-Standing Discrimination Against Latino Citizens And Immigrants, Katherine Culliton

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Latinos are uniting with other immigrant communities and people of color in being extremely concerned about unnecessary post-9/11 actions that have led to civil liberties and civil rights violations.1 Although the Latino voting power has presumably increased, infringements of Latinos' and Latinas' civil rights appear to be on the rise. This is because many of the measures taken in the name of fighting terrorism have not been effective at finding terrorists, but have resulted in civil liberties and civil rights violations. Lessening of civil liberties and due process protections disproportionately affects Latino communities, who are less likely to have access …

Discrimination In Sentencing On The Basis Of Afro-Centric Features, William T. Pizzi, Irene V. Blair, Charles M. Judd

ExpressO

For a long time, social scientists have worried about possible racial discrimination in sentencing in the United States. With a prison population that exceeds two million inmates of whom approximately 48% are African American, the worry over the fairness of the sentencing process is understandable. This article is not about discrimination between racial categories as such, but about a related form of discrimination, namely, discrimination on the basis of a person’s Afro-centric features. Section I of the article describes a line of social science research that shows that a person’s Afro-centric features have a strong biasing effect on judgment such …

Making Up Women: Casinos, Cosmetics, And Title Vii, David B. Cruz

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Permissibility Of Non-Remedial Justifications For Racial Preferences In Public Contracting, Michael K. Fridkin

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Under Richmond v. J.A. Croson, if a government agency has participated in the systemic exclusion of contractors on the basis of race, the agency has a compelling interest in remedying that discrimination by favoring contractors whose owners belong to the previously excluded race. This remedial defense of racial preferences is the standard notion of affirmative action in public contracting. Of great interest to the government institutions employing racial preferences, however, is whether any non-remedial objectives--separate and distinct from remedying discrimination--may be relied upon to justify the use racial classifications in public contracting and what goals in particular are compelling enough …

Limiting Gebser: Institutional Liability For Non Harassment Sex Discrimination Under Title Ix, David S. Cohen

David S Cohen

No abstract provided.

Community Service Component Of An Alternative Bar Exam, Eileen Kaufman

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Defense Of The Psabe, And Other "Alternative" Thoughts, Kristin Glen

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sexual Orientation And The Paradox Of Heightened Scrutiny, Nan D. Hunter

Michigan Law Review

In Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court performed a double move, creating a dramatic discursive moment: it both decriminalized consensual homosexual relations between adults, and, simultaneously, authorized a new regime of heightened regulation of homosexuality. How that happened and what we can expect next are the subjects of this essay. The obvious point of departure for an analysis of Lawrence is its decriminalization of much sexual conduct. Justice Scalia began this project with his dire warning that "[s]tate laws against bigamy, samesex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are . . . sustainable only in …

Foreword: Loving Lawrence, Pamela S. Karlan

Michigan Law Review

Two interracial couples. Two cases. Two clauses. In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court struck down a Virginia statute outlawing interracial marriage. In Lawrence v. Texas, the Court struck down a Texas statute outlawing sexual activity between same-sex individuals. Each case raised challenges under both the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other: Analogizing Ageism To Racism In Employment Discrimination Cases, Rhonda M. Reaves

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Generalizing Disability, Michael Ashley Stein

Michigan Law Review

Published in 1949, Joseph Tussman and Jacobus tenBroek's article The Equal Protection of the Laws has exerted longstanding influence on subsequent Fourteenth Amendment scholarship. Insightfully, Tussman and tenBroek identified a paradox: although the very notion of equality jurisprudence is a "pledge of the protection of equal laws," laws themselves frequently classify individuals, and "the very idea of classification is that of inequality." Notably, classification raises two sometimes concurrent varieties of inequality: over-inclusiveness and under-inclusiveness. Of these, over-inclusiveness is a more egregious equal protection violation due to its ability to "reach out to the innocent bystander, the hapless victim of circumstance …

Intentional Job Discrimination-New Tools For Our Oldest Problem, Alfred W. Blumrosen, Ruth G. Blumrosen

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The roots of employment discrimination lie deep in our history. By the 18th century, race slavery was the underpinning of wealth in the southern colonies. Black slaves were considered property - subhumans who had no rights in themselves or their offspring. In 1765, the British imposed "stamp taxes" on the colonies; the colonies resisted. In 1766, Parliament claimed the power to govern the colonies in all matters, but by 1770 it had repealed almost all the taxes that offended the colonists. "Business as usual" returned to the relations between the colonies and Britain.

Lessons From And For "Disabled" Students, Sharon E. Rush

UF Law Faculty Publications

The traditional understanding of "disabled" means to have a physical, mental, or emotional limitation. It is unfortunate that the word has negative connotations because we all have the ability to do some things and not others. An individual's disabilities, traditional or otherwise, do not diminish the person or detract from the universal tenet that all people are inherently equal and entitled to be treated with dignity. Generally, it is unproductive to compare the circumstances of one group with another for the purpose of discerning which group has it better or worse. Struggles by different groups to achieve equality have different …

Same-Sex Partners And Family Class Immigration: Still Not Equal With Opposite-Sex Partners, Donald G. Caswell

Dalhousie Law Journal

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which came into force in 2002, and the Regulations under it, expanded family class immigration to include commonlaw partners and conjugal partners in addition to spouses A common-law partner or a conjugal partner may be either an opposite-sex or same-sex partner-as can a spouse, depending upon the currently evolving law with respect to samesex marriage. Under the former Immigration Act, same-sex partners had been admitted pursuant to the discretion to admit immigrants on the basis of compassionate or humanitarian considerations. After examining the admission of same-sex partners under both the former and the current …

When Equality Leaves Everyone Worse Off: The Problem Of Leveling Down In Equality Law, Deborah L. Brake

ExpressO

Existing case law and legal scholarship assume that inequality may be remedied in one of two ways: improving the lot of the disfavored group to match that of the most favored group, or lowering the level of treatment for the favored group until their members fare as badly as the persons complaining of inequality. The term “leveling down” refers to the latter response. The 1971 case of Palmer v. Thompson provides the classic example of the typical judicial response to leveling down: the Supreme Court accepted the decision of Jackson, Mississippi, to close its swimming pools, rather than operate them …

Panel Ii: Thirty Years Of Title Ix, Linda Wharton, Lawrence Joseph, Donna Lopiano, Alison Marshall

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Single And Paying For It, Shari Motro

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Motro argues that present-day income tax benefits to married couples, such as the privilege to file jointly, are unfair to unmarried taxpayers with or without children, and challenges these policies' societal values of encouraging marriage and subsidizing the support of children born to married couples.

One Nation, Individisible: The Use Of Diversity Report Cards To Promote Transparency, Accountability, And Workplace Fairness, Cyrus Mehri, Andrea Giampetro-Meyer, Michael B. Runnels

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

The Plight Of "Nappy-Headed" Indians: The Role Of Tribal Sovereignty In The Systematic Discrimination Against Black Freedmen By The Federal Government And Native American Tribes, Terrion L. Williamson

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Note concerns the role the government has played in the exclusion of Black Freedmen from Native American nations through its implementation and interpretation of the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity ("tribal sovereignty" or "tribal immunity"). Part I discusses the background of the Freedmen within the Five Civilized Tribes and provides an overview of the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity, including its role in the controversy concerning the status of Black Indians. Part II discusses the interpretations given to the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity by United States courts and executive agencies and the effects of those interpretations on relations …

A New Image In The Looking Glass: Faculty Mentoring, Invitational Rhetoric, And The Second-Class Status Of Women In U.S. Academia, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

This article maintains that because Title VII alone does not have the ability to further the progress women have made in academic hiring, retention, and promotion, looking to remedies in addition to Title VII will be advantageous in helping to improve the status of women in U.S. academia. The article suggests as an additional remedy the implementation of faculty mentoring opportunities for junior female faculty members. A key way of initiating and furthering such mentoring opportunities is a type of discourse called invitational rhetoric, which is “an invitation to understanding as a means to create...relationship[s] rooted in equality, immanent value, …

Race, Immigration, And The Department Of Homeland Security, Victor C. Romero

Journal Articles

Despite the wisdom of separating the service and enforcement functions of our immigration bureau, the new tripartite system under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security risks fueling the "immigrant Arab as terrorist" stereotype, rather than helping to re-establish the reality that noncitizen terrorists, like U.S. citizen ones, are a rare species.

Retooling The Intent Requirement Under The Fourteenth Amendment, Henry L. Chambers, Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

Racial classifications carry the largest taint and require the most justification. Strict scrutiny-the level of scrutiny with which the remainder of the article will be concerned-requires that race-based differentiation serve a compelling state interest and be narrowly tailored to serve that interest, guaranteeing that the reason for the differentiation is extremely important and that the link between the means chosen to meet the ends is extremely tight. Though strict scrutiny is difficult to survive, it is triggered only when a state actor engages in intentional or purposeful racial discrimination. Controversy surrounds whether such a trigger is necessary. However, rather than …

The Effect Of Eliminating Distinctions Among Title Vii Disparate Treatment Cases, Henry L. Chambers, Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks eliminated the effect of the pretext test and the distinction between standard and pretext cases. Desert Palace interpreted the motivating-factor test in a way that eliminates the distinction between mixed-motives and non-mixed-motives cases. The point is not that the Court has decided the cases incorrectly or with an inappropriate bias. Rather, it is that eliminating the distinctions between the different types of cases suggests that all disparate treatment cases should be treated the same. The result of these decisions will likely be a reversion to an older litigation model in which trial judges are …

Judicial Correctness Meets Constitutional Correctness: Section 2c Of The Code Of Judicial Conduct, Andrew L. Kaufman

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.