Law Commons^™

Let's Put Our Cards On The Table When It Comes To Israel, Alan E. Garfield

Alan E Garfield

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Eileen Kaufman

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Eileen Kaufman

No abstract provided.

The Defense Of Marriage Act (Doma), Equal Protection And State Authority – Gill V Office Of Personnel Management And Commonwealth Of Massachusetts V United States Dept Of Health And Human Services, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

The issue of the recognition of same-sex marriages and the constitutionality of a refusal to recognize such marriages has received considerable attention in the US state courts in the last decade. A number of state courts have ruled that, state constitutions require the recognition of same-sex marriages. However, relatively few cases had reached the federal courts and in almost all these cases the restrictions had been upheld. However, two recent challenges to a ban on same-sex marriages in California (Proposition 8) and restrictions of the rights of same-sex couples under federal law (DOMA) have now been successful before federal district …

How The Payday Predator Hides Among Us: The Predatory Nature Of The Payday Loan Industry And Its Use Of Consumer Arbitration To Further Discriminatory Lending Practices, Michael A. Satz

Michael A Satz

This Article argues that Payday lending is a predatory lending practice that disproportionately targets minority customers, and that the Payday lending industry utilizes consumer arbitration agreements to further the industry’s discriminatory lending practices. The Article proposes that protections enacted into law to protect military service members from payday lenders should be universally enacted on a national level.

Social Security, Modes Of Communication For Blind And Visually Impaired Persons And The Rehabilitation Act – American Council Of The Blind V Astrue, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

This note examines a recent District Court decision in which the plaintiffs successfully challenged the adequacy of modes of communication by the Social Security Administration in its notices and other correspondence to blind and visually impaired persons. The case shows the potential of the Rehabilitation Act to improve services to persons with disabilities.

Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis And Equal Protection In Kentucky – Cain V Lodestar Energy, Gardner V Vision Mining And Martinez V Peabody Coal, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

This note discusses a number of recent decisions of the Kentucky courts concerning coal workers pneumoconiosis and equal protection. The Kentucky Court of Appeals has recently found unconstitutional a special ‘consensus’ procedure by which coal workers affected by pneumoconiosis were required to prove their claim for workers compensation. The case is currently under appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Statistical Evidence On The Gender Gap In Law Firm Partner Compensation, Marina Angel, Eun Young Whang, Rajiv Banker, Joseph F. Lopez

Marina Angel

Our study compiled the largest research sample on the gender gap in compensation at the 200 largest law firms by combining two large databases to examine why women partners are compensated less: because they are less productive than men partners or because they are women. The AmLaw 100 and 200 studies include gross revenue, profits, number of equity and non-equity partners, and the total number of lawyers at each firm. The Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Programs study (Vault/MCCA) includes the gender ratios at each AmLaw 200 firm. Our study covers the years 2002 to 2007.

The ratio of women equity …

Inheriting Inequality: Wealth, Race, And The Laws Of Succession, Palma Joy Strand

palma joy strand

The article begins by documenting deep inequality in the form of Black-White wealth disparities: While the overall wealth distribution in the United States is highly unequal from both historical and international perspectives, racial wealth disparities are particularly acute, with median Black net worth approximately a tenth of median White net worth (as compared to median Black income that is approximately two-thirds of median White income). Next, the article ties the perpetuation of this inequality to current inheritance law. It then confronts this inequality as a civil rights issue in terms of its social effects, its historical causes, and legal avenues …

Equal Protection, Workers Compensation And Offset Of Benefits – Merrill V Utah Labor Commission And Satterlee V Lumberman's Mutual Casualty Company, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

The Underwhelming Impact Of The Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments, Stacy A. Hickox

Stacy A. Hickox

The 2008 amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) were intended to expand the protection against discrimination for persons with disabilities beyond the Supreme Court’s narrow interpretation of who is “disabled.” While the amendments and the proposed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations address some of the Court’s narrow interpretations of the ADA, lower courts may still be able to limit coverage of persons with disabilities who are still able to perform tasks which utilize the major life activity which is limited by their impairment, and persons who have impairments with temporary or intermittent effects. Claimants may also be excluded …

Familiar Stories: An International Suggestion For Lgb Family Military Benefits After The Repeal Of “Don’T Ask, Don’T Tell”, Maureen Brocco

Maureen Brocco

This Article advocates for Congress to make benefits available to the families of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) servicemembers after the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, by passing an amended version of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 (DPBOA). Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is only one element of the quandary of laws preventing LGB servicemembers from receiving military family benefits equal to those of their heterosexual peers. The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) limits the federal definition of a marriage to opposite-sex couples and explicitly bars same-sex couples from receiving federal recognition, regardless of the …

Adhd And The New Americans With Disabilities Act: Expanded Legal Recognition For Cognitive Disorders, John P. Heekin

John P. Heekin

The author assesses the likely impact of the recent amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, broadening the definition of a “disability,” upon the legal treatment of discrimination claims from individuals with cognitive disorders, such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The paper begins with a review of the symptoms, diagnosis and treatments of ADHD, noting that remedies for the disorder fail to fully “normalize” its effects, leaving individuals impaired in relation to their peers. The author then presents the original ADA and its administrative interpretation issued in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Compliance Manual. From there, the paper …

Cyber Civil Rights: Looking Forward, Danielle Keats Citron

Danielle Keats Citron

The Cyber Civil Rights conference raised many important questions about the practical and normative value of seeing online harassment as a discrimination problem. In these remarks, I highlight and address two important issues that must be tackled before moving forward with a cyber civil rights agenda. The first concerns the practical—whether we, in fact, have useful antidiscrimination tools at the state and federal level and, if not, how we might conceive of new ones. The second involves the normative—whether we should invoke technological solutions, such as traceability anonymity, as part of a cyber civil rights agenda given their potential risks.

The Telltale Sign Of Discrimination: Probabilities, Information Asymmetries, And The Systemic Disparate Treatment Theory, Jason R. Bent

Jason R Bent

The systemic disparate treatment theory of employment discrimination is in disarray. Originally formulated in United States v. International B’hood of Teamsters, 431 U.S. 324, 360-61 (1977), the systemic disparate treatment theory provides plaintiffs with a method for creating an inference of unlawful discriminatory intent if plaintiffs can first present sufficient statistical evidence establishing that the employer was engaged in a “pattern or practice” of discrimination. While the Court and scholars have recently given substantial attention to the disparate impact theory, they have not adequately analyzed the contours of the systemic disparate treatment theory. For example, there are currently disputes about …

Glimmers Of Hope: The Evolution Of Equality Rights Doctrine In Japanese Courts From A Comparative Perspective, Craig Martin

Craig Martin

There has been little study of the analytical framework employed by the Japanese courts in resolving constitutional claims under the right to be treated as an equal and not be discriminated against. In the Japanese literature the only comparative analysis done focuses on American equal protection jurisprudence. This article examines the development of the equality rights doctrine in the Japanese Supreme Court from the perspective of an increasingly universal “proportionality analysis” approach to rights enforcement, of which the Canadian equality rights jurisprudence is a good example, in contrast to the American approach. This comparative analysis, which begins with a review …

On The Contemporary Meaning Of Korematsu: "Liberty Lies In The Hearts Of Men And Women", David A. Harris

David A Harris

ABSTRACT ON THE CONTEMPORARY MEANING OF KOREMATSU: “LIBERTY LIES IN THE HEARTS OF MEN AND WOMEN” In just a few years, seven decades will have passed since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Korematsu v. U.S., one of the most reviled of all of the Court’s cases. Despised or not, however, similarities between the World War II era and our own have people looking at Korematsu in a new light. When the Court decided Korematsu in 1944, we were at war with the Japanese empire, and with this came considerable suspicion of anyone who shared the ethnicity of our foreign …

Standardizing Liability For Negligent Hiring Of Ex-Offenders, Stacy A. Hickox

Stacy A. Hickox

Employers considering hiring applicants with criminal records face a dilemma. Potential liability for negligent hiring may prompt employers to refuse to hire ex-offenders, since the employer could be liable for harm caused by an employee who has a criminal record, if that harm was foreseeable. Yet the negligent hiring case law provides little guidance for an employer trying to determine when harm is foreseeable. At the same time, nondiscrimination laws require that employers not exclude applicants based solely on their criminal records, since exclusion of ex-offenders will likely have an adverse impact on applicants of color. To resolve this dilemma, …

The High Cost Of Freedom: A Legal And Policy Analysis Of Shelter Detention For Victims Of Trafficking, Anne T. Gallagher, Elaine Pearson

Anne T Gallagher

In countries around the world it is common practice for victims of human trafficking who have been “rescued” or who have escaped from situations of exploitation to be placed and detained in public or private shelters. In the most egregious situations, victims can be effectively imprisoned in such shelters for months, even years. This article uses field-based research to document this largely unreported phenomenon. It then considers the international legal aspects of victim detention in shelters and weighs the common justifications for such detention from legal, policy, and practical perspectives.

Shattering The Equal Pay Act's Glass Ceiling, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

This Article provides the first empirical and rhetorical analysis of all reported Equal Pay Act (EPA) federal appellate cases since the Act’s passage. This analysis shows that as women climb the occupational ladder, the manner in which many federal courts interpret the EPA imposes a wage glass ceiling, shutting out women in non-standardized jobs from its protection. This barrier is particularly troubling in light of data that shows that the gender wage gap increases for women as they achieve higher levels of professional status. The Article begins by examining data regarding the greater pay gap for women in upper-level jobs. …

Women And Private Military And Security Companies, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Lack of clarity about the application of international law norms and inadequacies of existing regulatory regimes covering private military and security companies have reinforced concerns about transparency and accountability in respect of gender-related violence, harassment and discrimination. This chapter focuses on the main issues and legal concerns raised by the impact of the privatisation of war on women, both as PMSC employees and civilians. Part I highlights how armed conflict, civil unrest, occupation and transition have a detrimental effect upon the lives of women with particular reference to safety, displacement, health and economic disadvantage. Part II provides a summary of …

R (On The Application Of E) (Respondent) V Governing Body Of Jfs And The Admissions Appeal Panel Of Jfs (Appellants) And Others (Case Note) [2009] Uksc 15, Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler

Dr. Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler

This case-note offers comparative perspectives on the UK Supreme Court’s judgment in the JFS case (alleged racially discriminatory school admissions policy) and the Israeli Supreme Court’s judgment in the Emanuel Haredi school case (alleged Ashkenazi/Sephardi segregation arrangements).

From Nondiscrimination To Civil Marriage, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

As William Faulkner explained, we must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. This article analyzes the continuing constitutional struggle for civil rights on the basis of sexual orientation, concentrating on the constitution state's critique of its constitution. Connecticut is currently at the forefront of recognizing civil rights. Connecticut has ruled that discrimination against gay and lesbian persons is subject to intermediate scrutiny, which has historically been used to review laws that employ quasi-suspect classifications such as gender. Civil marriage for same sex couples is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. …

A New Look At Section 504 And The Ada In Special Education Cases, Mark C. Weber

Mark C. Weber

School districts are finding fewer children eligible for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). At the same time Congress has expanded the number of children who are protected by section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These developments present the largely unexplored question of what obligations school districts owe children who have disabilities and are protected under section 504 and the ADA, but who are not eligible for services under IDEA. This article concludes that these children must be provided an education that meets their needs as adequately …

Situation, Frames, And Stereotypes: Cognitive Barriers On The Road To Nondiscrimination, Marybeth Herald

Marybeth Herald

The psychological literature enhances our understanding of discrimination. This essay discusses three examples of how that literature can contribute to limiting destructive gender bias in the workplace, in private interactions, and in the courtroom. First, situational pressures have a powerful influence on our actions and must be taken into account in combating employment discrimination. A workplace designed for traditional male needs (limited parenting and home responsibilities) will continue to pressure females out of the workplace or childbearing despite formal equality rules. Second, the use of the term “disorder” as a frame for describing persons with an intersex condition may not …

Beyond The Binary: What Can Feminists Learn From Intersex And Transgender Jurisprudence?, Marybeth Herald

Marybeth Herald

This panel discussion focuses on recent developments in the intersex and transsexual communities. Recently, both movements have undergone profound changes and each has provided new and unique theoretical and practical perspectives that can potentially benefit other social justice groups. This dialogue describes these developments. It also emphasizes the importance of feminist, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex activists becoming aware of the goals that they share and areas where their interests may diverge. As each of these movements develops their legal strategies, they need to be conscious of the potentially positive and negative ramifications that their approaches may have on …

Pleading Disability, Joseph A. Seiner

Joseph A. Seiner

A significant failure. That is how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been described by legal scholars and disability advocates alike. The statute, which was widely expected to help prevent disability discrimination in employment, has not fully achieved its intended purpose because of the ADA’s narrow interpretation in the courts. Congress recently sought to restore the employment protections of the ADA by amending the statute. Interpreting the complex and comprehensive amendments to the ADA will be a difficult task for the federal courts, which struggled to consistently apply even the original statutory terms. Complicating matters further, the proper pleading …

The Telltale Sign Of Discrimination: Probabilities, Information Asymmetries, And The Systemic Disparate Treatment Theory, Jason R. Bent

Jason R Bent

The systemic disparate treatment theory of employment discrimination is in disarray. Originally formulated in United States v. International B’hood of Teamsters, 431 U.S. 324, 360-61 (1977), the systemic disparate treatment theory provides plaintiffs with a method for creating an inference of unlawful discriminatory intent if plaintiffs can first present sufficient statistical evidence establishing that the employer was engaged in a “pattern or practice” of discrimination. While the Court and scholars have recently given substantial attention to the disparate impact theory, they have not adequately analyzed the contours of the systemic disparate treatment theory. For example, there are currently disputes about …