Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons^™

Modern Discrimination Theory And The National Labor Relations Act, Rebecca H. White

Scholarly Works

This Article explores the concept of discrimination under the NLRA [National Labor Relations Act]. Specifically, it examines discrimination under the statute through the lens of Title VII, an approach that brings a fresh perspective to doctrine long considered settled. The purpose of this comparison is to explore the extent to which Title VII's discrimination concepts make sense under the NLRA. This analysis focuses on three specific areas. First, it examines discrimination cases under section 8(a)(1), concluding that the lower courts are wrong to apply Title VII concepts and to insist that without disparate treatment of union activities, no unlawful discrimination …

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The (Alternative) Forum: Reexamjnjng Alexander V. Gardner-Denver In The Wake Of Gilmer V. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., Sarah Rudoph Cole

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

House Rules: Is A Supermajority Requirement For Tax Hikes Constitutional?, John O. Mcginnis, Michael B. Rappaport, Susan Low Bloch

Articles

No abstract provided.

Critical Race Praxis: Race Theory And Political Lawyering Practice In Post-Civil Rights America, Eric K. Yamamoto

Michigan Law Review

At the end of the twentieth century, the legal status of Chinese Americans in San Francisco's public schools turns on a requested judicial finding that a desegregation order originally designed to dismantle a system subordinating nonwhites now invidiously discriminates against Chinese Americans. Brian Ho, Patrick Wong, and Hilary Chen, plaintiffs in Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District, represent "all [16,000] children of Chinese descent" eligible to attend San Francisco's public schools. Their high-profile suit, filed by small-firm attorneys, challenges the validity of a 1983 judicial consent decree desegregating San Francisco's schools. Approved in response to an NAACP class action …

Responsibilities Of Employers Toward Mentally Disabled Persons Under The Americans With Disabilities Act, Karin M. Mika, Denise Wimbiscus

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This article discusses the standards of the American with Disabilities Act with respect to accommodating mental illness in the workplace. It argues that the ADA definitions are not precise enough in apprising employers of what their obligations are regarding mentally ill persons in the workplace. It additionally suggests revising the statue and regulations to achieve this goal.

The Emerging Cronyism Defense And Affirmative Action: A Critical Perspective On The Distinction Between Colorblind And Race-Conscious Decision Making Under Title Vii, Ann C. Mcginley

Scholarly Works

In Foster v. Dalton, the United States Supreme Court approved of the promotion of a less-qualified white male over a better-qualified black female under very suspicious circumstances; in Taxman v. Board of Education, the court invalidated the retention of an equally qualified black female over her white counterpart. The law justifies the disparate results in Foster and Taxman by invoking the principle of race and gender “neutrality” in the decision making process. Under this principle, the law generally prohibits employment determinations based consciously on a person's race or gender. An exception to the “neutrality principle” of Title VII is the …

Affirmative Action In Question: A Coherent Theory For Section 15(2), Mark A. Drumbl, John D.R. Craig

Scholarly Articles

Affirmative action programs are constitutionally protected in Canada under section 15(2) of the Charter. This section has received little judicial interpretation and, consequently, no coherent approach to the interpretation of section 15(2) has been developed. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to define the meaning of section 15(2), as affirmative action programs can be used to perpetuate stereotypes and discrimination while being given a blanket endorsement through section 15(2). The authors suggest that section 15(2) does not merely promote substantive equality, as this is the function of section 15(1), but embodies the social justice conception of equality, which allocates social …

Employment Law: Gary V. Long --Using Context To Analyze Threat In Sexual Harassment Cases, Donald P. Howerton

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employment Law: Mckennon V. Nashville Banner Publishing Co. And After-Acquired Evidence--A Convincing Resolution To Employer/Employee Misconduct Or An Incomplete Assessment Of The Issue?, William D. Fisher

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employment Law: O'Connor V. Consolidated Coin Caterers Corp. --Eliminating The Replacement Outside The Protected Class Element In Adea Hiring And Replacement Cases, David G. Harris

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Limiting Liability Through Education: Do School Districts Have A Responsibility To Teach Students About Peer Sexual Harassment?, Diane M. Welsh

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Sex Discrimination And Sexual Harassment In Agricultural Labor, Maria M. Dominguez

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

A Simulation Of Union Organizing In A Labor Law Class, Roberto L. Corrada

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Since I started teaching, in 1990, I have realized that the vast majority (probably more than 95 percent) of the students in my class on labor relations law have never worked in a unionized environment. Indeed, a great many have not worked in what has sometimes been termed an "industrial" or "blue collar" environment. As a result, I have found it difficult in class to contextualize cases and inculcate an appreciation for the collective consciousness that characterizes the union experience, especially in the industrial setting.

From my point of view, there were three substantial benefits to the simulation that I …

What’S The Use Of Calling Emerson A Pragmatist?, Stanley Cavell

Cardozo Law Review

I applaud the revival of interest in John Dewey and William James, on various intellectual and political grounds, and seek to learn what is at stake for others in their revival. But I also wish to suspend applause-doubtless more a transcendentalist than a pragmatist gesture on my part-for ideas that seem to be gaining prominence within this movement, expressed by writers and thinkers whom I admire, according to which Emerson is to be understood as a proto-pragmatist and Wittgenstein as, let's say, a neo-pragmatist. Perhaps I will be taken as struggling merely over labels; but sometimes labels should be struggled …

The Flimsy Yardstick: How Many Employees Does It Take To Defeat A Title Vii Discrimination Claim?, Jacqueline Louise Williams

Cardozo Law Review

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law on July 2, 1964. The legislative history of the Act provides an extraordinary glimpse at one of the most heavily debated pieces of legislation in our country's history. It also chronicles one of the longest debates that Congress has ever endured. Seeking to define the scope of the legislation, a reticent administration and a divided Democratic party struggled with the bill in hopes of coming to an agreement on what some would come to call "silver writes." The Act's supporters were persuaded that it answered "a moral question in the …

"Overpaid" Older Workers And The Age Discrimination In Employment Act, Stacey Crawshaw-Lewis

Washington Law Review

Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) to prohibit discrimination against older workers. The legislative history of the ADEA shows that Congress recognized that this discrimination most commonly stemmed from inaccurate stereotypes about the older worker. A review of ADEA cases decided between 1984 and 1995 demonstrates the frequent incidence of cases in which older workers allegedly were fired or not hired because of the higher salaries typically earned by these relatively experienced workers. This review also reveals that, applying an unduly mechanical version of the McDonnell Douglas/Burdine test, courts did not effectively identify (1) employment actions purportedly …

Mckennon V. Nashville Banner Publishing Company: Progression Of The After-Acquired Evidence Doctrine, Lauren L. Logan

Mercer Law Review

In McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co., the United States Supreme Court held that after-acquired evidence of employee wrongdoing that would have led to termination on lawful and legitimate grounds does not bar the employee from all relief sought under an employment discrimination action. The plaintiff, Christine McKennon, had worked for the defendant, Nashville Banner Publishing Company, for thirty years when, as claimed by Banner, she was discharged as part of a work force reduction plan. McKennon, who was sixty-two years old at the time of her discharge, claimed that her termination was based on her age. She filed …

Adarand Constructors, Inc. V. Pena And The Continuing Irrelevance Of Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decisions, Neal Devins

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legalizing Employment Discrimination: A Foolish And Dangerous Policy, 29 J. Marshall L. Rev. 587 (1996), Michael J. Leech

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Subtle Vices Of The Employment Discrimination Laws, 29 J. Marshall L. Rev. 575 (1996), Richard A. Epstein

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

West Virginia University V. Decker: The Future Of Age Discrimination In West Virginia, Sophie E. Zdatny

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hostile Environent Sexual Harassment Claims And The Unwelcome Influence Of Rape Law, Janine Benedet

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This article considers the unwelcomeness requirement of the plaintiff’s prima facie case. In particular, it examines the discussion of unwelcomeness found in the decision of the Supreme Court in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, and the content given to this element by the subsequent decisions of lower courts. Such an inquiry reveals several parallels between the approach of courts to sexual harassment claims and their traditional treatment of the criminal offense of rape. The same biases and erroneous assumptions that have hampered an effective response to the physical violation of women have permeated the application of the purported remedy …

Rethinking Civil Rights And Employment At Will: Toward A Coherent National Discharge Policy, Ann C. Mcginley

Scholarly Works

America's employment discharge policy begs for reform. Although most states have created exceptions to the employment at will doctrine, the doctrine thrives. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), which bans discrimination in employment based on race, gender, color, religion, and national origin, has proved ineffective in combating employment discrimination. Despite the statutory and common law exceptions to the employment at will doctrine, today's employees may have less job security than in the past. Although I applaud the Commissioners' efforts toward achieving justice in the workplace, I believe that abolishing the employment at will doctrine through …

Enforcing Conventional Morality Through Taxation?: Determining The Excludability Of Employer-Provided Domestic Partner Health Benefits Under Sections 105(B) And 106 Of The Internal Revenue Code, Lindsay Brooke King

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Are Non-English-Speaking Claimants Served By Unemployment Compensation Programs? The Need For Bilingual Services, Mary K. Gillespie, Cynthia G. Schneider

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article examines the need for interpreters and translated written materials in unemployment compensation programs for those claimants who do not read, understand, or speak English well or at all. Thousands of employable persons in the United States do not read, understand, or speak English. These persons may be unable to receive unemployment compensation benefits or may receive delayed benefits solely because they are unable to comprehend English. The authors examine how ten states with substantial populations of limited-English-proficient speakers have provided these persons access to their state's unemployment compensation programs. The authors find varying practices among the states in …

The Business Necessity Defense In Disparate Impact Discrimination Cases, Susan Grover

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Q-Word As Red Herring: Why Disparate Impact Liability Does Not Induce Hiring Quotas, Peter Siegelman, Ian Ayres

Faculty Articles and Papers

The debates over the passage of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act' were marked by passionate disagreement: conservatives objected to the legislation as an unwarranted interference with employers' freedom of contract, while liberal supporters considered it a first step toward racial justice. While disagreement about what employment discrimination law should do has continued-in much the same form-to this day, there has been surprising consensus about the mechanism by which Title VII actually works: whether it is thought of as inadequate or excessive, Title VII is usually presumed to promote the hiring of those it is designed to protect.'The …

How To Count To Fifteen: Determining The Jurisdictional Scope Of Title Vii: An Analysis Of Walters V. Metropolitan Educational Enterprises Inc., Barbara J. Fick

Journal Articles

This article previews the Supreme Court case Walters v. Metropolitan Educational Enterprises, Inc., 519 U.S. 202 (1997). The author expected the Court to consider how the number of employees of a particular employer should be counted for for purposes of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Vicarious And Personal Liability For Employment Discrimination, Rebecca H. White

Scholarly Works

This Article addresses the issues of vicarious and personal liability for employment discrimination as a coherent whole. Part II examines the prevailing view on an employer's vicarious liability for employment discrimination under Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA. Part II further discusses the exception to vicarious liability that has developed in hostile work environment cases and examines the justifications advanced for that exception. My point here is not so much to debate whether such an exception should exist but to determine whether the arguments against vicarious liability in hostile work environment cases justifiably can be limited to that context. …

Equal Rights-Compatibility Of Family And Career-Legal Comparison: East Germany (Gdr) And Federal Republic Of Germany Today, Anita Grandke

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the evolution of gender equality in East Germany from the post-WWII era through the 1990 unification with West Germany, highlighting how East Germany's progressive laws promoting women's rights were rolled back after unification, leading to significant setbacks for women in employment, family life, and legal protections.