Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Does Pretext Plus Age Equal The Sum Of The Judgement?, Susan Childers North

University of Richmond Law Review

In deciding cases under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), several circuit courts of appeals have interpreted the tripartite test set forth in McDonnell Douglas v. Green to mean that a plaintiff could prevail in proving individual disparate treatment by proving a prima facie case and that the employer's proffered reasons were a pretext. The Third, Seventh and Eighth Circuits concluded that a showing that a proffered justification is pretextual is equivalent to a finding that the employer intentionally discriminated. In other words, "the plaintiff is entitled to judgment as a matter of law when, in the third stage …

Adea Doctrinal Impediments To The Fulfillment Of The Wirtz Report Agenda, Michael C. Harper

University of Richmond Law Review

Ideally, this symposium marking the three-decade anniversary of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) would present an opportunity to assess how well the ADEA has achieved its plausible goals. However, I recognize that any definitive assessment of the success of a statute like the ADEA, which requires the modification of the behavior of social actors, must depend on the kind of sophisticated empirical study for which I have neither the time, resources or capability. I also recognize that defending my identification of the goals of the ADEA might itself require an entire essay.

Wards Cove Packing Or Not Wards Cove Packing? That Is Not The Question: Some Thoughts On Impact Analysis Under The Age Discrimination In Employment Act, Mack A. Player

University of Richmond Law Review

Assume two employers, A and B. Each gives a separate objective test to select employees for a particular position. Employer A utilizes a pen-and-paper, multiple choice examination that has questions in three major categories: 1) biology and genetics which includes DNA theory, cloning, etc.; 2) astrophysics, with questions about time, space, light relationships, "black holes," novas, etc. and 3) microprocessor engineering, the internet, silicon chips, and the like.

Organized Labor As Shareholder Activist: Building Coalitions To Promote Worker Capitalism, Marleen A. O'Connor

University of Richmond Law Review

In the past, the traditional question posed by unions was: "which side are you on?"--presenting a clear choice between labor and capital. As membership and bargaining power fall, however, unions are asserting their rights as shareholders to influence corporate decision making outside the conventional labor law framework. Because the National Labor Relations Act does not adequately protect workers' rights, unions have devised innovative methods as shareholders to exercise unprecedented power over managers. In only a few years, labor-shareholders have become highly visible players in the institutional shareholder movement. As a group, labor-shareholders submit one of the largest numbers of shareholder …

Retirement Incentives In The Twenty First Century: The Move Toward Employer Control Of The Adea, Judith A. Mcmorrow

University of Richmond Law Review

Retirement has become an increasingly important topic of public policy discussion in the United States, as well as an accepted, and even cherished, goal for many American workers. Consequently, it is not surprising that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) recognized, somewhat inartfully, the importance of retirement. When originally passed, the ADEA expressly provided an exemption for any bona fide employee benefit plan such as a retirement, pension, or insurance plan, which is not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of the ADEA. In 1986, Congress amended the ADEA to eliminate mandatory retirement, but made clear in its legislative …

Getting It Right: Uncertainty And Error In The New Disparate Treatment Paradigm, Henry L. Chambers, Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

This Article will explore whether the Court is getting it right or merely getting it done in the disparate treatment context. Part II of this Article will present the contradictory forces underlying getting it done and getting it right in the civil justice system in general, and in employment discrimination litigation in particular. Part III will explore the orthodoxy of disparate treatment law as it stands after Hicks. Part IV will examine the effect of abandoning the paradigm that proof of falsity is proof of intentional discrimination. Part V will offer suggestions on what the Court can do to make …

"The Harvest Is Plentiful, But The Laborers Are Few": Hiring Practices And Religiously Affiliated Universities, Robert John Araujo

University of Richmond Law Review

This is a paper with a modest goal about an immodest topic: how mankind does God's work in this world. In particular, I address a small part of this rather large question: how do religiously affiliated schools make their modest contribution to this work? More particularly, who gets chosen to be a laborer in bringing in the plentiful harvest. The laborer is the teacher or administrator, the vineyard is the religiously affiliated university or college of the late twentieth century United States. Consequently, I address employment practices: who gets hired as a laborer and by what criteria is this special …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Employment Law, Paul G. Beers

University of Richmond Law Review

This article focuses upon Virginia employment law between spring 1995 and August 1996. Special topics, such as public sector employment, unemployment compensation and workers compensation2 lie outside the scope of this article, as do developments under federal statutes.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Employment Law, Paul G. Beers

University of Richmond Law Review

This article focuses upon Virginia employment law between June 1994 and May 1995. Special topics, such as public sector employment and unemployment compensation, lie outside the scope of this article, as do developments under federal statutes.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Americans With Disabilities Act In The Unionized Workplace, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

This Article explores the issues raised by application of the ADA in the organized employment setting. The Article begins with an overview of the statute and then analyzes its applicability in the unionized workplace. In addition to recommending changes in the statute and regulations to clarify the obligations of employers and unions under the ADA, the Article makes recommendations with respect to judicial interpretation of the statute in three major areas. In Sections III C through E, the Article analyzes the circumstances under which the union should be held liable for discrimination, recommending that courts assess liability based on the …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Employment Law, Paul G. Beers

University of Richmond Law Review

The focus of this article is upon employment law in Virginia during 1993 and the first half of 1994. In addition, significant judicial decisions from 1992 are covered. Workers' compensation and unemployment compensation are excluded as topics. Public sector employment law also lies outside the scope of this article. Nevertheless, two decisions of the Supreme Court of Virginia which involve public employees are analyzed. The most turbulent and rapidly evolving area of Virginia employment law lies in tort. The decisions discussed below indicate that employees stand only a modest chance of recovering against their employers in wrongful discharge suits based …

The Revolution That Wasn't: On The Business As Usual Aspects Of Employment At Will, Sid L. Moller

University of Richmond Law Review

With a pronouncement that has become quite familiar to those who follow employment law, a nineteenth century state court captured the employment at will rule in its pristine form: "An employer can fire an employee for good reason, bad reason or for a reason morally wrong, without incurring any liability."

Employment-Based Preferences Categories: An Effort To Simplify Has Resulted In More Paperwork, Vishwa B. Bhargava

University of Richmond Law Review

With the passage of the Immigration Act of 19901 ("the Act"), employment-based and family-sponsored immigration underwent sweeping and dramatic reforms. By implementing new criteria for both these areas of immigration, the Act sought to realize its new policy of strengthening American competitiveness in the global economy and to reinforce its prior policy of favoring family reunification. The Act, which was signed into law by President Bush on November 29, 1990, and went into effect on October 1, 1991, "represents the culmination of a decade-long reform process that began with the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy in 1979." The …

The Preclusive Effect Of Unemployment Compensation Determinations In Subsequent Litigation: A Federal Solution, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

This article examines the use of the doctrine of collateral estoppel to preclude litigation of statutory and common law actions challenging employee discharge based on determinations in unemployment compensation proceedings. First, the article reviews the history of the doctrine of collateral estoppel and examines the policies underlying its application. Next, the article reviews unemployment compensation law and analyzes the cases that have considered whether unemployment compensation determinations have preclusive effect in later litigation. After examining the existing law, the article engages in a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of according preclusive effect to unemployment compensation determinations, in light …

Americans With Disabilities Act: Dispelling The Myths. A Practical Guide To Eeoc's Voodoo Civil Rights And Wrongs, Charles D. Goldman

University of Richmond Law Review

The time is at hand for reality to replace expectation as the employment provisions of the federal mandate not to discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities, the Americans with Disabilities Act (the "ADA"), are now the law of the land. A new era of rights, responsibilities, and opportunities dawned for private and governmental employers, and disabled persons when the rules of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") went into effect on July 26, 1992. A practical, common sense utilization of institutional solutions complemented by individualized applications, not ad hoc reactions, is essential. Other- wise employers' worst fears will …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Employment Law, Robert T. Billingsley, Thomas J. Dillon Iii

University of Richmond Law Review

This article surveys the judicial and legislative developments in Virginia employment law between June 1990 and June 1991. Developments in the areas of worker's compensation and unemployment compensation, each of which has its own distinctive body of law, are outside the scope of this article.

The Interplay Of Civil Service And Collective Bargaining Law In Public Sector Employee Discipline Cases, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

This article undertakes such a review with respect to one aspect of the potential conflict between merit systems and collective bargaining- employee discipline and the appeal of discipline decisions. Protection from arbitrary or unjust discipline is a primary motivation for employee unionization. As a result, achieving protection from unjust disciplinary action becomes a fundamental goal of unions in collective bargaining. Public sector unions in the United States are particularly interested in "discipline, grievance procedures and organizational due process"....

Section IV of this article reviews the approaches of the various states that have addressed the issue, analyzing them in light of …

At-Will Employment: Going, Going, Cheryl S. Massingale

University of Richmond Law Review

The doctrine of at-will employment is undergoing serious erosion. At-will employment has traditionally meant that either party in an employment relationship is free to terminate employment at any time for any reason. In recent years, however, court rulings have created many exceptions to the at-will rule, and the current status of the doctrine offers little certainty as to whether a particular dismissal decision will result in liability for wrongful termination.

The Steelworkers Trilogy In The Public Sector, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

This article will examine the role of the Trilogy principles, including the public policy exception, in judicial enforcement of arbitration agreements in the public sector. First the article will review the applicable law in the private sector regarding judicial arbitration enforcement. Then, the article will discuss the role of the courts in public sector arbitration, concluding that while courts frequently pay lip service to the Trilogy principles, in reality they often fail to apply them. Finally, the article will analyze the arguments for and against application of the deferential Trilogy standards in the public sector in light of the distinctive …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Employment Law, Keith D. Boyette, Robert T. Billingsley

University of Richmond Law Review

This survey article covers judicial developments in Virginia employment law between June 1989 and June 1990. The survey does not address developments in the areas of workers' compensation or unemployment compensation.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Employment Law, Keith D. Boyette, Robert T. Billingsley, Randal M. Reaves, Paul A. Simpson

University of Richmond Law Review

This survey covers judicial and legislative developments in Virginia employment law between June 1988 and June 1989. The survey does not address judicial and legislative developments in the areas of workers' compensation or unemployment compensation.

Firing Employees For Refusing To Submit To Urinalysis: The Case For A Uniform Standard Of Reasonable Individualized Suspicion, Gloria L. Freye

University of Richmond Law Review

Submitting to an employer's demand for a urinalysis test to detect ingestion of drugs means laying your privacy, reputation, career, livelihood and possibly your freedom1 on the line. The chances of being asked to submit to a urinalysis or a polygraph test pursuant to employment are well within the realm of possibility. Virginia Electrical Power Company ("Virginia Power"), the fifth largest employer in Virginia, utilizes both urinalysis and polygraphs as investigative tools. Thus, it is foreseeable that a situation may develop where an employee is fired for refusing to submit to a urinalysis test. This Note focuses on issues that …

Potential Employer Liability For Employee References, Kyle E. Skopic

University of Richmond Law Review

Employers are having second thoughts about giving employee references. Until recently, prior employers willingly passed on significant amounts of employee information to prospective employers. However, the increasing propensity of individuals and companies to sue over undesirable or inadequate references has made many employers reluctant to give out frank and detailed references. As courts continue to explore privacy and employee rights, employers will be forced to weigh the benefits of providing references' against the possibility of defending a costly lawsuit.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Employment Law, Patricia K. Epps

University of Richmond Law Review

This survey covers legislative and judicial developments in Virginia employment law between June 1986 and June 1987. It does not address the workers' compensation and unemployment compensation statutes but focuses on state labor and fair employment laws and the employment-at-will doctrine.

Common Law Remedies Of Employees Injured By Employer Use Of Polygraph Testing, Deborah Weimer

University of Richmond Law Review

Defamation and invasion of privacy occur routinely during the administration of polygraph examinations in the workplace. Previously, employers have been shielded from liability for defamation on the grounds that publications in this context are protected by a qualified privilege. Until recently, the general perception was that employees had no substantial expectation of privacy in the workplace.