Sexuality and the Law Commons^™

The Supreme Court's Labor And Employment Decisions: 2002-2003 Term, Maria O'Brien

Faculty Scholarship

This article summarizes U.S. Supreme Court cases from the October 2002 term that related directly or indirectly to labor or employment law or have implications for labor and employment practitioners. Of particular interest are the University of Michigan affirmative action cases' and the Texas criminal sodomy case. ² Although not nominally "labor and employment" cases, these cases will profoundly affect labor and employment issues. Lawrence v. Texas has already altered the lenses through which society views homosexuality and altered public discourse related to homosexuality and same-sex relationships. ³ The reasoning of the Court shows how far issues of sexuality have …

Protections For Transgender Employees, Jennifer L. Levi

Media Presence

Many transgender employees routinely face demotions, unfavorable conditions of employment, and even discriminatory terminations--due not to job-related problems but to employers' discomfort with and animus against transgender people. Lawyers may look to several sources of law in order to redress the rights of transgender clients who face adverse treatment in such situations, including transgender-specific nondiscrimination laws, state and federal sex discrimination laws, and state disability laws. Although courts historically have found transgender people excluded from coverage under certain laws, developing case law supports the arguments of transgender employees who face workplace discrimination.

Breastfeeding Or Bust: The Need For Legislation To Protect A Mother's Right To Express Breast Milk At Work, Elissa Aaronson Goodman

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that current federal legislation, including Title VII, the ADA, and the FMLA, fails to adequately protect women's rights to express breast milk in the workplace. It advocates for a federal statute specifically addressing this issue, as existing laws are insufficient due to narrow interpretations and lack of explicit protections. The note emphasizes the importance of breastfeeding for infant health and maternal well-being, while also highlighting the benefits for employers, such as reduced absenteeism and healthcare costs. Without federal legislation, women face significant barriers to expressing breast milk at work, perpetuating disparities in breastfeeding rates.

Reply To Martha Nussbaum And Ian Hacking, Edward D. Stein

Articles

The essays by Martha Nussbaum and Ian Hacking both raise important issues about the some of the central themes of The Mismeasure of Desire and it is a pleasure and an honor to have such careful, significant and interdisciplinary thinkers engage my ideas. In this brief reply, I address some of their challenges.

Evaluating The Sex Discrimination Argument For Lesbian And Gay Rights, Edward D. Stein

Articles

The sex discrimination argument for lesbian and gay rights analyzes laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in terms of sex discrimination. For example, sodomy laws that prohibit only same-sex sexual activities are analyzed as discriminating on the basis of sex because they prohibit women from doing something men are permitted to do, that is, have sex with women. This argument has been championed by some scholars and litigators, and it has persuaded some judges. Edward Stein shows that there are sociological, theoretical, moral, and practical problems facing the sex discrimination argument. He suggests that there are better …

Evaluating The Sex Discrimination Argument For Lesbian And Gay Rights, Edward D. Stein

Articles

The sex discrimination argument for lesbian and gay rights analyzes laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in terms of sex discrimination. For example, sodomy laws that prohibit only same-sex sexual activities are analyzed as discriminating on the basis of sex because they prohibit women from doing something men are permitted to do, that is, have sex with women. This argument has been championed by some scholars and litigators, and it has persuaded some judges. Edward Stein shows that there are sociological, theoretical, moral, and practical problems facing the sex discrimination argument. He suggests that there are better …

Sexists, Misogynists And The Male-Dominated Workplace: Whether Prevailing Workplace Norms Should Discredit A Hostile Work Environment In Williams V. General Motors Corp., Maresa Torregrossa

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Bitch V. Whore: The Current Trend To Define The Requirements Of An Actionable Hostile Environment Claim In Verbal Sexual Harassment Cases, 33 J. Marshall L. Rev. 465 (2000), Jamie Lynn Cook

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employment Discrimination Law—Title Vii And Same-Sex Sexual Harassment—Closing The Great Divide: What To Do In A Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Case. Oncale V. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., 118 S. Ct. 998 (1998)., Tracey Williams Overman

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Young V. Bayer Corp.: When Is Notice Of Sexual Harassment To An Employee Notice To The Employer?, Stanford Edward Purser

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Discrimination Down Under: Lessons From The Australian Experience In Prohibiting Employment Discrimination On The Basis Of Sexual Orientation, Joshua Colangelo-Bryan

Washington International Law Journal

Australia offers greater legislative protection against employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation than does the United States. This difference is not due to greater social or political awareness on the part of Australians. Rather, Australian federal law results from the work of progressive national committees given wide discretion to address discrimination under international agreements to which Australia is a party. The creation of Australian federal laws is not instructive in the U.S. context because the limited scope of these laws is incompatible with American discrimination statutes. Furthermore, the process by which sexual orientation became a proscribed ground under …

Who's Responsible? Employer Liability For Supervisors' Hostile-Environment Sexual Harassment: An Analysis Of Faragher V. City Of Boca Raton, Barbara J. Fick

Journal Articles

This article previews the Supreme Court case Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998). The author expected the Court to address the issue of under what circumstances an employer is liabile under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for a supervisor's sexual harassement that creates a hostile work environment.

United States. V. Virginia New Gender Equal Protection Analysis With Ramifications For Pregnancy, Parenting And Title Vii, Candace Kovacic-Fleischer

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

ABSTRACT: In this Article, Professor Kovacic-Fleischer argues that the Supreme Court's recent decision in United States v. Virginia raises gender equal protection analysis to the level of strict scrutiny. Professor Kovacic-Fleischer asserts that the Court's refusal to accept as immutable VMI's single-sex institutional design, and the Court's requirement that VMT make adjustments and alterations that will enable qualified women to undertake VM's curriculum evidences this shift in gender equal protection analysis. Professor Kovacic-Fleischer then turns to the significance of the Court's citation to California Federal Savings & Loan Association v. Guerra. She asserts that this citation indicates that the Court …

Sexual Harassment Policies: An Employer's Burden Or Advantage?, Lisa L. Fowler

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Book Review. Sexual Abuse By Professionals: A Legal Guide By Steven B. Bisbing, Et.Al., Juliet Casper Smith

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Using Agency Principles For Guidance In Finding Employer Liability For A Supervisor's Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment, Glen A. Staszewski

Vanderbilt Law Review

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended 'Title VII," prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace.' The courts have created two categories of sexual harassment. The first, quid pro quo sexual harassment, occurs when a supervisor requires sexual consideration from an employee in exchange for job benefits. The second, hostile work environment sexual harassment, occurs when an employee is subjected to unwelcome sexual harassment that affects a term, condition, or privilege of employment. The victim must prove that the harassment is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of hers employment and create an abusive working …

Sex, Love Letters, And Vicious Rumors: Anticipating New Situations Creating Sexually Hostile Work Environments, Chad W. King

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

An Introduction To The Symposium, William G. Eckhardt

Faculty Works

Professor William Eckhardt introduces the ideas which initiated planning for and later emanated from UMKC School of Law Symposium “Don't Ask, Don't Tell-Implementation and Litigation.” As the title suggests, the Symposium examined the complex and important issues surrounding the policy of the United States toward gays and lesbians in the Armed Forces. This community­wide event was centered in the UMKC Law School Courtroom on the evening of April 11, 1995.

The idea for this Symposium was conceived by Professor Samuel A. Marcosson, a senior attorney in the Office of General Counsel of the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It was …

Tempering Title Vii's Straight Arrow Approach: Recognizing And Protecting Gay Victims Of Employment Discrimination, Marie E. Peluso

Vanderbilt Law Review

Consider the following scenario: Jerry, an outstanding graduate of Superior University's business school, has worked for Moneytree & Cashdollar, a prestigious investment banking firm, for three years. In that period, Jerry's hard work and keen instincts helped increase Moneytree's revenues by several million dollars. In addition, Jerry received two awards for landing important new clients. The firm's managing partners have discussed promoting Jerry to junior vice president, an executive position typically reserved for qualified fifth year employees. Jerry's supervisors and peers enthusiastically commend his dedication and skill. Two weeks before the vote on his promotion, Jerry lured a particularly valuable …

Sexual Orientation And The Workplace: A Rapidly Developing Field, Arthur S. Leonard

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

A Unified Approach To Causation In Disparate Treatment Cases: Using Sexual Harassment By Supervisors As The Causal Nexus For The Discriminatory Motivating Factor In Mixed Motive Cases, Margaret E. Johnson

All Faculty Scholarship

This Comment examines a unified approach for disparate treatment mixed motives claims paired with sexual harassment claims under Title VII. The Author argues that because of the policy for nondiscriminatory and desegregated work environments embodied in Title VII, and because of the documented harm resulting from sexual harassment, courts should allow the burden of proof to shift to the defendant if the plaintiff demonstrates that her supervisor sexually harassed her, or condoned the harassment, and that the harassing supervisor made an employment decision that was adverse to her.

You've Built The Bridge, Why Don't You Cross It? A Call For State Labor Laws Prohibiting Private Employment Discrimination On The Basis Of Sexual Orientation, David E. Morrison

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The call for legal reform to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been prevalent since at least the 1970s. Part I of this Note examines sexual orientation as a protected status at the federal and state level. Tracing the development of case law interpreting Title VII, it is evident that current federal laws have been of little use to gay men and lesbians. As a result, employment discrimination against homosexuals has been widespread. Part II of this Note discusses how the foundation for reform already has been created at the state level. This foundation began with state …

Watkins V. United States Army And The Employment Rights Of Lesbians And Gay Men, Arthur S. Leonard

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Wimberly And Beyond: Analyzing The Refusal To Award Unemployment Compensation To Women Who Terminate Prior Employment Due To Pregnancy, Mary F. Radford

Faculty Publications By Year

In Wimberly v. Labor & Industrial Relations Commission, the Supreme Court interpreted section 3304(a)(12) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), which requires that states not dent unemployment benefits "solely on the basis of pregnancy," as an antidiscrimination statue, rather that one requiring preferential treatment for pregnant and formerly pregnant women. Professor Mary Radford argues that given the ambiguous legislative history and other Supreme Court precedent in the area of unemployment compensation, Wimberly could just as easily have held that FUTA's language requires preferential treatment to pregnant and formerly pregnant women. She further argues that given the current realities that …

Equal Pay Acts: A Survey Of Experience Under The British And American Statutes, Robert N. Covington

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The United States Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963 as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Its British parallel, the Equal Pay Act 19702, took effect at the very end of 1975 and was much amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The five year delay between enactment and enforcement provided time for employers and labor unions to adjust to the new requirements. The drafters of the British statute were aware of the United States statute, and United States cases interpreting that act were relied on quite early in United Kingdom litigation. Now that the British …

Sexual Orientation Employment Discrimination: The Freedom Of Private Employers To Discriminate, Holly Hecker

In the Public Interest

No abstract provided.

American And British Employment Discrimination Law: An Introductory Comparative Survey, Robert N. Covington

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Age, alienage, ethnicity, race, religion, and sex lead to differential treatment of individuals the world over. Employment discrimination is felt most acutely in those industrialized nations where one's income level is the major determinant of so many other things: where one lives, what one wears, how one's children are educated. Concern over the social and economic consequences of employment discrimination has led to the development of new legal techniques on both sides of the Atlantic. The recent enactment in Britain of the Sex Discrimination Act, 1975, and the Race Relations Act, 1976, invites a comparison of those statutes and related …