Reflecting the dominate theme of workplace equality, the authors go beyond this general consensus to affirm that the fundamental purpose of laws prohibiting employment discrimination is to implement the national civil rights policy. Organized around an examination of the reach and limits of laws, the book scrutinizes the federal statutory protection against employment discrimination. Constitutional provisions and state laws are included where appropriate. In addition, this new edition extensively uses scholarship drawn from the work of critical race theorists and feminist legal scholars. It also has materials on the law and economics approach to employment discrimination.

This controversial book presents a powerful argument for the repeal of anti-discrimination laws within the workplace. These laws--frequently justified as a means to protect individuals from race, sex, age, and disability discrimination--have been widely accepted by liberals and conservatives alike since the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and are today deeply ingrained in our legal culture. Richard Epstein demonstrates that these laws set one group against another, impose limits on freedom of choice, undermine standards of merit and achievement, unleash bureaucratic excesses, mandate inefficient employment practices, and cause far more invidious discrimination than they prevent. Epstein urges a return to the common law principles of individual autonomy that permit all persons to improve their position through trade, contract, and bargain, free of government constraint. He advances both theoretical and empirical arguments to show that competitive markets outperform the current system of centralized control over labor markets. Forbidden Grounds has a broad philosophical, economic, and historical sweep. Epstein offers novel explanations for the rational use of discrimination, and he tests his theory against a historical backdrop that runs from the early Supreme Court decisions, such as Plessy v. Ferguson which legitimated Jim Crow, through the current controversies over race-norming and the 1991 Civil Rights Act. His discussion of sex discrimination contains a detailed examination of the laws on occupational qualifications, pensions, pregnancy, and sexual harassment. He also explains how the case for affirmative action is strengthened by the repeal of employment discrimination laws. He concludes the book by looking at the recent controversies regarding age and disability discrimination. Forbidden Grounds will capture the attention of lawyers, social scientists, policymakers, and employers, as well as all persons interested in the administration of this major

Gerry Handley faced years of blatant race-based harassment before he filed a complaint against his employer: racist jokes, signs reading “KKK” in his work area, and even questions from coworkers as to whether he had sex with his daughter as slaves supposedly did. He had an unusually strong case, with copious documentation and coworkers’ support, and he settled for $50,000, even winning back his job. But victory came at a high cost. Legal fees cut into Mr. Handley’s winnings, and tensions surrounding the lawsuit poisoned the workplace. A year later, he lost his job due to downsizing by his company. Mr. Handley exemplifies the burden plaintiffs bear in contemporary civil rights litigation. In the decades since the civil rights movement, we’ve made progress, but not nearly as much as it might seem. On the surface, America’s commitment to equal opportunity in the workplace has never been clearer. Virtually every company has antidiscrimination policies in place, and there are laws designed to protect these rights across a range of marginalized groups. But, as Ellen Berrey, Robert L. Nelson, and Laura Beth Nielsen compellingly show, this progressive vision of the law falls far short in practice. When aggrieved individuals turn to the law, the adversarial character of litigation imposes considerable personal and financial costs that make plaintiffs feel like they’ve lost regardless of the outcome of the case. Employer defendants also are dissatisfied with the system, often feeling “held up” by what they see as frivolous cases. And even when the case is resolved in the plaintiff’s favor, the conditions that gave rise to the lawsuit rarely change. In fact, the contemporary approach to workplace discrimination law perversely comes to reinforce the very hierarchies that antidiscrimination laws were created to redress. Based on rich interviews with plaintiffs, attorneys, and representatives of defendants and an original national dataset on case outcomes, Rights on Trial reveals the fundamental flaws of workplace discrimination law and offers practical recommendations for how we might better respond to persistent patterns of discrimination.

It is no secret that since the 1980s, American workers have lost power vis-à-vis employers through the well-chronicled steep decline in private sector unionization. American workers have also lost power in other ways. Those alleging employment discrimination have fared increasingly poorly in the courts. In recent years, judges have dismissed scores of cases in which workers presented evidence that supervisors referred to them using racial or gender slurs. In one federal district court, judges dismissed more than 80 percent of the race discrimination cases filed over a year. And when juries return verdicts in favor of employees, judges often second guess those verdicts, finding ways to nullify the jury's verdict and rule in favor of the employer. Most Americans assume that that an employee alleging workplace discrimination faces the same legal system as other litigants. After all, we do not usually think that legal rules vary depending upon the type of claim brought. The employment law scholars Sandra A. Sperino and Suja A. Thomas show in Unequal that our assumptions are wrong. Over the course of the last half century, employment discrimination claims have come to operate in a fundamentally different legal system than other claims. It is in many respects a parallel universe, one in which the legal system systematically favors employers over employees. A host of procedural, evidentiary, and substantive mechanisms serve as barriers for employees, making it extremely difficult for them to access the courts. Moreover, these mechanisms make it fairly easy for judges to dismiss a case prior to trial. Americans are unaware of how the system operates partly because they think that race and gender discrimination are in the process of fading away. But such discrimination still happens in the workplace, and workers now have little recourse to fight it legally. By tracing the modern history of employment discrimination, Sperino and Thomas provide an authoritative account of how our legal system evolved into an institution that is inherently biased against workers making rights claims.

"The U.S. civil court system consists of three levels: 1) District Courts ("Trial Courts"), 2) Circuit Courts of Appeal ("appellate courts") and 3) the Supreme Court (see Figure 1.1). The United States has a total of 94 districts, representing distinct geographic regions (see Table 1.1). The number of districts varies by state. For instance, some states have only one district (e.g., Arizona, Colorado, Delaware), while others have multiple districts, such as California, Florida, and Michigan (e.g., Southern District of California, Central District of California)"--

Experiencing Employment Discrimination Law is written by two seasoned practitioners, one of whom is a law professor. The book is designed as both a tool of pedagogy as well as a book that students can take into practice. It begins with six "Threshold Questions" that must be asked and answered before a lawyer proceeds to determine whether the law has been violated. Other books bury these issues in unrelated sections; this book ties them together in one place. Before each case throughout the book, the authors include "X-Ray Questions" to help students understand what they should be asking themselves as they read the case. This feature allows instructors to spend less time laying the groundwork for understanding a case and more time discussing the case's import. The book also has many "Leaning Into Practice" sections based on challenging real-world fact patterns, which are designed to allow students to gain competence and confidence. These exercises can also be done in the classroom for instructors who want an alternative to the traditional case-summary method of teaching. Case selection focuses much more on interesting and engaging fact patterns and much less on stodgy majority, concurring, and dissenting Supreme Court opinions. These are the types of cases that practicing lawyers will use and interpret in their daily work. Through its "Beyond the Cite" sections, the book looks at a wide variety of contemporary issues such as whether prohibitions on certain hair styles constitute a proxy for racial discrimination. The mix of cases, exercises, and reading materials will provide a stimulating fulcrum to meet the pedagogical goals of different instructors. The book is written in a down-to-earth, highly readable style that will resonate with students, while still demonstrating a commitment to deep intellectual rigor.

Like all the other volumes in the Stories collection, this book provides students with a three dimensional picture of the most important cases that are addressed in nearly every employment discrimination casebook and course. These stories give the students and faculty members a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural background of the cases and an insight into their long term impact on the development of employment discrimination law.

This casebook is a pluralistic and yet concise introduction to the doctrine and theory of employment discrimination law. The new edition covers all the recent Supreme Court decisions and federal legislation in this field, including the ADA Amendments Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and it analyzes the effect of these developments on prior decisions of the Supreme Court. It covers discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, sex, religion, age, and disability, and provides economic and political analysis from a wide range of different perspectives, both liberal and conservative. Comprehensive notes survey the current state of the law, raise questions for class discussion, and address the continuing controversies in this field. A Teacher's Manual contains brief summaries of all cases, offers additional commentary on selected issues, and provides further questions for students beyond those provided in the casebook itself. A supplemental CD is available with PowerPoint slides, a text of cases, and statutes. The Teacher's Manual is also offered on CD, thus allowing professors to modify the materials as desired.