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Employment litigation in 2014: mostly more of the same

Much of the court caseloads in recent years has focused on class actions and collective actions prosecuted concerning wage-and-hour violations as opposed to discrimination, retaliation, harassment, or other civil rights claims. For over a decade, in… Read More

Spymaster smack-down

In the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001, President George Bush instituted perhaps the largest and most aggressive expansion ever of domestic surveillance. It is especially noteworthy, then, that one of his judicial appointments has issued an… Read More

Walmart feeling the heat as winter approaches

This is typically the season to be merry for big box retailers like Walmart, which reap enormous profits at the end of each year. The world’s largest retailer, however, now faces a number of problems related to how it treats its employees. Only day… Read More

What is discrimination?

The law defines illegal discrimination as treating someone less favorably – regarding wages, employee benefits, or other terms of employment – because of a protected status, such as race, sex, age, disability, religion, and national origin. The s… Read More

Civil rights in the crosshairs yet again

Michigan, which has been embroiled in significant anti-union activity, adopted a referendum banning affirmative action – underscoring againa the connection between labor rights and civil rights. In other words, the recently adopted Proposal 2 – w… Read More

Access to the civil justice system increasingly at risk

An expanding campaign about legal technicalities, if successful, would have real consequences for plaintiffs and their counsel: further limitations on effective prosecution of, and meaningful damages recoveries in, employment law, civil rights, and c… Read More

More judicial activism from the Supreme Court

The time-honored practice of the Supreme Court has been to take cases for review when there is a significant disagreement among the Circuit Courts of Appeals about how to apply a legal principle. Not anymore evidently, at least when it comes to civil… Read More

The labor movement forward

In the past year, workers and their allies in the larger communities have been coalescing around the cause for a living wage and workplace fairness generally. The organizing and related job actions by these employees across the nation have included u… Read More

ALEC turns 40 and continues to subvert the legal system

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the best known of several highly ideological bill mills that are designated as charities for tax purposes despite being dominated by some of the wealthiest corporations in the world. ALEC recently c… Read More

Are banksters finally being held accountable?

Many are familiar with the proverbial golden rule: do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Some have put a twist on the golden rule to say it now means that those with the gold make the rules. The behavior that led to the financial meltd… Read More