» civil rights

Trending: paid leave, a living wage, and more?!

The United States is the only nation in the industrialized world that provides no paid time off at a country-wide level to new parents or, for that matter, to others needing family or medical leave. Fortunately, the deliberate dysfunction of Congress… Read More

Deliberate difference: the tragedy in Flint

Recent events have attracted widespread attention to a serious problem that has existed without much public outcry until now. Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan imposed an unelected city “manager” on the City of Flint several years ago. This unelec… Read More

Defendant gamesmanship curtailed in employment, civil rights, and consumer protection cases

Contrary to its typical approach in recent years, the Supreme Court ruled in a way that enhances enforcement activity in employment, civil rights, and consumer protection cases. Until this Supreme Court decision, in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, defen… Read More

The intersection of labor & employment law, civil rights, and consumer protection

Recent media reports have declared that forced labor taints the nation’s food supply chains, from farms in Western Africa and surrounding Southeast Asia to supermarkets in the United States. This is big business according to a United Nations study,… Read More

We all do better when we all do better

The recent Report issued by the National Employment Law Project, “The Growing Movement For 15,” documents the increasing successes in obtaining a living wage for employees around the country. In the process, the Report provides a compelling remin… Read More

Outsourcing the rule of law via the TPP agreement

Agents of numerous countries, led by the United States, have engaged in closed-door meetings about a secret agreement to create rights for foreign corporations and other “investors” to challenge domestic consumer protections, environmental provis… Read More

Converging efforts to shut down the corporate shell game

As the economy has become more globalized and volatile, a growing number of companies have sought to minimize liabilities while maximizing profits by using the corporate form to create supposed separation between closely related entities. This “sep… Read More

Fair housing protections remain robust

For a number of years, the Supreme Court has signaled its interest in deciding a case under Title VIII, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601, et seq., to address the viability of disparate impact doctrine. The disparate impact doctrine, also known as the discriminato… Read More

Religious protections expand in the workplace

In a closely watched employment law and civil rights case, the Supreme Court emphatically rejected the common employer argument that employees have no right to a religious accommodation in the workplace unless they explicitly ask for one. Justice Ant… Read More

Chicago agrees to pay millions to victims of police torture

The Chicago City Council unanimously voted in favor of paying $5.5 million in reparations to numerous citizens who suffered torture at the hands of certain members of the Chicago Police Department. The torture tactics reportedly used by the notorious… Read More