» civil rights
The revolution will not be televised
May 18th, 2014
Although in slow motion, a revolution has come to light with the 60th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). In Brown, a unanimous Supreme Court struck down the separate-but-equal doctr…
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Categories: Blog
Open season on democracy and the rule of law
April 14th, 2014
The Supreme Court received intense criticism from many quarters after it decided Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010). In that 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court sharply reduced the restrictions on political campaign contr…
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Categories: Blog
Strength in diversity and multi-faceted advocacy
March 24th, 2014
Many labor, employment law, civil rights, and consumer protection advocates have become concerned about the evidently growing power of well-financed interests aligned against them. The dysfunction in Congress and elsewhere in Washington, D.C. has mad…
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Categories: Blog
Pursuit of medical leave claims may become more difficult
February 23rd, 2014
When the Supreme Court decided Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009), lawyers representing employers and other defendants declared that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 had essentially been nullified. According to these employment and civil rights…
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Categories: Blog
A rare victory before the Supreme Court for consumers and the public interest
January 26th, 2014
As has been discussed in prior postings here, the Supreme Court has typically decided matters before it in a way that favors corporations to the detriment of employees, civil rights, or consumer protection. In a case brought by the Attorney General o…
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Categories: Blog
Employment litigation in 2014: mostly more of the same
January 15th, 2014
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…
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Categories: Blog
Spymaster smack-down
December 21st, 2013
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…
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Categories: Blog
Walmart feeling the heat as winter approaches
November 27th, 2013
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…
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Categories: Blog
What is discrimination?
November 11th, 2013
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…
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Categories: Blog
Civil rights in the crosshairs yet again
October 30th, 2013
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…
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Categories: Blog
