» discrimination

Escalating legal action against domestic surveillance

The ongoing revelations about spying on United States citizens here at home as well as on the nation’s key allies abroad have caused a political uproar that has triggered, for example, the abrupt expulsion of the Central Intelligence Agency(“CIA�… Read More

Supreme Court continues trend of ruling for employees in retaliation cases

The Supreme Court just decided a landmark case, Lawson v. FMR, concerning whether the law protecting employees of public companies also protects employees of private corporations. The law at issue is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which Congress enacted in… Read More

Pursuit of medical leave claims may become more difficult

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… Read More

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

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

Opening doors by closing the box

For years, people who served time for a crime they committed have had difficulty finding steady employment that enables them to reenter society as productive contributors. One of the main ways that a person’s criminal record has continued to limit… Read More

Closing the courthouse doors?

In another example of legal maneuvering, lawyers representing employers and other defendants in civil matters are seeking to change the rules of the game so that it is more difficult to have one’s day in court. These corporate agents want to change… Read More

Immigration reform: short on details, long on consequences

With the re-election of Barack Obama as President, Washington, DC and much of the country have refocused attention on the nation’s broken immigration system. The renewed attention on how we should best address the presence of approximately 12 milli… Read More