The Bloomberg columnist explains his qualms about the law, playing off the Nicholas Spaeth case, in which a 60-year-old lawyer who had achieved a distinguished career in public office was turned down by every law school at which he sought to teach, and is suing many of them. “Was the law ever intended to protect baby boomers in no particular financial distress looking for a suitable capstone to a successful career?” And suits over hiring are of course the exception; rather more often, the law supplies the legal leverage to obtain a larger severance when someone bows out of such a career. I’ve written on the subject here (in Chapter 8 of The Excuse Factory), here, and here.
Tagged as:
age discrimination
- New York Times sets off furor with article on role of ABA accreditation in driving up law school costs, a theme explored by several recent authors including me in Schools for Misrule [David Segal/NYT, Somin, Bader/Examiner, Above the Law, Gideon Kanner, Matt Leichter/AmLaw, Macchiarola/Minding the Campus, Brian Tamanaha (on ABA dispute with fledgling Duncan Law School)] ABA president claims high tuitions unrelated to accreditation rules [Reuters]
- Related: “Data Show Feds Will Lend $54.3 Billion to U.S. Law Schools by 2020″ [Matt Leichter, AmLaw]
- The politics of the AALS, which just held its annual meeting in Washington [Bainbridge repost]
- Former North Dakota attorney general files spate of age bias suits after many schools turn him down for law professor position [TaxProf, earlier]
- “Some Words of Advice for Law Students, from 1811” [Kyle Graham (Santa Clara), guestblogging at Concurring Opinions last month; among topics of Graham's other posts were the famous tort case of Summers v. Tice and suspect kinds of law review articles]
- Prof. Lawrence Connell’s fight with Widener U. and its offended dean in “wild hypotheticals” case [Hans Bader/Minding The Campus, earlier here, here, etc.]
Tagged as:
age discrimination,
bar associations,
colleges and universities,
law schools
- Age discrimination law (including my views) discussed [Reihan Salam, NRO] “3d Cir.: Employees Fired for Pornographic Emails Lose Age-Discrimination Case” [Molly DiBianca]
- Will Obama administration lawsuit derail employer use of career-readiness certificates? [Charlotte Allen, Minding the Campus]
- A warning for Gov. Cuomo: “The case against pension-financed infrastructure” [Edward Zelinsky, OUP]
- EEOC is on the warpath and employers had better hope they escape unscathed [Hans Bader, CEI]
- Since we know unemployment extensions have no incentive effects, this story from the Midwest is purely imaginary [Marietta, Ohio Times, related]
- Court rejects “announcement of same sex marriage harassed me” hostile environment claim [Volokh] “Jobs with a higher risk of sexual harassment pay workers more” [WaPo] Half of all students harassed? Surprising it’s only half [Katie Roiphe, NYT]
- Funny-sad “666″ workplace suit: “The safety sticker of the beast” [Volokh]
- “Do you know what an employment lawsuit costs?” [Jon Hyman]
Tagged as:
age discrimination,
EEOC,
harassment law,
hostile environment,
unemployment benefits,
workplace
- More on prosecution of “jury nullification” activist Julian Heicklen [Brian Doherty, Tim Lynch/Cato, earlier]
- Age-bias litigant who complained about 88 year old judge is reassigned same judge [NYDN via Ellie K., earlier]
- Court certifies Nutella class action [Russell Jackson, earlier here and here]
- D.C. agency dismisses Banzhaf’s complaint about single-sex dorms at Catholic U. [Caron, earlier]
- After SCOTUS decision in Brown v. Plata, L.A. faces possible release of thousands of inmates [PoL, earlier here, here and here, Federalist Society panel]
- Cautionary tale of star attorney Stanley Chesley [Corporate Counsel] Ken Feinberg, Harvey Pitt back off expert avowals in Chesley cases [Robert Ambrogi] Judge Bamberger disbarred in Kentucky fen-phen scandal [ABA Journal]
- Texas doctor will surrender license in case where nurses faced false criminal charges [PoL, earlier]
- Mistrial in case of New Jersey lawyer Paul Bergrin [Star-Ledger, earlier]
Tagged as:
age discrimination,
jury nullification,
Kentucky fen-phen settlement fraud,
prisoners
In a new Reason symposium on how to revitalize the American job market, I explain my answer to that question.
More: This set off a round of discussion on employment blogs including Jon Hyman (nominating FLSA for vaporization), Suzanne Boy (concur), Daniel Schwartz (leave laws), Suzanne Lucas (citing “the fabulous Overlawyered.com”), the ABA Journal, Tim Eavenson, Jon Hyman again, HR Daily Report, and Russell Cawyer. Also relevant on age discrimination laws: a June symposium in the NYT’s “Room for Debate” feature; ComputerWorld on age bias and IT.
Tagged as:
accolades,
age discrimination,
wage and hour suits,
WO writings,
workplace
Former North Dakota Attorney General Nicholas Spaeth may face an uphill fight in a newly filed action alleging age discrimination in law faculty hiring, predicts Jeff Lipshaw [PrawfsBlawg, with comments]. Spaeth believes “more than 100 law schools discriminated against him by refusing to consider him for teaching jobs because of his age” despite an impressive earlier career in the law [ABA Journal]. Represented by attorney Lynne Bernabei, Spaeth has sued Michigan State and expects to add other schools as defendants. As Prawfsblawg commenters note, Spaeth’s underlying gripe may be with the overwhelmingly dominant model of law faculty hiring (reinforced by accreditation and rating pressures) in which expected future scholarly output, as opposed to, say, teaching excellence or even adequacy, tends to dominate hiring for tenured positions.
Tagged as:
age discrimination,
law schools
- Kagan to senators: please don’t confuse my views with Mark Tushnet’s or Harold Koh’s [Constitutional Law Prof]
- Too much like a Star Wars lightsaber? Lucasfilm sends a cease-and-desist to a laser pointer maker [Mystal, AtL]
- Ottawa, Canada: family files complaint “against trendy wine bar that turned away dinner party because it included 3mo baby” [Drew Halfnight, National Post]
- “House left Class Action Fairness Act alone in SPILL Act” [Wood/PoL, earlier]
- Not so indie? Filmmaker doing anti-Dole documentary on Nicaraguan banana workers says he took cash from big plaintiff’s law firm Provost Umphrey [AP/WaPo, WSJLawBlog, Erik Gardner/THREsq., new plaintiffs' charges against Dole]
- Will liability ruling result in closure of popular Connecticut recreational area? [Rick Green, Hartford Courant; earlier]
- Class action lawyer Sean Coffey, running for New York attorney general, has many generous supporters [NYDN, more, WNYC (Sen. Al Franken headlines closed fundraiser at Yale Club)]
- “Judge Reduces Damages Award by 90% in Boston Music Downloading Trial” [NLJ, earlier on Tenenbaum case]
Tagged as:
age discrimination,
Al Franken,
attorneys general,
banana pesticide litigation fraud,
BP Transocean oil spill,
Canada,
Connecticut,
Elena Kagan,
New York,
politics,
Provost Umphrey,
recreation,
restaurants,
RIAA and file sharing
- Charged $21K at purported “gentleman’s” club: “Plaintiff Has No Recollection of What Transpired in the Private Room” [Lowering the Bar]
- Census Bureau sued for discriminating against applicants based on criminal, arrest records [Clegg, NRO] Class action against Accenture for screening job applicants based on criminal records [Jon Hyman]
- Virtual indeed: “Virtual Freedom” author wants government to regulate Google’s search engine [ConcurOp]
- Contingency fees for public sector lawyering could take California down dangerous path [CJAC]
- “Harvard Law vs. free inquiry: Dean Martha Minow flunks the test” [Peter Berkowitz, Weekly Standard]
- There’ll always be an AAJ: seminar for trial lawyers on “Injuries Without Evidence” [ShopFloor] More: The Briefcase.
- Congress may expand law to enable more age-bias suits [BLT]
- “FTC Closes First Blogger Endorsement Investigation” [Balasubramani, Spam Notes; Citizen Media Law]
Tagged as:
AAJ,
age discrimination,
California,
contingent fee,
criminal records and hiring,
FTC endorsement rules,
Google,
Harvard,
search engines,
strippers and exotic dancers
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Mary Bassi was 56 when she was allegedly subjected to age-based discrimination at the Cover Girls club where she waited tables. “According to the lawsuit, which was filed last week in federal court, she was frequently called ‘old’ by managers and endured comments about experiencing menopause and showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease.” Younger waitresses were also given shifts that Bassi had customarily worked. An EEOC lawyer says Bassi had been a successful waitress and is now working in that capacity for a competitive club; Cover Girls burned down in 2007 and has not been rebuilt. [Houston Chronicle via Tim Eavenson; Richard Connelly, Houston Press "Hair Balls"] We’ve covered earlier age-bias complaints by exotic dancers themselves (as opposed to support staff) in 2000 and last year (both in Ontario, Canada).
Tagged as:
age discrimination,
Houston,
strippers and exotic dancers
“Lawyers said a ‘new breed’ of serial litigators was pouncing on ‘errors’ in job adverts, particularly referring to age, and taking advantages of weaknesses in the tribunal set-up to pursue discrimination claims.” One woman “was alleged to have made up to £100,000 from complaining that 22 companies had discriminated against her”, and even busier was a man who, according to one of his adversaries, was discovered to have filed around 50 complaints, many successful. A Law Society official dismissed talk of reform, saying, “Protecting employers who are not aware of the law is not a priority for the tribunals.” [Telegraph]
Tagged as:
age discrimination,
discrimination law,
United Kingdom
