Overlawyered » discrimination law

“The only times I saw her (Allred) was when the media was there.”

Walter Olson — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:41:54 +0000

Imagine that: a discontented Gloria Allred client, in this case Debrahlee Lorenzana, who filed a pioneering “fired because I looked too hot” suit against Citicorp in 2010. (Allred is now representing a second such client, against a Manhattan lingerie shop.) “Allred told the Daily News she and her team ‘put in hundreds of hours fighting for her (Lorenzana’s) rights.’” [Fox News]

And from comments: Ted Frank defends Gloria Allred.

Tags: discrimination law, Gloria Allred

“The only times I saw her (Allred) was when the media was there.” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Conscience, t-shirts and coercion

Walter Olson — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:07:55 +0000

A t-shirt company declined to print message shirts for the Lexington, Ky. gay rights organization, explaining that to do so would be contrary to its beliefs. The group proceeded to file a complaint with the Lexington Human Rights Commission, which says it intends to apply subpoena power and that the t-shirt printer faces fines under a city ordinance if found to have “discriminated.” [Eugene Volokh, Bruce MacQuain/QandO]

Tags: discrimination law, free speech, Kentucky

Conscience, t-shirts and coercion is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Iowa judge rejects theory of ‘implicit bias’”

Walter Olson — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:23:50 +0000

In a much-watched (earlier) lawsuit filed on behalf of a class of up to 6,000 blacks not hired or promoted by the state government of Iowa, a judge rejected a theory that hiring and promotion were tainted by unconscious “implicit” bias. Judge Robert Blink did not find persuasive the expert testimony proffered for the plaintiff’s theories, and said plaintiffs had not identified a particular discriminatory practice responsible for their situation as required by law. He also noted that blacks appeared to fare better in the state employment process than they did in private sector hiring. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller “noted that much of the case involved blacks who were passed over for jobs after sending in applications in which they did not list their race.” [AP/NPR, Des Moines Register]

P.S. Thanks to commenter wfjag for directing our attention to this December AP dispatch with its truly wince-making example of Lead Plaintiff Fail:

The lead plaintiff in a class-action discrimination lawsuit filed by black workers against the state of Iowa is expected to plead guilty Wednesday to using her position at Iowa Workforce Development to carry out a fraud scheme in which she embezzled $43,000 in benefits meant for jobless Iowans. … Her claims have been front and center during the lengthy litigation….

Tags: discrimination law, expert witnesses, Iowa

“Iowa judge rejects theory of ‘implicit bias’” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Iowa sued on charge of subconscious bias

Walter Olson — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:50:59 +0000

Class action lawyers are suing the government of Iowa on an theory that “subconscious” bias resulted in employment discrimination against black employees and job-seekers. “The plaintiffs — up to 6,000 African-Americans passed over for state jobs and promotions dating back to 2003 — do not say they faced overt racism or discriminatory hiring tests.” Instead, they are relying on the work of an expert witness who is the developer of something called an Implicit Associations Test meant to measure subconscious bias. The controversy invites courts to revisit some issues of statistical and indirect proof that came up, without necessarily being resolved, in the landmark Supreme Court case of Wal-Mart v. Dukes. [AP via Justin Shubow, FedSoc Blog]

Tags: discrimination law, expert witnesses, Iowa

Iowa sued on charge of subconscious bias is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Labor and employment roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:21:00 +0000

Two retaliation cases that should scare employers [Robin Shea via Jon Hyman]
Maryland law redefining independent contractors as employees vexes flooring business [Bethany Rodgers, Frederick News Post, editorial, earlier] New York Times on minimum wage 1987 vs. 2012: 1987 made more sense [Mark Perry] E-discovery drives up cost of wage and hour litigation [Jon Hyman]
Irony alert: “Unionized workers organize against National Labor Relations Board” [Adam Jablonowski, Daily Caller]
Proposals to create new rights for public employee unions [Ivan Osorio/CEI, federal; Jack Mann/CEI, California] Courtesy LA taxpayers, garage monitor at L.A. Department of Water & Power makes $74K/year as compared with $21K elsewhere [L.A. Times via Amy Alkon] Connecticut governor proceeds with plans to herd personal care attendants into union [Trey Kovacs/CEI]
Colorado measure regulating use of credit records in hiring is solution in search of problem [Mark Hillman, Colorado Springs Gazette]
Connecticut proposal to ban unemployment discrimination heats up [Daniel Schwartz]
German high court orders universities to raise salaries for starting professors [Walter Russell Mead]

Tags: Colorado, Connecticut, discrimination law, Germany, labor unions, Los Angeles, Maryland, public employment, wage and hour suits, workplace

Labor and employment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

February 17 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:38:53 +0000

Mortgage robo-signing settlement not actually as punitive toward the banks as you might think, succeeds in sticking costs onto various parties not at table [FT, more (US taxpayers could wind up covering much of write-down costs through HAMP program); Felix Salmon (write-downs of underwater mortgages should not be assessed at face value); Mark Calabria, Cato and more, Bloomberg (banks managing to offload much of the cramdown onto investors such as pension funds); Daniel Fisher/Forbes one, two, three (banks get covert benefits, politicos get social engineering and fees -- shades of the collusive tobacco settlement!); Above the Law (Schneiderman steers money to legal services programs); Linette Lopez, BI (banks still exposed on many issues). More: Hans Bader, John Steele Gordon.
"Burned at mediation by my own Facebook post" [Stuart Mauney, Abnormal Use]
As anti-discrimination law advances, religious liberty retreats [Roger Pilon, Cato] Two views on the birth control mandate [Cathy Young, David Henderson] More: Adler, Frum.
Caswell Motel case from Tewksbury, Mass. heads to court, could test forfeiture law [Balko] More: Washington Post editorial.
Which is more unreasonable, OSHA regulation or FAA’s? Open to dispute [John Cochrane, Grumpy Economist]
Indiana becomes a right to work state. On to Michigan next? [Shikha Dalmia, Reason]
Warning! Tale of trial psychologists in wizard garb comes from a sinister source, namely me ["In the News," forensic psychologist Karen Franklin, handsome illustration swiped from Cato site]

Tags: aviation, banks, discrimination law, Facebook, forfeiture, Indiana, labor unions, Michigan, mortgages, OSHA

February 17 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Employment law roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:12:54 +0000

Fueled by liberal foundation grants and federal money, “Restaurant Opportunities Center” launches litigation campaign against chain-eatery leader Darden [Orlando Sentinel] Still to be explained: why the Detroit Chamber of Commerce would be so happy to announce a business-backed non-profit’s funding for ROC.
Major employment plaintiff’s firm Outten & Golden promotes Hearst magazine intern class action [Romenesko, Reason]
“Retaliation Charges Pose Growing Threat to Free Speech” [Hans Bader, CEI]
Debate: “Should state outlaw requirements that job applicants be employed?” [Pia Lopez/Ben Boychuk, Sacramento Bee]
“Is it time to do away with McDonnell Douglas?” [burden-shifting test in job bias cases; Jon Hyman]
Supposed exemption from OSHA for under-10-employee businesses is mostly myth [Eric Conn, EBG]
WSJ is kind enough to pick up my item on Italian labor law professors as a “Notable and Quotable” today;
New York Times fires 23 employees after searching their emails and finding that they had forwarded blonde and ethnic jokes and other common forms of workplace humor [eleven years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: discrimination law, Ford Foundation, hostile environment, New York Times, OSHA, restaurants, wage and hour suits, workplace

Employment law roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Battered bank syndrome”

Walter Olson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:27:58 +0000

Bank of America keeps funding its racial-demagogy tormentors. [Investors Business Daily]

Tags: banks, discrimination law

“Battered bank syndrome” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Labor and employment law roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:12:05 +0000

NLRB rules employment contracts that specify arbitration for group grievances violate federal labor law even in nonunion workplaces [D. R. Horton, Inc. and Michael Cuda; Ross Runkel, Corporate Counsel]
Richard Epstein on “living wage” legislation [Defining Ideas]
In Greece, law providing early retirement for “hazardous” jobs was extended to some that are not so hazardous, like hairdressing, pastry making and radio announcing [Mark Steyn via Instapundit, IBTimes, Reuters]
“Prosecutor’s double-dippers draw millions from New Jersey pension funds” [Mark Lagerkvist, DC Examiner] Even if convicted on felony charges of misappropriation of public funds, Beverly Hills school superintendent unlikely to forfeit pension [LA Times]
“Against Forced Unionization of Independent Workers” [Ilya Shapiro on Cato amicus brief in Harris v. Quinn]
Whoops: UAW officials appeal extortion sentence, 6th Circuit sends it back as too lenient [AutoBlog via Kaus]
New York appeals court makes it harder to get weak NYC job-bias cases dismissed on summary judgment [Judy Greenwald, Business Insurance] Connecticut’s job-bias commission doesn’t seem to consider any cases frivolous any more [Daniel Schwartz]

Tags: arbitration, Connecticut, discrimination law, labor unions, New York, NYC, prosecution

Labor and employment law roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

At “Minding the Campus” on Iowa case

Walter Olson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:30:14 +0000

I’ve got a new piece up at Minding the Campus, the higher education reform site, with more to say about Teresa Wagner’s lawsuit against the University of Iowa College of Law charging ideological discrimination because of her conservative beliefs. Earlier here.

Tags: discrimination law, Iowa, law schools

At “Minding the Campus” on Iowa case is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system