Discrimination

Subscribe to Discrimination via RSS

A recent decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals illustrates one of the many challenges in showing discrimination.  In Lawson v. Graphic Packaging International, Inc., No. 13-30205 (5th Cir. 12/13/13), the plaintiff (a Human Resources manager at a paper mill) attempted to show a pattern and practice of discrimination by testifying about other…

In a recent opinion, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has found that a sufficiently severe temporary impairment may constitute a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended.  Carl Summers hurt himself on the job.  He was carrying a large bag and injured both legs.  With a torn meniscus and a leg fracture…

There are reams of social science on what "discrimination" is.  How is it formed?  What level of bias rises to the level of "discrimination"?  These questions and more abound.  We see these questions regarding the hiring of Charley Strong, the first black head football coach at the University of Texas.  UT is famous or infamous…

Emails can reveal so much.  In an ongoing dispute between the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and the Brownsville Independent School District, the plaintiff obtained thousands of emails between various quasi-state officials.  The emails concerned Brownsville ISD’s requests for insurance coverage for damage caused by Hurricane Dolly in 2008.  The emails reveal frequent racist comments that…

People like to joke about a "hostile work environment."  But, what is an actual hostile work environment?  Essentially, hostile work environment means the discrimination is perpetrated by co-workers, not by supervisors.  A finding of a hostile work environment requires that 1) the employee belong to a protected group, 2) s/he was subjected to unwelcome harassment…

Justin Slaby has walked a long road.  He lost his left hand in an Army training accident in 2004.  He applied for and was accepted by the FBI.  He was then kicked out of the FBI Special Agent academy.  He filed suit based on disability discrimination and won. The court ruled that he should not…

Well, she said she would and now she has.  Coach Bev Kearney filed suit against the University of Texas alleging race discrimination.  She has filed suit alleging discrimination based on race and gender.  I previously wrote about her EEOC charge here and here.  In her lawsuit, she claims that she was treated differently than…

In the NFL, the older players haze the rookies.  It has been that way at least as long as there has been an NFL.  Like most rookies on the Miami Dolphin football team, Jonathan Martin, an African-American player was hazed.  Unlike most rookies (and now a second year player), he walked away from his NFL…

Two Atlanta area lawyers researched discrimination cases in the Northern District of Georgia.  They found among the cases filed in federal court, 80% were dismissed without a trial.  In a report published in the Oct. 20, 2013 edition of the Atlanta Journal Constotution, the lawyers looked at 181 discrimination cases alleging race, sex harassment, national…

The law must reflect the everyday reality of all Americans.  If the law is not grounded in reality, it is no longer "the law."  It becomes something oppressive.  Judge Tate, a long-time judge on the Fifth Circuit, used to say that an appellate decision should make sense to a barber in Ville Platte, Louisiana.  He…