Rutherglen's Employment Discrimination Law, Visions of Equality in Theory and Doctrine, 6th (Concepts and Insights Series)
Also available in the Study Aids CollectionDescription
This book provides an introduction to the field of employment discrimination law, both at the abstract level of theory and at the concrete level of doctrine. It is as much an introduction for experienced lawyers and scholars who come to this field with a thorough knowledge of other aspects of the law as for law students who have just begun preparing for their careers. The leading decisions of the Supreme Court receive a comprehensive analysis, in terms both of theory and doctrine, putting them in the context of the relevant statutory provisions and other judicial decisions. This book offers three different theoretical perspectives–based on history, economics, and critical social theory–to explain both the complexities and the tensions inherent in existing law.
Since the last edition of this book, developments have only accelerated as the Supreme Court has decided a series of constitutional decisions with wider and more profound implications for employment discrimination law. Currently pending before the Court is an individual claim of reverse discrimination, which follows hard on the heels of decisions invalidating most forms of affirmative action in higher education. These decisions have implications for class claims of intentional discrimination and of disparate impact, both heavily dependent on statistical evidence of discrimination.
The renewed controversy over abortion, now taking place mainly at the state level, continues to pose problems for employers trying to comply with both state and federal law. Recently enacted statutes, like the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, seemingly cushion the potential impact of the abortion decision, but in complicating efforts at compliance. Working out the consequences of the Court’s recent constitutional decisions comes down to a delicate balance between theory and practice: theory in preserving a commitment to equal opportunity, and practice, in recognizing that the forms this commitment takes has shifted to more conservative conceptions of equality.
Since the last edition of this book, developments have only accelerated as the Supreme Court has decided a series of constitutional decisions with wider and more profound implications for employment discrimination law. Currently pending before the Court is an individual claim of reverse discrimination, which follows hard on the heels of decisions invalidating most forms of affirmative action in higher education. These decisions have implications for class claims of intentional discrimination and of disparate impact, both heavily dependent on statistical evidence of discrimination.
The renewed controversy over abortion, now taking place mainly at the state level, continues to pose problems for employers trying to comply with both state and federal law. Recently enacted statutes, like the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, seemingly cushion the potential impact of the abortion decision, but in complicating efforts at compliance. Working out the consequences of the Court’s recent constitutional decisions comes down to a delicate balance between theory and practice: theory in preserving a commitment to equal opportunity, and practice, in recognizing that the forms this commitment takes has shifted to more conservative conceptions of equality.