President Obama Selects Sotomayor for Supreme Court

 According to reports, President Obama has chosen Judge Sonia Sotomayor of a Federal Court of Appeals based in New York as his nominee for the Supreme Court.  If confirmed, she will become the Court's first Hispanic Justice.  

Judge Sotomayor as authored numerous opinions on civil rights and employment law issues.  Recently her opinion in Ricci v. DeStefano (2009) has been getting a great deal of attention as it is currently on appeal to the Supreme Court.  Ricci...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Does Title VII Provide Protection to the Transgendered?

Here is an indication that the courts' previous reluctance to read Title VII as providing protection to the transgendered may be starting to weaken.  The price tag for a recent U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia transgender Title VII case: $491,190.80; Schroer v. Billington, 1:05-cv-01090-JR (D.D.C. April 28, 2009).


In this case an employer (the U.S. government) retracted an offer of employment after learning that the individual it offered the job to was in the process of...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Supreme Court: Collective Bargaining Agreements Can Waive Employees' Right to Trial by Jury

In a set back for unionized employees, the Supreme Court holds in a 5-4 decision ( 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, No. 07-581 (April 1, 2009)) that where a collective bargaining agreement clearly and unmistakably assigns statutory discrimination claims to arbitration, the employee in the bargaining unit loses the right to proceed with an individual civil action and is left with arbitration as his or her only remedy.

The Plaintiffs in this case were members of the Service Employees...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Fifth Circuit: Getting Groped by a Supervisor Isn't Harassment If it Only Happens Once

In Paul v. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decides that a jury need not be bothered with a sexual harassment case because, after all, the supervisor only groped the the plaintiff once. 

Here is the Court's description of the relevant facts of the case (which for the purposes of this summary judgment motion must be accepted as true): 


Paul [the plaintiff] alleges that, on that day, Barattini walked up to her until his chest

was touching hers, thus...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Obama Reportedly Selects Thomas Saenz for DOJ Civil Rights Division

The Los Angeles Daily Journal is reporting that President Obama has selected Thomas Saenz to head the civil rights division at the Department of Justice.

Saenz, 42, the former vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Los Angeles, is currently serving as counsel to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

As yet, this is not confirmed by anyone at DOJ. 

Hat Tip: WSJ Law Blog

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Giants' Mays, lawyer Dees to receive honorary degrees (The San Francisco Examiner)

SAN FRANCISCO � Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays, along with civil-rights lawyer Morris Dees, will receive honorary degrees at the San Francisco State University commencement ceremony May 23.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Iraq shoe-thrower's jail term cut to one year: lawyer (Zawya)

BAGHDAD, Apr 07, 2009 (AFP) - The Iraqi journalist who shot to fame for hurling his shoes at former US president George W. Bush has had his three-year jail term reduced to one year on appeal, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]