EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION LAW
The world of business has seen dramatic changes to say the least. Many of the changes in the business world can be attributed to huge advancements in technology and science. While others may be attributed to the globalization of the modern world which continues to bring diverse cultures together. Whatever the cause of a changing business environment one thing is certain; the laws governing the business world must take account of the new changes. Such advancements have been extremely beneficial for how business is conducted however, with these new business practices and standards comes new laws and regulations that have to be developed. Business law has become increasingly more complicated and diverse in the issues that arise in that context. Therefore, a business law attorney must stay informed about current developments and the always changing laws in this field. Just as the business environment changes and evolves, so does the employment environment and law. Consequently all areas of employment law are affected, a major area of concern being employment discrimination. Employment discrimination is an area that continues to grow as our society advances and therefore it is an area of law that is continually changing and morphing to include, not only the traditional forms of discrimination, but the new forms of discrimination as they come to pass in the workplace.
Employment Discrimination laws seek to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, physical disability, marital status, pregnancy, child-birth, use of medical leave, sexual preference (orientation) and age (over 40) by employers. Discriminatory practices include bias in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, compensation, and various types of harassment. The main body of employment discrimination laws is composed of federal and state statutes. The United States Constitution and some state constitutions provide additional protection where the employer is a governmental body or the government has taken significant steps to foster the discriminatory practice of the employer. Discrimination in employment is not a new concept, however as more time goes on we are seeing new forms of the old practice. Employment discrimination cases are the second largest case load in every federal circuit court in the United States. Everyday new decisions are being handed down on a wide range of employment discrimination cases. That is why employment discrimination attorney must have access to the newest case law and regulations to be able to effectively give legal advice.
A business law attorney must stay informed of the new develops and law so that they are capable of providing the best advice possible to their business clients. For a business attorney specializing in employment law not only is it important to have an understanding of how employment discrimination litigation was established, it is also important to be aware of the constant develops in the area and the new federal and state laws that are created. The following resources are going to provide any business attorney with the information they need to stay informed on the latest employment discrimination developments.
The process by which the following resources were located include a wide range of tools. Utilizing the electronic resources found on the Washburn Law Library Web site I was able to access BNA's Labor and Employment Law Library which provided me with many extensive resources, some of which I have included. Additionally, I was familiar with Nolo's from class discussions and did a search on Nolo's Web site found helpful information and decided to include this resource because it was very easy to read for any researcher, not just for someone with a law degree. Other resources were found doing extensive research on the Internet, specifically searching publisher Web pages. After finding resources on the Web I was able to track them using ATLAS to find the resources in the law library to further evaluate them. While selecting resources for this bibliography I made an effort to include resources that, not only are accessible by law students and legal professionals, but are also available for the general public to research. The most difficult part of evaluating the resources was narrowing it down to ten resources because there is a wealth of information out there. However, I decided to select resources that I believe would be the most helpful to an employment law researcher. The majority of the resources that I include are updated periodically, as opposed to books which do not include the must current information. The purpose of this annotated bibliography is to assist a researcher in finding the most current and thorough information available in the area of employment discrimination.
Websites
Labor and Employment Law Resource on the Internet available at: http://www.llrx.com/features/laborlaw.htm
This is an excellent web site for finding employment law resources on the Internet and is a gateway resource for a researcher in finding multiple sources on the subject of employment discrimination. This site contains a survey of labor related sources in FindLaw, Hieros Gamos, Cornell's Legal Information Institute, labor related government and non-government Web sites. This resource covers free Internet resources and therefore would be particularly beneficial for a business law pratitioner who does not have the funds to subscribe to the fee-based resources. This site is maintained by Alyssa Rosen who serves as a Reference librarian and has received a law degree from New York University School of Law.
Nolo's Advice on Employment Law available at: http://www.nolo.com
This Web site provides free information and advice on an assortment of legal topics. It is particularly helpful for a researcher wanting to get information on business law as the site has a section dedicated to business and human resources. Within the business and human resources section is a subsection devoted to employment law. Information found in this subsection is geared to individuals who are not as informed as an employment lawyer typically is who specializes with in the field. Specific to employment discrimination, the Web site provides numerous articles on such areas as race discrimination, religious discrimination, gender discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination and so on. Additionally, the site provides advice on how to handle discrimination complaints.
Labor and Employment Law Library available at: http://laborandemploymentlaw.bna.com/lelw/
This online library provides extensive coverage of employment law, with features designed to speed research and help a practitioner find the best information for his or her needs. The online law library is updated monthly and contains practice resources and primary materials covering national and state labor and employment law topics. Once at this site, a researcher is able to customize the site with his or her choice of links to the Labor and Employmnet Law Library's collections. A link that would be of particular significance to an employment discrimination attorney is the Practice Tools link. This link includes model employment policies, along with legal pointers, for creating or revising clients' employee handbooks and policy statements, as well as a collection of checklists, model letters, memos, and forms that employment attorneys can adapt for use in their practices. Additionally, a researcher can sign up for daily E-mail highlights from the Daily Labor Report.
Newsletters
Fair Measures, Inc. Newsletter available for subscription at: http://www.fairmeasures.com/ask/enews/default.asp
This free newsletter focuses on employment law and is published monthly by the lawyers at Fair Measures. Fair Measures specializes in training executives and managers in management practices and in training all employees to create fair and respectful workplace. This would be a great reference for a practitioner to use to advise businesses and other employers because it provides specialized training in management practices that prevent costly lawsuits, including employment discrimination claims. Specifically, a business law pratitioner can compare how other attorneys have handled their employment discrimination cases to evaluate his or her own potential cases. This newsletter can also be received through email. I found by this resource by surfing the Washlaw legal newsletters section. Once there, I saw that its description included highlights on changes in employment law then went to the Web site to learn more.
Find Law Labor and Employment Law Newsletter available for subscription at: http://newsletters.findlaw.com/nl/
Find Law issues a free newsletter for registered FindLaw users. A registered user would be able to have access to daily opinion summaries regarding employment and labor law. Offerings include recent case law, message boards, legal news and topical web guides. A business law researcher has the ability to create a customized page tailored to his or her specific information and research needs. This would be an unique newsletter for a business law researcher to subscribe to because not all newsletters offer the researcher the capability to pick and choose what is to be included within the newsletter.
Looseleaf Services
West, Manual on Employment Discrimination and Civil Rights Actions in the Federal Courts (2nd ed. 2007).
The author of this loose leaf is Charles R. Richey and it is published by West, a Thompson Company. It is a semi-annual supplement and 2 volumes. 1994-date. The author is a distinguished federal district court judge and provides thorough analysis of various topics. This would be a helpful and ideal manual to have around as an employment discrimination attorney due to the fact that most discrimination cases that arise involve violations of the Civil Rights Act. Additionally, the fact that this is written by a judge provides an additional perspective and might make this manual more appealing to a practitioner than others that are out there.
West, Employment Discrimination Coordinator (1993-date. ) 8 vols.
This thorough 8 volume set provides discussion and analysis of federal and state employment discrimination in both public and private employment. This resource is kept current with monthly updates and a bi-weekly newsletter. Included in this Coordinator is a state-by-state analysis of unjust dismissal issues, areas with significant differences between state and federal law, the newest legislation and latest changes in federal and state regulations, all underlying rules on employment discrimination, and complete citations to controlling authorities. The state-by-state analysis is an unique feature not found in all resources and allows a business law researcher to track a question across state lines. Originally written by a team of top employment and discrimination specialists in Washington, D.C.
Practitioner's Guides
CCH, EEOC Compliance Manual (2007).
This practitioner's guide features the full text of the EEOC's Manual of current guidelines and directives for bringing and settling job discrimination lawsuits against employers. The Manual interprets the law for all forms of discrimination—sexual harassment, age discrimination, and more—while explaining unlawful practices. Demonstrations on how to formulate conciliation agreements and offer appropriate remedies, instructions for accepting, investigating and processing discrimination charges, and cross references to relevant case cites are also featured. This guide is in the form of one loose-leaf volumne and is updated periodically. Limited parts of this guide are available for free on the EEOC's Web site.
Treatises
Harold S. Lewis, Jr. & Elizabeth J. Norman, Employment Discrimination Law and Practice, Thomson West (2nd ed. 2004).
This useful hornbook is written by Mr. Lewis, a Professor of Law from Mercer University and, Ms. Norman, a member of the Georgia Bar. This resource surveys the claims, defenses, procedures and remedies fundamental to an understanding of the contemporary federal law of employment discrimination. This is an excellent resource to have around because it provides the history of employment discrimination litigation and how it has evolved over the years and gives the researcher an understanding of how things have developed in the field.
Lex K. Larson, Esq., Larson on Employment Discrimination, Matthew Bender (2nd ed. Nov. 2006).
This comprehensive analytical work is updated regularly and consequently a practitioner specializing in employment discrimination is kept up to speed on the continuing development of the law relating to employment discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability and union membership. The author is the President of Employment Law Research, Inc., a Durham, North Carolina organization that specializes in the study of workers' compensation, employment discrimination, and other facets of employment law. Additionally, he has taught employment law at Duke University School of Law and has authored five other treatises for Matthew Bender.
Comments (1)
RichardS said
at 4:55 pm on Mar 1, 2007
Looks good! I like the inset boxes. They really set off the descriptions. Maybe the images could be next to a matching topic.
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