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The following news articles might be of interest to you as you research your legal problem. For advice about your legal situation, contact us today.


Civil Rights Newsletters

Disparate Treatment in the Employment of the Disabled

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of an employee or a job applicant’s disability. Specifically, the ADA protects a “qualified individual with a disability.” In considering a disparate treatment claim by an employee with a disability, courts seek to determine whether the disabled employee was treated less favorably than other employees who were not disabled.

Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Expression in the Public Square

Because many aspects of religion involve the showing of religious symbols or the speaking of religious tenets and doctrines, issues of freedom of religion and freedom of expression often overlap. Free expression and civil rights advocates say that the United States Constitution protects religious expression and activity in the “public square.” Some advocates suggest, however, that courts, including the United States Supreme Court, have not followed the requirements of the First Amendment and have shown hostility toward religious expression in the public square since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act.

The Freedom of Religion in Prisons

The federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) says in part that no government shall impose a substantial burden on the religious exercise of anyone confined to a federally-funded government institution, including prisons and jails. RLUIPA requires prisons to accommodate the religions practiced by inmates. The law allows governmental authorities to interfere with religious practices only if they can show a “compelling governmental interest.” Often, prison security and discipline have been found to be sufficient reasons to restrict inmates’ religious practices.

The Proposed Flag Protection Amendment

Despite this recent history, some members of Congress are attempting to pass the Flag Protection Amendment to the Constitution. Critics say that if the amendment passes, it would be the first amendment to limit, rather than protect, the freedom of speech.

What is “Racial Profiling?”

Racial profiling is defined as the targeting of individuals or groups by law enforcement officials on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, or religion, except where there is trustworthy information that links the person or the group to an identified crime or scheme. The Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) racial profiling guidance permits the use of race and ethnicity in the identification of terrorists, but only to the extent permitted by federal law and the United States Constitution. The DOJ’s guidance prohibits law enforcement officers from using race or ethnicity in making routine or spontaneous enforcement decisions.


Employment Law Newsletters

Employer Monitoring of Employee’s Electronic Communications

Several decades ago, the question of whether employers could monitor employees’ communications was relatively simple. It was fairly well established that while employers could monitor business calls, they could not, with a few limited exceptions, eavesdrop on employees’ personal phone calls. Today, employee communication has become high-tech.

Federal Employee Labor Union Rights and Duties

Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, known as the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, sets forth the law under which federal agency employees may be represented by a union or other labor organization for collective bargaining purposes. Pursuant to the Statute, most federal agency employees are entitled to join or organize labor unions.

Parental Status Discrimination

(State Law)

Regulation of Common Situs Picketing–Neutral Sites

Picketing is a tool commonly used by labor unions to publicize the existence of a labor dispute with a particular employer. One type of picketing that garners particular scrutiny is common situs picketing, which occurs where an employer’s worksite that is targeted for union picketing is also the worksite of another employer.

The National Mediation Board

In 1926, Congress passed the Railway Labor Act (RLA) to govern the resolution of disputes within the railroad industry. The RLA was amended in 1934, and the National Mediation Board (NMB) was created. In 1936, the jurisdiction of the RLA was expanded to include the airline industry. The NMB is an independent federal agency tasked with enforcing and interpreting the RLA. This article summarizes the major functions of the NMB.