Employment Resource Page

     "Glass ceiling" and employment discrimination cases are difficult to prove. It is also equally difficult to establish the necessary pattern of discrimination. It is the rare plaintiff who will be able to prove, with corroboration, that a company executive has stated that a minority is not moving ahead because of her race. Most cases are dependent on circumstantial evidence that examines a number of different factors, such as derogatory statements toward minority employees in the workplace, and comparison of qualifications between the non-promoted employee and the successful candidate. 

     It is our hope that the legal cases, law review and newspaper articles and web site links we have gathered may assist you in your analysis and allow you to develop your own informed opinion. This section of the race-conscious remedies resource site provides readers with many resources that will put employment discrimination in a clearer perspective.  This site not only provides readers with the historical context of the employment struggle for minorities, but also offers resources to alternative remedial measures to protect minorities in this day of civil rights retrenchment.  This site promises to be informative and enlightening on employment law and on the issues that face minorities in their careers as we approach the new millennium.

Employment Cases

Historical Cases

Most Recent Cases

Griggs v. Duke Power Co.,  
401 U.S. 424 (1971)

Craft v. Metromedia, Inc., 
766 F.2d 1205 (8th Cir. 1985)

McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 
411 U.S. 792 (1973)

Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education, 
476 U.S. 267 (1986)

Washington v. Davis,  
426 U.S. 229 (1976)

Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 
490 U.S. 228 (1989)

Franks v. Bowman Transportation  
Co., 
424 U.S. 747 (1976)

Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 
490 U.S. 642 (1989)

United Steelworkers of America v. Weber, 
443 U.S. 193 (1979)

Pierce v. Commonwealth Life Insurance Co.,  
40 F.3d 796 (6th Cir. 1994)

News Articles

Supreme Court Lets Fire Department Job Ruling Stand, Dallas Minority Employees Worried Over Fairness Outlook by Tawnell D. Hobbs, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Tuesday, March 30, 1999

Houston's Opponents Of Affirmative Action Take Crusade To Austin by Julie Mason, Houston Chronicle, Monday, March 8, 1999 

Book Review: The Realities of Affirmative Action in Employment by Barbara Reskin

Journal and Law Review Articles

Affirmative Action In Employment: It Works Well, It Is Necessary, And It Benefits America – This document seeks to dispel the numerous myths the opponents of gender and race-conscious programs have been promulgating by explaining what is legally permissible under affirmative action employment plans, and equally important, what is not permissible under such plans (quotas, preferring someone solely because of race or gender, and hiring unqualified individuals). 

Are Black Entertainers More Likely To Receive Unfair Contract Agreements Than Their White Counterparts? by Patrice L. Johnson, Independent Study, July 27, 1998 

EFFICIENCY-WAGES, TOURNAMENTS, AND DISCRIMINATION: A THEORY OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION LAW FOR "HIGH-LEVEL" JOBS by David Charny and G. Mitu Gulati  

Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, Winter, 1998, 33 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. 57

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AWASH IN CONFUSION: BACKWARD-LOOKING-FUTURE-ORIENTED JUSTIFICATIONS FOR RACE-CONSCIOUS MEASURES by Ann C. McGinley  

4 Roger Williams U. L. Rev. 209, Roger Williams University Law Review, Fall 1998

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT ON RACE AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION by J. Clay Smith, Jr.

42 How. L.J. 27, Howard Law Journal, Fall, 1998

PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS: THE CASE OF HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT by Michael Selmi  

45 UCLA L. Rev. 1401, UCLA Law Review, June, 1998

FRANCHISE SELECTION AND RETENTION: DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS by Robert W. Emerson  

40 Ariz. L. Rev. 511, Arizona Law Review, Summer 1998

THE LAST WAVE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION by Michelle Adams   

1998 Wis. L. Rev. 1395, Wisconsin Law Review, 1998

THE EMERGING CRONYISM DEFENSE AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN COLORBLIND AND RACE-CONSCIOUS DECISION MAKING UNDER TITLE VII by Ann C. McGinley 

Arizona Law Review, Fall, 1997, 39 Ariz. L. Rev. 1003

Affirmative Action: Diversity of Opinion, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, DIVERSITY, AND THE BLACK MIDDLE CLASS by Deborah C. Malamud  

University of Colorado Law Review, Fall 1997, 68 U. Colo. L. Rev. 939

SEX, RACE, AND CREDENTIALS: THE TRUTH ABOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN LAW FACULTY HIRING by Deborah Jones Merritt and Barbara F. Reskin  

Columbia Law Review, March, 1997, 97 Colum. L. Rev. 199

Racially Gerrymandering, The Content of Police Tests to Satisfy U.S. Justice Department: A Case Study by Linda S. Gottfredson 

Department of Educational Studies, University of Delaware, February 6, 1997

Symposium on Race and the Law: THE CASE FOR MAINTAINING AND ENCOURAGING THE USE OF VOLUNTARY AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT by Barbara J. Fick  

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy, 11 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y 159, 1997

Symposium: Race-Based Remedy, THE FUTURE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: RECLAIMING THE INNOVATIVE IDEAL by Susan Sturm and Lani Guinier  

84 Calif. L. Rev. 953, California Law Review, July, 1996 

WHY ARE THERE SO FEW BLACK LAWYERS IN CORPORATE LAW FIRMS? AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS by David B. Wilkins and G. Mitu Gulati  

California Law Review, May, 1996, 84 Calif. L. Rev. 493 

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: CAN TITLE VII HELP WOMEN AND MINORITIES SHATTER THE GLASS CEILING? by Ramona L. Paetzold and Rafael Gelu 

Houston Law Review, 1995, 31 Hous. L. Rev. 1517 

Employment Statistics and Government Studies

 Washington Post 

Food For Thought

Discussions on Topics of Interest in Employment

"The Problem of the Ineffectiveness of Employment Litigation: Alternatives to Litigation in Remedying Employment Discrimination"

Enter Food For Thought Instruction Page with a Link to Discussion Forum

Links to Other Employment Action Pages

American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA) – Founded in 1974, the American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA) is dedicated to the advancement of affirmative action, equal opportunity and the elimination of discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnic background or any other criterion that deprives people of opportunities to live and work. The organization's dedication is realized in its many activities designed to help Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) professionals be more successful and productive in their careers. This site contains a lot of other links to useful resources. 

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – The mission of the EEOC, as set forth in its strategic plan, is to promote equal opportunity in employment through administrative and judicial enforcement of the federal civil rights laws and through education and technical assistance.