This Monday, the nation celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. If he hadn’t been murdered, he would be 91 years old. How would Dr. King view today’s activists? The words to his “I Have a Dream” speech will be repeated from podiums and in classrooms across the country. But many of the people repeating …
The Public Shearing of Andrew Johnson’s Dreadlocks In December 2018, a video showed a white high school trainer in New Jersey cutting dreadlocks from 16-year old African American wrestler, Andrew Johnson. The lead referee had instructed him, ‘Cut your hair in the next 90 seconds, or you will be banned from today’s competition.’ The image …
Discrimination Based on Hair Styles is Now Illegal Under California Law Read More »
African Americans in particular find that their afros, cornrows and dreadlocks are held against them at school and when applying for jobs. Employers in California no longer will be allowed to reject job candidates because they dislike their curls, coils, kinks or locks, after the governor signed a first-of-its-kind bill outlawing hair discrimination. The new measure, signed …
When is a hairstyle not just a hairstyle? When it’s a pretext for discrimination. Read More »
When Walmart announced in January that it was “in-sourcing” its Elwood, Illinois, distribution center, workers were cautiously optimistic. Since it opened in 2006, the 3.4 million-square-foot warehouse has been operated by Schneider Logistics, a third-party contractor, which in turn hired workers through temp agencies. Walmart’s plan to absorb several of its outsourced warehouses nationwide meant …
Black Workers Say Walmart’s Background Checks Are Racially Discriminatory Read More »
When Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he would leave the Supreme Court last June, he gave a giant middle finger to millions of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans who saw the Court slowly begin to respect their humanity. Though Kennedy was very conservative on most issues, he was relatively moderate on gay rights questions, and often joined …
Supreme Court will decide if it is legal to fire someone for being LGBTQ Read More »
Nebraska is one of more than two dozen states that have no LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections at the state level. That’s not changing anytime soon, as a bill to create employment protections came to an abrupt end this week. State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks (D) introduced LB 627 in January this year. The legislation would have …
‘Religious freedom’ arguments kill Nebraska’s LGBTQ employment protections bill Read More »
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a gay employee’s case alleging sex discrimination in the workplace could proceed, reversing a lower court ruling and establishing a new precedent that could help protect embattled non-heterosexual workers in the future. The court also ruled on a separate but similar case involving a transgender student who claimed …
Missouri Supreme Court opens the door to LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections Read More »
A federal judge in Virginia ruled Friday that the U.S. military must suspend its practice of discharging service members because they have HIV. The injunction followed a lawsuit filed by two airmen who learned in November that they would not be permitted to continuing serving in the military because of their HIV status. This is …
Federal judge blocks military from discharging service members with HIV Read More »
Scott Philips-Gartner of Norfolk, Virginia tendered his resignation from the Norfolk Fire Department one year ago, after a 27-year career. He said it was because he was allegedly about to be fired for being gay. Now, he’s suing the city. A U.S. Navy veteran with war-time service, Gartner started working for Norfolk back in 1991 …
The Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling on Janus vs. AFSCME, which could have far-reaching consequences for the future of public-sector unions in the United States. The case has sparked a wide-ranging debate within the labor movement about how to deal with the “free-rider problem” of union members who benefit from collective bargaining agreements …
After Janus, Should Unions Abandon Exclusive Representation? Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
