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Equity has become a significant goal of every major institution in the United States. Yet equity is often vaguely defined and comprises multifaceted goals. The concept of equity, as a foil to treating everyone identically under formal equality, can both foster and undermine an institution's primary mission or other values. This paper will reckon with how institutions, especially legal academia, can balance equity against other institutional values. The proper balancing of equity with other institutional values is impeded by the difficulties of defining equity and the chilling effects institutional actors face in discussing these issues. This Article will first trace the concept of equity from its historical roots in Aristotle and the courts of equity, to modern anti-discrimination law, to critical theory scholarship. The paper will then define what I term procedural equity, which is focused on fairness of access and opportunities, and substantive equity, which is focused on fairness of results. These concepts of equity exist in some tension with an institution's other goals, such as efficiency, freedom of speech and inquiry, and classical liberal individual rights or other moral systems of justice. Critical to performing this balancing is an ability to discuss these issues openly, and institutions, especially academia, are not leaving sufficient spaces open for members to have diverging views on the different conceptions of equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an explosion of concern about the use of computers to make decisions affecting humans, from hiring to lending approvals to setting prison terms. Many have pointed out that using computer programs to make these decisions may result in the propagation of biases or otherwise lead to undesirable outcomes. Many have called for increased transparency and others have called for algorithms to be tuned to produce more racially balanced outcomes. Attention to the problem is likely to grow as computers make increasingly important and sophisticated decisions in our daily lives. Drawing on both the computer science and legal literature on algorithmic fairness, this paper makes four major contributions to the debate over algorithmic discrimination. First, it provides a legal response to a recent flurry of work in computer science seeking to incorporate "fairness" in algorithmic decision-makers by demonstrating that legal rules generally apply in the form of side constraints, not fairness functions that can be optimized. Second, by looking at the problem through the lens of discrimination law, the paper recognizes that the problems posed by computational decision-makers closely resemble the historical, institutional discrimination that discrimination law has evolved to control, a response to the claim that this problem is truly novel because it involves computerized decision-making. Third, the paper responds to calls for transparency in computational decision-making by demonstrating how transparency is unnecessary to providing accountability and that discrimination law itself provides a model for how to deal with cases of unfair algorithmic discrimination, with or without transparency. Fourth, the paper addresses a problem that has divided the literature on the topic: how to correct for discriminatory results produced by algorithms. Rather than seeing the problem as a binary one, I offer a third way, one that disaggregates the process of correcting algorithmic decision-makers into two separate decisions: a decision to reject an old process and a separate decision to adopt a new one. Those two decisions are subject to different legal requirements, providing added flexibility to firms and agencies seeking to avoid the worst kinds of discriminatory outcomes. Examples of disparate outcomes generated by algorithms combined with the novelty of computational decision-making are prompting many to push for new regulations to require algorithmic fairness. But, in the end, current discrimination law provides most of the answers for the wide variety of fairness-related claims likely to arise in the context of computational decision-makers, regardless of the specific technology underlying them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the scope of two nondiscrimination procedures in the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) stipulated in Articles 2(2) and 3, as well as the responsibilities of states parties to the Covenant. It was noted that Article 2(2) prohibits only those with distinctions for which no reasonable objective can be found and where no justifiable proportionality emerges between the means employed. Likewise, it was stressed that the listing of grounds of discrimination is merely illustrative, amidst the fact that the international community prioritize the eradication of racial and sexual discrimination. Furthermore, the state is asked to take affirmative action in implementing safety measures to all those involved in public activity.

This paper examines bilingual court proceedings in China, comparing China's approach on this issue to international standards in major treaties and agreements. Many of the principles of these international agreements are already in place and in use in China. China has adopted some practices transcending international standards such as prohibiting discrimination on grounds of language, informing the accused of his or her offence in his or her language, providing an interpreter at court proceedings and allowing a minority language to be used as an official language in minority regions. With the development of China's economy and the promotion of freedom of movement in China, the need for bilingual courts has greatly increased, particularly in minority regions. This paper explores bilingual judicial practice in China under the auspices of these international treaties. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper focuses its research attention on global algorithmic accountability and on governance for algorithms that is embedded in a human rights and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) framework. It looks at how algorithmic accountability can be affected across the 'life-cycle' of an algorithm by ensuring an adherence to core tenets of IHRL, norms and obligations. It looks at how core areas of Human Rights are affected by algorithms and argues that the profound intersection of public and private power, which contributes to the rise of algorithms in public services and business processes, requires a web of interactive legal frameworks that embrace administrative law, anti-discrimination law, data protection law, IHRL and the Ruggie Principles as well as core tenets of corporate law and corporate risk accountability in order to ensure a deep global accountability regime. Only such an interlocked and complimentary web of 'laws' enhanced for the digital age, with IHRL as its anchor, can ensure that algorithms serve humans and not the other way around. Additionally, the paper argues for a new permanent structure to be created within the United Nations Human Rights Council - an Algorithmic Accountability High Level Expert Network (AAHLEN) - that brings together technology skills and developers, human rights lawyers, and public sector senior civil servants to ensure ongoing engagement with the evolution of algorithmic systems and AI and compliance with IHRL. Such an AAHLEN must become a new permanent feature of the United Nations Human Rights Council and must ensure this cross-section of skills builds a long-term Global Algorithmic Accountability system based on IHRL. This paper proposes that a collective meeting be convened of the various UN Special Rapporteurs, that have thus far dealt with the impact of algorithms on their mandate areas, and key algorithm developers and transnational civil society to explore the formation of an AAHLEN within the UN HRC. There is a clear need to ensure that human rights epistemic communities focus on the digital age's permanent impact on respecting and protecting Human Rights in an era of algorithms and AI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Direito e Práxis is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Direito e Práxis is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This paper examines whether and how labour market duality can be alleviated through legislation that prohibits discrimination based on employment type. Design/methodology/approach: In 2007, the Korean government undertook a labour reform banning discriminatory treatment against fixed-term, part-time and dispatched workers. By exploiting a gradual implementation of the anti-discrimination law by firm size targeting a subset of non-regular workers, the paper identifies the treatment effects of the anti-discrimination law, taking a difference-in-difference-in-differences approach. Findings: The results suggest that the anti-discrimination law significantly increases hourly wages and the probabilities of being covered by national pension, health insurance, and employment insurance for targeted non-regular workers in small firms relative to other workers. Anticipatory behaviours of employers and selective transitions of employees in response to the implementation of the anti-discrimination law do not underlie the estimated effects. The presence of labour unions contributes to reducing gaps in labour conditions between regular workers and targeted non-regular workers. Originality/value: The main contribution of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on causal impacts of equal pay legislation on the gaps in labour conditions between different categories of workers, using a difference-in-difference-in-differences estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem definition: We use a realistically large, publicly available data set from a global fintech lender to simulate the impact of different antidiscrimination laws and their corresponding data management and model-building regimes on gender-based discrimination in the nonmortgage fintech lending setting. Academic/practical relevance: Our paper extends the conceptual understanding of model-based discrimination from computer science to a realistic context that simulates the situations faced by fintech lenders in practice, where advanced machine learning (ML) techniques are used with high-dimensional, feature-rich, highly multicollinear data. We provide technically and legally permissible approaches for firms to reduce discrimination across different antidiscrimination regimes whilst managing profitability. Methodology: We train statistical and ML models on a large and realistically rich publicly available data set to simulate different antidiscrimination regimes and measure their impact on model quality and firm profitability. We use ML explainability techniques to understand the drivers of ML discrimination. Results: We find that regimes that prohibit the use of gender (like those in the United States) substantially increase discrimination and slightly decrease firm profitability. We observe that ML models are less discriminatory, of better predictive quality, and more profitable compared with traditional statistical models like logistic regression. Unlike omitted variable bias—which drives discrimination in statistical models—ML discrimination is driven by changes in the model training procedure, including feature engineering and feature selection, when gender is excluded. We observe that down sampling the training data to rebalance gender, gender-aware hyperparameter selection, and up sampling the training data to rebalance gender all reduce discrimination, with varying trade-offs in predictive quality and firm profitability. Probabilistic gender proxy modeling (imputing applicant gender) further reduces discrimination with negligible impact on predictive quality and a slight increase in firm profitability. Managerial implications: A rethink is required of the antidiscrimination laws, specifically with respect to the collection and use of protected attributes for ML models. Firms should be able to collect protected attributes to, at minimum, measure discrimination and ideally, take steps to reduce it. Increased data access should come with greater accountability for firms. History: This paper has been accepted for the Manufacturing & Service Operations Management Special Section on Responsible Research in Operations Management. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1108. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the underpinnings of religious freedom in Australia today. It does so by revisiting two High Court cases that explored the scope of section 116 of the Constitution and its impact on the law-making powers of the Commonwealth. It highlights afresh aspects of the state and federal anti-discrimination provisions that constrain religious expression. It examines the report of the Ruddock review into religious freedom carried out in 2018. It reviews the 2019 Israel Folau imbroglio. The paper concludes with some observations about the way in which the current religious freedom Bills proffered by the Morrison government for debate in 2020 do not disturb the symbiotic relationship that exists between religion and law in Australia today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I study the impact of legal differences in state employment nondiscrimination acts (ENDAs) for gay men and lesbian women on labor market outcomes. Employing a DDD approach, I show that enacting an employment non-discrimination act is associated with increased wages of gay men and decreased employment of lesbian women. If all employment non-discrimination acts are treated as identical, these laws increased the hourly wages of gay men by 2.7% and decreased the employment of lesbian women by 1.7% and their hours worked by 0.7 hours. The results show that the strength of the law can result in heteroge-neous effects of the laws for gay men, but not for lesbian women. ENDAs with both punitive and compensatory damage provisions resulted in smaller wage increases for gay men than ENDAs with only compensatory damage provisions. ENDAs with longer statutes of limitations for complaints increased the employment of gay men, whereas laws with shorter statutes of limitations decreased employment. Based on the estimates from the state-level employment non-discrimination acts, I argue that extending federal protections under Title VII would lead to a small increase in the wages of gay men, but would significantly reduce the employment of lesbian women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africans with albinism are among the most marginalised and vulnerable citizens yet very little attention is paid to protecting them from human rights violations. There have been several calls by people with albinism in South Africa to be classified as disabled. The question of whether albinism is classified as a disability or not is a controversial legal one, which does not always have a straightforward answer. A literature search indicates that in South Africa no comprehensive and analytical study has been carried out on the subject of albinism and disability, whereas this has already been addressed in court cases in the United States of America. This paper anticipates addressing this gap within a legal perspective. The objective of such an analysis is to understand the construction of disability under the Employment Equity Act in order to shed light on whether people with albinism qualify for the protection, which is afforded to people with disabilities in the work place. Foreign case law and international human rights law could shed new light on this longstanding grey area or stimulate the development of novel legal analytical strategies. This paper reviews the nature of disability claims in the workplace on grounds of albinism in the United States context, including factors contributing to disability claims; assessing the degree of impairment and the guidelines in assessing albinism related disability. Prior to this discussion, the paper explores the current working definition of disability in South Africa, which stems from the IMATU case, which relied significantly on a foreign precedent; the Sutton v United Airlines case as there was no indigenous precedent in South Africa to fall back on. It will be argued that the Sutton v United Airlines decision, referred to in the IMATU case is based on an insufficiently inclusive definition of disability. Specific cases that relied on the Sutton v United Airlines decision as a persuasive authority in determining whether albinism is a disability or not, will also be examined. While the United States of America has struck down the decision in the Sutton v United Airlines and amended its legislation to include a broader and less restrictive definition of disability, which includes present as well as past conditions and a subjective component of perceived disability, the South African definition of disability still remains narrow and less inclusive. The United States of America's amended legislation does not contain an exhaustive definition of disability; rather, an equality-based framework was chosen which considers changing biomedical, social and technological developments. This new definition highlights the fact that the emphasis must be on whether discrimination occurred rather than adherence to a strict definition of disability. Such a framework of disability includes a socio-political aspect, which places emphasis on human dignity, respect and the right to equality. Against this background, the comparative analysis raises specific issues that deserve attention, in particular that the unique disadvantages and negative stereotyping suffered by people with albinism should be recognised as unlawful conduct against people with disabilities as defined by legislation. Put differently, the discussion calls for a broader approach to viewing disability, which includes both a social and a human rights perspective. In taking the position that albinism related discrimination is socially constructed, the article also explores the mandate of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in as far as it relates to the social construction of disability. The paper argues that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities affords a direction for an analysis of the discrimination faced by persons with albinism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing availability of genetic testing in the clinical, research, and direct-to-consumer realms has caused people to fear that they will be discriminated against for their genes. In response, Congress passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits the use of genetic information in much of health insurance and employment. Importantly, this prohibition does not apply to life, long-term care, and disability insurance. While these lines of insurance are not federally prohibited from using an individual's genetic information, several states do regulate use of genetic information in these insurance lines. This paper presents a comprehensive 50-state survey on regulation of how life, long-term care, and disability insurers can use genetic information. Overall, it shows that the use of genetic information in these lines of insurance is still relatively unregulated and that the divergent strategies adopted across states are both weak and problematic. Consistent and even regulation, whether from the federal government or through model legislation, is needed to adequately protect insurers and families alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the European Union (EU), anti-discrimination policies have developed an intersectional dimension in recent years, the traditional sectorial approach having neglected differences in terms of gender, race, age, social status, ability, sexual orientation, etc., within a given vulnerable or marginalised group. In parallel, European data protection law has been reformed and enriched with new instruments, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Considering that the collection and analysis of information that affects oppression dynamics ground the operationalisation of the intersectionality principle, European data protection law could play a pivotal role in enabling it. Nowadays, the GDPR grants specific protection to some special categories of data (which include racial or ethnic origin, genetic data, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation, etc.) that, to a certain extent, overlap with the information that ought to be disaggregated in accordance with the intersectionality principle. The processing of these data is forbidden unless one of the exceptions foreseen in Article 9(2) GDPR applies. Yet, are these exceptions framed in a way to promote or undermine intersectionality? And, in general, what is the approach followed by EU data protection law towards intersectional discrimination matters? Building upon a review of data protection and anti-discrimination laws and legal literature, as well as policy documents, this paper will explore the interrelationships between the EU data protection law (in particular, the GDPR) and anti-discrimination law. After briefly sketching the specific challenges raised by intersectional discrimination, it delves into EU data protection law's understanding thereof, and compares the notions of sensitive data and protected grounds. Considering the importance of processing sensitive data to prevent and address (intersectional) discrimination, it will illustrate the rules applicable to sensitive data. It will then question the sufficiency of some of the exceptions ex Article 9(2) GDPR, focusing on the so-called 'substantial public interest exception', deemed the most relevant for intersectionality matters. Finally, it reflects upon the enforcement mechanisms set by the GDPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increasingly sophisticated antidiscrimination laws, discrimination and inequality have proved remarkably resilient. This prompts questions about the limits of law's ability to achieve social change. One way forward is to fashion new legal tools, which impose duties to promote or achieve equality, rather than focusing on individual rights against specific perpetrators. In the past decade in Britain, such fourth generation equality laws have been developed in a distinctive format, requiring the decision-maker to "have due regard" to equality, rather than taking action to achieve such objectives. This standard has triggered a spate of judicial review cases, particularly in response to austerity measures imposing deep budgetary cuts on disadvantaged groups. This Paper's aims are two-fold. The first is to examine the judicial approach to the due regard standard in the light of recent regulatory theory. Do courts consider the due regard standard as a signal for deference, or can it be understood as an example of "reflexive law," facilitating deliberative decision-making rather than imposing external standards likely to meet with resistance from the regulated body? The Paper concludes that courts have struggled to deal with the regulatory challenges presented by the "due regard" standard, wavering between appropriate and inappropriate intervention. The second aim is an analysis of whether a deliberative standard is appropriate in the equality context. The record of judicial review cases demonstrates that such a standard risks legitimating or simply reconfiguring existing inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios de Derecho is the property of Estudios de Derecho and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Direito e Práxis is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court's struggle with corporate identity through an in-depth look at the Justices' papers in First Amendment cases over the past forty years. It mentions decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission on refusing to design a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple violated the state's antidiscrimination law. It also mentions objections to the enforcement of state antidiscrimination laws.

International gender wage gaps Discrimination, if it is inefficient, can be eliminated by competition. In most countries, it is also forbidden by law. This paper evaluates the influence of economic and legal factors on the portion of male-female wage differentials that is not explained by other worker characteristics and may be due to discrimination. We use a new international data set of suitable gender wage gap measures, constructed from the results of existing studies. Meta-analysis of the data shows that increased competition and adoption of international conventions concerning equal treatment laws both reduce gender wage gaps, while legislation that prevents women from performing strenuous or dangerous jobs tends to increase it. — Doris Weichselbaumer and Rudolf Winter-Ebmer [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of countries allowing same-sex marriage is gradually increasing. Currently, 37 countries have laws regulating same-sex marriages, specifying their status and/or the possibility of adopting children. These solutions counter discrimination against same-sex couples and are part of the protection of human rights. Against the background of other countries, the pan-European tendency to accept the institution of same-sex marriage is garnering positive attention, although it is still controversial in some countries. Regulations of European law and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights and the constitutional courts, which play an essential role in anti-discrimination measures and are in favour of respecting human rights, provide crucial support. This article discusses the evolution of the jurisprudence of the ECtHR, the CJEU and the national courts of selected countries (Slovenia, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Austria) concerning same-sex marriage. It highlights how recognising the right to same-sex marriage does not come at the expense of the rights of others or the public interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the legal aspects of religious freedom in America in relation to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the case Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm’n which deals with cake designer Jack Phillip's decision to reject a request to create a same-sex marriage wedding cake. It states that the court ruled in Phillip's favor and found that the defendant violated his free exercise of religion rights. Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act is assessed.

The underlying rationale for prohibiting discrimination continues to be subject to significant debate. This debate leads to a lack of clarity with respect to the kinds of harms anti-discrimination law is designed to prevent and the kinds of behaviours it is designed to capture. A frequent criticism of the Australian courts' approach to discrimination law is that it fails to grapple with the underlying purpose of anti-discrimination law. The consequence of this failure is a jurisprudence that is underdeveloped. This paper makes a different argument. This article argues that the Australian courts can and do give a purposive interpretation to anti-discrimination law but the purpose that the courts draw on lacks an underpinning coherence or consistency. This paper will make this argument by considering three recent Australian appellate court decisions on disability discrimination to consider the different ways in which the court exhibits an understanding of the purpose of anti-discrimination law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that in several recent EEO cases, lawyers and the courts have not used as powerful a statistical test of discrimination as they could have. The author describes two methods for combining into a single measure the results of statistical analysis of each of several data sets common in EEO cases, such as the hiring or promotion rates of minorities and majorities in each of several occupations in a company. He argues that these methods--combining one-sample binomial tests and the Mantel-Haenszel procedure--are more appropriate and usually more powerful than other tests of significance, such as Fisher's, that have been used in many EEO cases. He illustrates his argument with data from several of those cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews domestic and international activism seeking justice for Romani and other women harmed by coercive, forced, and involuntary sterilization in the former Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic. Framed by Michel Foucault's theory of biopower, it summarizes the history of these abuses and describes human rights campaigns involving domestic and international litigation, advocacy, and grassroots activism, as well as the responses of the Czech governments. The paper describes how legal and policy work during the past decade has led to recognition of coercive, forced, and involuntary sterilization as a present-day human rights issue worldwide, to the adoption of new guidelines on female sterilization, and to a joint statement on the issue by seven UN agencies. Relying on academic literature, reports by domestic and international human rights groups, state investigations, judgments from Czech courts and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), media reports, and the experience of the authors, who have been allies of the Romani women harmed in the Czech Republic since 2005 and 2012, respectively, the paper describes the current state of play with respect to achieving redress for them, including current conceptual, legal, political, and social obstacles and their antecedents in 20th century notions of population control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We exploit the staggered passage of state-level fair-employment laws in the post-World War II period to examine how stronger worker protection against racial discrimination affects firm profitability and financing decisions. We find that firms experience a decline in operating profitability after the passage of anti-discrimination laws. We also document that the adoption of these laws leads to a reduction in debt ratios, which suggests that firms are able to partially offset the negative effects on operating profitability by adjusting their capital structure. Consistent with theoretical predictions, these effects of anti-discrimination laws are more pronounced for firms in states and cities with a greater proportion of African Americans, firms with high labor intensity, firms in states experiencing high African American migration, and firms in concentrated industries. Some of our evidence suggests that anti-discrimination laws lead to a reduction in statistical discrimination or monopsony power rather than taste-based discrimination. Taken together, our results are supportive of theoretical models of discrimination and show that racial discrimination laws significantly affect firm operating performance and financial policies. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores regional discrimination as a quasiform of racial discrimination and compares anti-discrimination laws in the U.S. and United Kingdom (UK), as well as international human rights law and Chinese laws' protection against regional discrimination. Topics discussed include lack of protection in the U.S., absence of protection in the UK, emerging international academic focus on classism, overlap between race, class and region, and potential of disparate impact claims as remedy.

For over two hundred years of Supreme Court doctrine, judges and scholars have tried to figure out how the Court's rulings impact ordinary citizens. Yet the answers often seem to depend on whose opinion or even which press releases you read. How can we actually measure the consequences of constitutional decisions? This Article provides a new methodological inroad to this thicket--one which triangulates a nationwide field experiment, a longitudinal public opinion survey, and litigation-outcome analysis. We do so while focusing on a recent set of developments at the intersection of religious freedom and anti-discrimination law that transpired in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (2021). We find that Supreme Court decisions can have substantial behavioral and legal effects beyond a seemingly narrow holding. In Fulton, the Court avoided deciding the equality-religion conflict at the heart of the case for a fact-specific decision that should have been easy to circumvent. Yet our results suggest that the Court's audience focused on the bottom-line message of the decision rather than the holding. Across the nation, foster care agencies became less responsive to same-sex couples. The public became more supportive of religious service refusals. And courts and litigants resolved all open disputes between equality-seeking governments and refusing religious agencies in favor of the agencies. Our findings contribute to the development of an empirical approach to constitutional doctrine. Constitutional questions often require determining whether the harm to, or burden on, an individual or group is justified by a compelling state interest--and whether the means are narrowly tailored to that end. These tests often hinge on evidence, yet the Court rarely offers parties guidelines for substantiating their interests at the right level of precision. Our work provides both data and empirical tools that inform the application of this test in the realm of free exercise doctrine, equality law, and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the challenges faced by employees in the Czech Republic when seeking legal redress in cases of discrimination and unfair dismissal. It emphasizes the importance of accessible legal recourse as a means to rectify individual grievances and reinforce equitable employment practices. In the context of discrimination, the article discusses challenges such as low awareness of anti-discrimination rights and the ancillary nature of sanctions. Recommendations include aligning the Anti-Discrimination Act with the Civil Code, empowering NGOs or the Ombudsman to initiate lawsuits in the public interest, and raising awareness among potential victims. In the section on unfair dismissal, the article outlines the complex process involved in disputing terminations from an employee's perspective. It discusses obstacles such as complex, costly, and lengthy legal procedures and the requirement for reinstatement. These challenges contribute to the low number of employment lawsuits in the Czech Republic. Recommendations for improvement include enhancing the visibility of court actions, providing free or subsidized legal advice, shifting the focus of lawsuits towards monetary compensation, promoting mediation, and expediting proceedings. The article identifies common challenges in discrimination and unfair dismissal cases in the Czech Republic, highlighting the need for reforms to improve access to justice, reduce financial barriers, expedite legal proceedings, and enhance the dissuasive impact of remedies. These reforms are seen as essential for creating a fair and equitable workplace environment for all employees in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Paper explores the interrelationship between U.S. and EU disability discrimination law in terms of founding principles, implementation and practice. It addresses the evolution of a "civil rights" model (broadly based on a social construct of disability) which underpins discrimination law in the United States, and its subsequent adaptation in the EU context to fit with a broader European social model. This Paper also examines the role of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in furthering the shift from civil rights approaches to locating disability rights within a broader theory of social justice, and the significance of the EU's conclusion of procedures necessary to ratify the Convention. Finally, it offers some perspectives on the future of a transatlantic dialogue on ensuring that people with disabilities are viewed as rights-holders, supported, and enabled to exercise their rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a case study of the evolution of social closure as experienced within the teaching profession in public school education in New South Wales, Australia. It charts the changing development of social closure mechanisms, from state-sanctioned, formalized, collectivist mechanisms, to organization-based formal and informal mechanisms derived from individualist criteria. Drawing on an empirical research project that examined the individual experiences of social closure amongst a group of school teachers, this paper finds that there is potential for both collective and individual resistance, or the development of ‘usurpationary’ strategies, at both the formal and the informal level. Detailed study of changing social closure strategies, and the strategies employed to resist social closure, canprovide a more in-depth and nuanced understanding of how discrimination continues to operate in workplaces despite the existence of anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Collected Papers of Zagreb Law Faculty / Zbornik Pravnog Fakulteta u Zagrebu is the property of Sveuciliste u Zagrebu, Pravni Fakultet and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the issue of unequal protections for workers in employment discrimination cases. The author argues that the current remedies of back pay and front pay fail to deter discrimination equally for all workers. Less specialized workers, who can quickly find new employment, receive smaller damages because they are expected to mitigate their losses. On the other hand, highly specialized workers who struggle to find new jobs receive larger damages. The author proposes the introduction of a mandatory civil penalty in addition to back pay and front pay to ensure that employers face financial consequences for discrimination, regardless of the worker's ability to mitigate. The article also discusses the need to update the punitive damage scale in Title VII to effectively deter employment discrimination. The proposal suggests adjusting the penalty based on the size of the employer and replacing optional punitive damages with mandatory civil penalties. [Extracted from the article]

A corporation controlled by a majority shareholder may engage in selfdealings that harm the interests of the minority shareholders. If a minority shareholder challenges the decision in court, what should be the appropriate methods for judicial decision-making? Theoretically, courts can choose between balancing or structured decision-making. Existing studies show that balancing has signifcant advantages over structured decision procedures in antitrust, discrimination law, and constitutional law. This article develops an economic theory to illustrate the advantages of structured decision-making in the context of corporate law. In Delaware, courts have adopted the structured decision-making method in the protection of minority shareholders. The underlying rationale for Delaware courts’ approach can be illustrated using the law and economics theory of property rule and liability rule protection for minority rights. Delaware courts have essentially applied a combination of property rules and liability rules, an approach that this article refers to as “structured pliability rules,” to protect minority shareholders. Courts can incorporate the consent of minority shareholders into their judicial rulings through the implementation of structured decision-making approaches, thereby altering the probabilities of success for various parties depending on whether the decision has received approval from a majority of minority shareholders. The theory of structured pliability rules presented in this article has significant explanatory and normative implications. It explains the underlying rationale of Delaware law regarding self-dealings, offers normative guidance for the design of judicial decision-making methods in appraisal actions, and provides insights on enhancing corporate law in other jurisdictions. Furthermore, this article contends that structured pliability rules should extend beyond corporate self-dealings and be applied in other scenarios involving majority-minority conficts. It further explores the potential application of structured pliability rules in the judicial review of constitutional law pertaining to takings. In cases where a government intends to expropriate private lands, courts should employ distinct decision-making rules based on the level of approval among the affected landowners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respect for patient autonomy is a critical concept in the training of all physicians. Most physicians will make clinical recommendations on a daily basis that reflect a marriage of evidence-based medical fact and the deeply felt aspirations and boundaries that patients share with them. While most physicians are well versed and comfortable managing issues of patient autonomy, many are less confident about ethical and legal guidelines for expressing their own autonomy in clinical decision-making. This paper will review the legal landscape surrounding the patient-physician relationship with a focus on when and how physicians can exercise their personal and professional autonomy in their clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After years of progress in terms of gender and sexual rights, since 2012 Europe is facing a so-called gender backlash – opposition directed to issues related to reproductive policies and abortion, violence against women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) rights and gay marriages, gender mainstreaming and sex education at schools as well as antidiscrimination policies. In this article, firstly, by taking the anti-gender developments as point of reference, I examine the emergence of anti-gender movement in Europe via the use of what I call troll science. Troll science is based on (distorted) scientific arguments moulded into populist discourse, creating an alternative narrative on the conceptions of gender equality. Similar to troll accounts posting provocative, superfluous and even off-topic messages on social media to start arguments and quarrels aiming to distract, troll science, I argue, creates an alternative narrative opposing the scientific facts and discourses (i.e. climate change, evolution, vaccination and gender theory). Later, I discuss the emerging conservative troll-scientific discourses and the gendered public normative order of Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP; Justice and Development Party) government, under the New Turkey. I previously argued that New Turkey and the society under the party's rule perpetuated by a new set of standards create an alternative narrative on the conceptions of gender equality through troll-science narratives. I concluded by showing how such ideological discourses help create emotional echo chambers – enabling its fast distribution and acceptance by the ideologically conservative groups. Contribution: This paper contributes to the Special Collection Gender Justice, Health and Human Development with the theory of troll-science it introduces to discuss the alternative and anti-gender scientific discourse that is dominating academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to a longstanding definition of non-discrimination, differential treatment does not constitute discrimination if the purpose or effect of the differential treatment is to achieve a legitimate aim and if the differential treatment can be objectively and reasonably justified. This characterization reflects what Wouter Vandenhole has described as the "widely-used pragmatic definition of discrimination." In mental health policy, one important application of this definition pertains to the disputed question of whether coercive psychiatric interventions constitute discrimination on the basis of disability. In this paper, I consider whether the well-established pragmatic definition of discrimination remains valid in light of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). I review evidence from the convention, from the general comment on equality and non-discrimination published by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and from the committee's adjudication of individual allegations of discrimination. I conclude that the CRPD and its treaty body send mixed signals in relation to the pragmatic definition: The convention itself is silent as regards the pragmatic definition, and while the committee has in some instances invoked it, it also seems to be pointing toward a new approach that goes beyond the pragmatic definition. I survey three possible alternatives to the pragmatic definition, tracing each to suggestions in the jurisprudence of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and illustrating how each can be applied in determining whether coercive psychiatry is discriminatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the nationality non-discrimination provision in Serbian double taxation treaties. First the author analyses the historical development of the nationality non-discrimination clause found the in the OECD Model Tax Convention and illustrates the dilemmas related to its interpretation, particularly the relevance of residence of taxpayers for comparability purposes and the application of Art. 24.1 of the OECD Model Tax Convention. Subsequently, the author turns his attention to the solutions found in Serbian double taxation treaties which are methodologically divided into three groups. One of them stands out as the most notable, being unique in global terms: double taxation treaties which provide for a prohibition of discriminatory treatment based on residence. The author critically addresses the fundamental flaws of the Serbian double taxation treaty policy which are recognized thorough a detailed scrutiny of the relevant norms of these international agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The paper analyzes the whole system of legal norms regulating the electoral matter in order to determine the actual scope of the implementation of international standards " full and effective equality "of members of national minorities in the political life in Serbia. Sufficiency of the measures of positive discrimination in electoral law of the Republic of Serbia is focused on two questions. The first question relates to the regulation of the number of signatures required for the determination and declaration of election lists. The second question relates to the applicability of legal electoral threshold or minimum requirements in terms of the number of votes which must be received for participating in the distribution of seats in case of parties of national minorities. There were very serious differences about these issues in practice and it also had the practical consequences. Legal rules in the election matter only know the exclusion of legal electoral threshold in the final stage of the selection process as a measure of positive discrimination. This is the sufficient measure by which the members of national minorities could be put on an equal position with members of the national majority in the race to win seats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article examines the experience of law reform in the field of sexual orientation discrimination in Central Europe, focusing mainly on Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. It seeks to analyze the interplay of European antidiscrimination and equality law with developments in other fields such as labor law, family law, political rights jurisprudence and criminal law, which have a potential impact upon the evolution of gay and lesbian rights. Based on an analysis of the interplay of antidiscrimination law with such other areas of legal and judicial decision-making, the paper argues that progressive developments in sexual orientation law in the jurisdictions examined are better explained by reference to the actions of influential "veto-players" in the political process, rather than by the assumption of a new societal or political consensus reflected in the legal reforms introduced. A change in the relative powers of such veto-players in the domestic legal and political field due to the appearance of new actors or even new elections provides an alternative and plausible explanation for the withdrawal and silence of those who might otherwise be expected to block sexual orientation law reform. Further, to the extent that silence on the part of veto-players is not based on the elimination of long-held prejudice or a profound change in attitudes and values, it should be recognized that the inaction of veto-players may be temporary and cannot be taken for granted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of recent disputes opposing USA and China, this article discusses the validity of measures taken by China, based on the public morals exception, to regulate the importation of publications and audiovisual products. On 19 January 2010, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) adopted the Appellate Body's report on China - Measures Affecting Trading Rights and Distribution Services for Certain Publications and Audiovisual Entertainment Products (hereinafter referred to as China -Audiovisual Services). In the report, the Appellate Body ruled against a number of trade restrictions introduced by China related to the importation and distribution of certain products, consisting of reading materials, audiovisual products, sound recordings and films for theatrical release. China, as the importing country, has classified the aforementioned products as "cultural goods" and imposed relatively tougher regulation on the importation of these kinds of goods; the United States, on the other hand, insisted that certain trade control measures of China on "cultural goods" constituted unjustifiable discrimination among countries. Among all the issues raised in this case, the application of "public morals exception" might be one of the most controversial points and thus will be the major concern of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Cultural competence, the ability to work in cross-cultural situations, has been acknowledged as a core skill for physiotherapists and other health professionals. Literature in this area has focused on the rationale for physiotherapists to provide culturally-competent care and the effectiveness of various educational strategies to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge about cultural competence by physiotherapists and physiotherapy students. However, there is a paucity of research on how students with different cultural needs, who are attending one university class, can be accommodated within a framework of learning core physiotherapy skills to achieve professional standards. Results: This paper reports on steps which were taken to resolve the specific needs of a culturally-diverse body of first year physiotherapy students, and the impact this had on teaching in a new physiotherapy program located in Greater Western Sydney, Australia. Physiotherapy legislative, accreditation and registration requirements were considered in addition to anti-discrimination legislation and the four ethical principles of decision making. Conclusions: Reflection on this issue and the steps taken to resolve it has resulted in the development of a generic framework which focuses on providing quality and equitable physiotherapy education opportunities to all students. This framework is generalizable to other health professions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Politica y Sociedad is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Professor Deborah Eisenberg on Maryland's employment discrimination laws, another by Professor Michael Hayes on the rights of employees, and Cynthia Calvert on family responsibility discrimination.

The article comments on the paper, "Sameness, Subordination, and Perfectionism: Toward a More Complete Theory of Employment Discrimination Law," by Kim Yuracko in this issue. It is argued that Yuracko might be able to provide certain key points without all the theoretical overlay. Yuracko is encouraged to consider her real aims and to distance herself from the causal claims on which she had focused on her paper.

The article comments on the paper "What Is Wrongful Discrimination?," by Richard Arneson in this issue. It is pointed out that the paper is confusing because Arneson is trying to examine wrongful discrimination using a deontological morality when he believes that this kind of morality cannot be endorsed by him.