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Is Title VII \u3e IX?: Does Title VII Preempt Title IX Sex Discrimination Claims in Higher Ed Employment?
Get PDFAcross all job sectors, women working full-time earned about 80 percent of what men earned in 2016. Within higher education this gender gap persists in salary, hiring, promotions, and other aspects of academic employment. Professors can seemingly attempt to remedy this under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or Title IX of the Education Amendments, both of which prohibit sex discrimination in higher education. Circuits, however, have split as to whether Title VII preempts Title IX in actions for employment discrimination in higher education.
The Third Circuit revived this split in Doe v. Mercy Catholic Medical Center, and joined the First and Fourth Circuits in holding that employees in the education sector can pursue sex discrimination claims under either Title VII or Title IX. The Fifth and Seventh Circuits, in contrast, have determined that Title VII preempts Title IX entirely. This Comment argues that, despite Title IX’s ambiguity, it provides employee-plaintiffs a right of action to sue their universities for sex discrimination without Title VII preemption, allowing plaintiffs the flexibility to choose under which statute to pursue their claims for relief. Because Title VII and Title IX differ so greatly in their administrative requirements, filing deadlines, and available remedies, this opportunity for choice grants plaintiff-employees the critical opportunity to choose strategically the method that will best relieve and restore their interests
130th Commencement Address
No full textThe commencement address was offered by The Honorable William T. Newman Jr., chief judge on the Circuit Court of Arlington County. Judge Newman grew up in Arlington, Va., and earned his J.D. at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in 1977, after studying theater and political science as an undergraduate at Ohio University. Since 1993, he has been a judge of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 17th Judicial Circuit, covering Arlington County and Falls Church. In 2003, he was named Chief Judge. Washingtonian magazine has named him one of the best trial judges in the area. He is also an accomplished actor who has appeared on stage and screen. Judge Newman has been a member of the Law School’s Board of Visitors since 2016, and in 2003 was awarded an Alumni Award by the Black Law Students Association. In 2017, he was given the Distinguished Alumni Award. A summary of the event is available here
Refugees – Whose Responsibility?
No full textMark Hetfield was appointed President and CEO of HIAS after a 30-year career, much of it served at HIAS, most recently as the agency’s senior vice president of policy and programs. An expert in refugee and immigration law, policy, and programs, Hetfield has led HIAS’ transformation from an organization focused on Jewish immigrants to a global agency assisting refugees of all faiths and ethnicities. As a result, HIAS currently is a major implementing partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency and the U.S. Department of State. A summary of the event is available here
The Immediacy of Genome Editing and Mitochondrial Replacement
Get PDFAfter human DNA was first defined in 1953, the parallel science of assisted reproductive technology achieved a successful human birth through in vitro fertilization in 1978. Science then went on to facilitate gestational surrogacy, banking human reproductive materials, such as embryos, and greater opportunities for couples and individuals to become parents. Fertility clinics were established throughout the world to help persons and couples achieve parenthood, contributing to a steady increase in babies born through assisted reproductive means. Gradually, both federal and state laws in the United States were enacted to collect data from the fertility clinics, mandate insurance coverage of assisted reproductive procedures, prohibit funding for human embryo research, and either forbid or enable surrogacy contracts. Societal changes occurred, too, including marriage entitlement for same-sex couples, a dramatic rise in the number of nonmarital cohabitants, and the rapid pace of scientific achievements related to human reproduction.
Throughout this evolutionary period there was a concomitant increase in transnational scientific cooperation, illustrated by international committees and treaties. By utilizing medical tourism, individuals who could afford to do so imposed their own medical needs on foreign scientific communities. The global scientific community became increasingly aware that it was now possible to edit both the human genome and a woman\u27s egg to eliminate mitochondrial disease. Both genome editing and mitochondrial replacement have the potential to eliminate serious disease and vastly improve human society. Amidst this scientific optimism, companies that are able to harness the power of new technological achievements have opportunities for monetary gains. However, there are also drawbacks which include the ethical and moral concerns over possible misuse of human materials; the opportunity to create designer babies; the unknown ramifications upon the human germline; the lack of consent of any resulting child; the disparity in the ability to pay for treatment; and the impact on the racial, gender, and the physical plurality existent in human society.
American legislation, illustrated by the federal Dickey-Wicker Amendment and its regulatory system, and as evidenced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u27s Coordinated Framework, is inattentive to the challenges posed by genome editing and mitochondrial replacement. In addition, international treaties and agreements are inapplicable to many countries and ineffective to regulate the research of privately funded scientists. For example, in spite of public condemnation, a baby boy was born in Mexico in 2016 following mitochondrial replacement; in 2018 twin girls were born in China following genome editing. This article addresses the scientific opportunities and challenges of recent developments precipitated by the immediacy of genome editing and mitochondrial replacement. Although scientific academies in the United States and the United Kingdom suggest caution, transparency, and international scrutiny, science advances at an accelerating pace. This article suggests immediate congressional involvement, an update to the federal regulatory process, and clear coordination with international scientific communities. Additionally, to safeguard the human values involved, this article suggests specific goals should apply to the construction of a functional pathway that addresses the human possibility and challenge in genome editing and mitochondrial replacement
The Direct Purchaser Requirement in Clayton Act Private Litigation: The Case of \u3ci\u3e Apple Inc. v. Pepper \u3c/i\u3e
Get PDFMore than fifty years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Hanover Shoe, Inc. v. United Shoe Machinery Corp. established the direct purchaser rule, the Supreme Court was provided with an opportunity in Apple Inc. v. Pepper to reevaluate and update the proximate cause standing requirement for litigation under § 4 of the Clayton Act. In the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision, the majority opinion established a rule that consumers who purchase directly from a monopolist satisfy the direct purchaser standing requirement notwithstanding the internal business structure of the monopolist. This interpretation of the direct purchaser rule, along with the recent reformulation of the proximate cause standing doctrine in Lexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., signals a more substantial change in the Supreme Court’s understanding of supply chains and competition that is more closely tailored to modern economic activity and electronic commerce
Administrative Power and Religious Liberty at the Supreme Court
Get PDFThe Supreme Court has recently seen an increase in the number of religious exercise cases in which the conflict was caused by an act of administrative power, rather than an act of legislative power. There are probably several reasons for this increase, including the growth, size, and flexibility of the administrative state, political convenience, and the fact that administrators tend to be specialists who may be unaware of or undervalue competing interests like religious liberty.
While the sheer size, reach, flexibility, and specialization of the administrative state means we will likely continue to see more religious exercise conflicts caused by administrative power--and while there remains a danger of excessive judicial deference to agencies in these cases--in the long run this development can be positive for religious liberty. That is because the same attributes that make the administrative state likely to come into more conflicts with religious exercise (namely size, reach, flexibility, and specialization) also virtually guarantee that administrators will almost always have additional, less burdensome ways of achieving policy goals without burdening religious exercise.
The net result will be more religious exercise cases and, at least in the short run, more courtroom losses for the administrative state. In the longer run, either agencies will learn from these losses and use their size and flexibility to pursue win-win solutions in which they achieve their policy goals while working around religious differences, or they will continue to lose cases and build up a stronger body of Free Exercise and RFRA precedents. There are recent indications that both the Department of Justice and individual agencies are learning this lesson, which suggests that both religious groups and agencies will be better off going forward
History Repeats Itself: Some New Faces Behind Sex Trafficking Are More Familiar Than You Think
Get PDFThis Essay argues that the historical pattern of businesses that benefit directly or indirectly from the slave trade opposing efforts to end that sale of human beings is repeating itself today. Some tech companies and other members of the digital economy face a perverse motivation: they profit indirectly from online sex trafficking and risk decreased profits from a more regulated Internet. As such, they take on the same role of the cotton and textile merchants of the nineteenth century, arguing for legislative action that will continue to enable the trade and exploitation of human beings, thereby allowing them to retain their uncompromised massive corporate profits. This Essay explores this historical pattern by examining how some actors in the tech industry in general have embarked on a campaign to protect an unregulated Internet at all costs, even the cost of children sold into sex trafficking. By focusing on recent developments regarding government efforts to disrupt online sex trafficking, this Essay demonstrates that these companies have combatted efforts to impede online sex trafficking before all three branches of government. Their methods include direct opposition to legal reforms and creating surrogates to advocate for their positions in courts by supporting companies engaged in sex trafficking. They also utilize their lobbying efforts in Congress and in the Executive Branch to advance an unregulated Internet agenda. The result of these efforts has been to stymy progress in combatting sex trafficking in the name of maintaining market dominance.
Part I of this Essay briefly reviews the history of the response of businesses that benefited from slavery to the abolitionist movement and examines parallel arguments made today by the business community and its surrogates to slow, if not cease, efforts to end exploitation. Part II examines how such business entities create a cadre of surrogates to advance arguments opposing regulation of the Internet—which are primarily rooted in benefits to their economic interests, and that ignore the cost of exploiting others. It then examines how these entities have directly, or through surrogates, opposed not only Internet regulation, but antitrafficking policies more generally in the name of economic advancement. This Part next focuses specifically on litigation surrounding the tech industry’s support of Craigslist and Backpage, some of the largest online sex trafficking figures—one of whom the Senate labeled as a company that knowingly facilitated child sex trafficking and whose CEO has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking. Finally, Part II examines how these companies directly lobby or utilize other entities to lobby the Legislature and Executive to obtain laws favorable to their business interests at a cost to sex trafficking victims
Political Contributions Through Text Message
No full textGreaf explained the benefits of text-to-give and text-to-donate include the speed and conveniences, while negatives include contribution limits, time it takes to receive the money, and security concerns. She highlighted notable text-to-give and text-to-donate campaigns such as the 2010 Haiti charitable event, Keep a Child Alive, and the NFL and United Way events. Greaf proposed that campaigns should be required not to use the text-to-give, but to use the text-to-donate. She also proposed that at a specific contribution levels, liability should be on the individual contributor and not the political committee. A summary of the event is available here
The Future of Data Privacy Regulation
No full textThe panel looked to the future of data privacy regulations. Discussions centered around the United States as an outliner regarding data privacy trends, the growing awareness and desire for data privacy regulations, and what to expect from future efforts to regulate data privacy in the United States as technology progresses and views on data privacy change