Thursday, September 25, 2008

How The Federal Courts Treat Employment Discrimination Plaintiffs

According to a new report, plaintiffs in employment discrimination lawsuits are not so successful in federal court. Something to think about for both employers and employees.

ACS hosted a panel discussion on a new article published in the Harvard Law and Policy Review that concluded that workers bringing employment discrimination lawsuits increasingly fare poorly in the federal courts.

Studying data from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, authors Stewart J. Schwab, dean of the Cornell Law School, and Kevin M. Clermont, law professor at the Cornell Law School, found that “the federal courts disfavor employment discrimination plaintiffs, who are now forswearing use of those courts.” The authors concluded that they’ve “unearthed an anti-plaintiff effect that is troublesome.”