Rights on Trial: How Workplace Discrimination Law Perpetuates Inequality

366 Pages·2017·1.75 MB·English

by  Ellen Berrey, Robert L. Nelson, Laura Beth Nielsen

Rights on Trial

Rights on Trial
How Workplace Discrimination Law
Perpetuates Inequality
ellen berrey, robert l. nelson,
and laur a beth nielsen
the university of chicago press chicago and london
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2017 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner what-
soever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles
and reviews. For more information, contact the University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th
St., Chicago, IL 60637.
Published 2017
Printed in the United States of America
26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 1 2 3 4 5
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 46671- 2 (cloth)
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 46685- 9 (paper)
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 46699- 6 (e- book)
doi: 10.7208/chicago/9780226466996.001.0001
The publication of this work was supported by the American Bar Foundation.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Berrey, Ellen, author. | Nelson, Robert L., 1952– author. | Nielsen, Laura Beth,
author.
Title: Rights on trial : how workplace discrimination law perpetuates inequality / Ellen
Berrey, Robert L. Nelson, Laura Beth Nielsen.
Description: Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2017. |
Includes  bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: lccn 2016049356 | isbn 9780226466712 (cloth : alk. paper) |
isbn 9780226466859 (pbk. : alk. paper) | isbn 9780226466996 (e-book)
Subjects: lcsh: Discrimination in employment—Law and legislation—United States. |
Discrimination in employment—Law and legislation—Economic aspects—United
States.
Classifi cation: lcc kf3464 .b477 2017 | ddc 344.7301/133—dc23 lc record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2016049356
This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48– 1992 (Permanence of Paper).
To Eli and Adela, that you know justice and work for peace
— EB
To my children and to Grandbaby Nelson (forthcoming)
— RLN
For Tyler Parsons, who loved justice and practiced k indness
wherever he went
— LBN

Contents
List of Tables and Figures ix
Online Appendix Table of Contents xi
Authors’ Note xiii
PART I. Introduction
chapter 1. Introduction: Putting Rights on Trial 3
chapter 2. Fifty Years of Employment Civil Rights 29
chapter 3. A Quantitative Analysis of Employment Civil Rights
Litigation: Case Characteristics, Plaintiff Characteristics,
and Legal Outcomes 54
PART II. Narratives of Employment Civil Rights Litigation
chapter 4. Workplace Wars: The Origins of Employment Civil
Rights Lawsuits in the Workplace 77
chapter 5. Representation and Race: Finding a Lawyer, Screen-
ing Clients, and the Production of Racial Disparities 109
chapter 6. Representing Rights: Lawyer- Client Relationships 130
chapter 7. Right Right, Wrong Plaintiff: Adversarial Confl ict
and the Disavowal of Discrimination 169
chapter 8. Win, Lose, or Draw: Perspectives on Case Outcomes 202
PART III. Conclusion
chapter 9. Stereotyping and the Reinscription of Race, Sex,
Disability, and Age Hierarchies 225
chapter 10. The Voices of Employment Civil Rights 259
Acknowledgments 281
Appendix 287
Notes 295
References 313
Index 337
Tables and Figures
Tables
3.1 Discrete- time random effects event history model of litigation
outcomes / 66
5.1 Case outcome by representation status of plaintiffs in fi lings
sample / 112
5.2 Race, gender, and representation status of interviewed
plaintiffs / 114
6.1 Frequency of positive and negative comments by plaintiffs about
plaintiffs’ lawyers / 139
A.1 Pseudonym list for interviewees / 287
A.2 Demographic and political characteristics of interview
respondents by percent / 290
A.3 Descriptive statistics and independent variables for model
of litigation outcomes / 290
A.4 Collective representation by major types of discrimination / 292
A.5 Case outcomes by major types of discrimination / 293
A.6 Representation status by major types of discrimination / 294
Figures
2.1 Total number of civil cases and employment discrimination cases
fi led in federal court, 1972– 2014 / 41
2.2 EEOC charge receipts and employment civil rights cases fi led in
federal court, 1972– 2014 / 42
2.3 Percentage of EEOC charge receipts containing discrimination on
the basis of race, sex, age, and disability, 1966– 2014 / 44
2.4 Dispute pyramid of estimated employment discrimination claims
by full- time African American workers, 2014 / 49