Civil Rights

This is FindLaw’s collection of Civil Rights articles, part of the Litigation and Disputes section of the Corporate Counsel Center. A civil right is an enforceable right or privilege, which if interfered with by another gives rise to an action for injury. Examples of civil rights are freedom of speech, press, and assembly, the right to vote, freedom from involuntary servitude, and the right to equality in public places. Corporations have been gaining more civil rights in the courts throughout the years. Law articles in this archive are predominantly written by lawyers for a professional audience seeking business solutions to legal issues. Start your free research with FindLaw.

Civil Litigation

Civil Rights Articles

IRS Issues Final Regulations, Providing Anti-Cutback Relief for Required Minimum Distributions from Qualified Plans

Recently, the IRS issued final regulations that provide prospective relief from the anti-cutback rules imposed by Section 411(d)(6) of the Code for plan sponsors amending qualified plans to remove in-service distributions for active employees who ...
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IRS Issues New Rules on Student FICA Exemption

Section 3121(b)(10) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") allows an exemption from U.S. social security (FICA) and Medicare tax on wages for services performed in the employ of a school, college, or university by "a student who is enrolled and ...
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It’s Time For a Statute Of Limitations Governing Special Education Matters

The Legislature should create a statute of limitations which governs a request for an impartial due process hearing to challenge decisions with respect to provision of a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), and a complaint seeking judicial ...
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Labor and Employment Law Update: Which Way Do We Go? Courts are Split in Determining Whether an Employer’s Failure to Engage in the “Interactive Process” Creates Liability

I. Americans with Disabilites Act II. Independent Liability? III. No Independent Liability IV. How Do I Engage in the "Interactive Process"? One of the fastest growing areas of employment litigation is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ...
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Labor and Employment: Seniority Can Trump Disability

The Supreme Court has recently taken yet another bite out of the Americans with Disabilities Act, making it easier for employers who consistently apply seniority systems to handle competing claims of ADA accommodation. The Supreme Court ruled that ...
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Labor and Employment Update: EEOC Issues Final Regulations on Waivers of Age Discrimination Claims

In this litigious age, employers have increasingly sought refuge in waiver agreements in an attempt to avoid costly and lengthy litigation. One area where waivers are often utilized is voluntary or involuntary programs to reduce the size or change ...
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Labor and Employment Update: Myths and Realities: The EEOC Guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Psychiatric Disabilities. . . One Year Later

In the eight years since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted, the number of discrimination claims based on psychiatric disabilities has steadily risen. Claims of discrimination based on emotional or mental disability now ...
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Labor and Employment Update: Supreme Court Tackles Thorny Issues Under ADA

Four Rulings Give Employers Guidance On Disability Definition; Punitive DamagesDetermining what is considered a "disability" has always been the core of disputes under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For example, if an individual has a ...
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Land Use and Environmental Law Briefing: New Limits On Local Government Zoning Authority: Ninth Circuit Holds ADA Applies To Zoning

In Bay Area Addiction Research and Treatment, Inc. v. City of Antioch, 99 C.D.O.S. 4223 (9th Cir. 1999), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and the Rehabilitation Act (the "Acts") apply to local ...
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Last Chance Agreements-Where a Good Deed May Go Unpunished

Here is a scenario that may be familiar to you. Your Senior Vice President in charge of sales comes into your office and asks for your assistance with a difficult problem she is having. One of her best salespeople, who has been with the company for ...
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