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

Standards of Disability Differ Under Social Security Disability Act, California Retirement Plan (Long Term Disability) and A.D.A. (American’s with Disability Act)

The definition of "disability" has been a complicated one, particularly since the term is used differently by and among state and federal agencies.

Read More »
School District Liability for Student on Student Sexual Harassment

On May 24, 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision holding that a student may recover monetary damages from a school district in a case of student-on-student sexual harassment where suit is brought under Title IX of the Education Amendments ...

Read More »
Race-Based Admission Policies in Public School Programs

In recent months, a number of federal courts around the country have struck down school district policies that use race as a factor in school program admission decisions. The courts appear to be expressing an increasing reluctance to support use of ...
Read More »
Punitive Damages in Civil Rights Actions

In Kolstad v. American Dental Ass'n, 119 S. Ct. 2118 (1999), the Supreme Court defined the standards for punitive damages under the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which amended the law to allow for punitive damage awards in intentional discrimination ...
Read More »
Public Schools Newsletter: A Newsletter for Education Management

The California Supreme Court recently held that the Fair Employment and Housing ACT (FEHA) does not impose liability for harassment on nonsupervisory co-workers. Plaintiff, Maryann Carrisales, worked for the department of Corrections. She sued the ...

Read More »
Protecting the Civil Rights of American Indians and Alaska Natives: Nondiscrimination Laws Enforced by the Civil Rights Division

The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is the primary institution within the Federal government responsible for enforcing Federal statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability ...
Read More »
Preventing Violence Against Women

HHS FACT SHEET February 26, 1999 Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343 Violence against women is an urgent criminal and public health problem with devastating consequences for women, children, and families. To help break the cycle of violence ...

Read More »
Older Employees not Required to Return Severance Benefits Before Suing for Age Discrimination and Challenging Age Discrimination Releases

In Oubre v. Entergy Operations, Inc., 66 U.S.L.W. 4118 (U.S. Jan. 26, 1998) (No. 96-1291), the Supreme Court ruled that older employees are not required to return severance benefits paid in consideration of a release before challenging the validity ...

Read More »
New Appellate Decision Interprets the ADA

On March 15, 1999 a panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judgment of the Federal District Court in Bangor, Maine awarding a process operator at a Houlton starch processing plant more than $300,000 on account of her discharge from employment in violation of the American with Disability Act (ADA)(Quint v. Staley Manufacturing Co.).

Read More »
The Problem of Shifting, Inconsistent Explanations

Employers, like anyone else, want to get things right. When issues arise it can be tempting for an employer to change course, or if an explanation for something happening is not received well it may be tempting to advance a new story.

Read More »