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

Supreme Court Watch: Nearsightedness, Hypertension, and Monocular Vision: What is a Disability Under the Americans with Disabilities Act?

In April the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in three cases involving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that illustrate a split among lower courts on the issue of what qualifies as a disability under the Act. The Supreme ...

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U.S. Supreme Court Reinstates ADA Case Despite Plaintiff’s Prior Assertion that She Was Unable to Work

The United States Supreme Court recently overturned the dismissal of a case brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), which was dismissed by the lower court on the basis that the plaintiff had sought and obtained Social Security ...
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Summary of Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities conducted by HUD or that receive financial assistance from HUD. In addition to its responsibility for enforcing other ...
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The Supreme Court Rules on Disability

The United States Supreme Court issued several important employment decisions this term. We have summarized those most affecting private employers. You already know that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, (ADA), a person is disabled if the ...
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The Same Actor Inference

In recent years, many courts have adopted the same actor inference in discrimination cases. The same actor inference reasons that a supervisor who hires or shows favorable treatment to an employee in a protected category will not later discriminate ...
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Supreme Court Narrows Scope of Disabilities Protection

The United States Supreme Court, in four decisions announced in May and June, narrowed the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Court held that persons with severe myopia, hypertension and monocular vision are not protected if their ...
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Religion in the Workplace

Religious diversity has been increasing in the U.S. population and its workforce, presenting greater opportunities for mutual learning and understanding. However, it's also unfortunately coincided with increasing levels of harassment and discrimination. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the period from 1997 to 2015 saw a two-fold increase of workplace complaints involving religion.

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Sexual Harassment Claims Defense: What the Mediator Looks For

From Thanksgiving through this past Christmas, lawyers scrambled to settle (mostly through mediation) their clients' sex harassment employment claims to beat Congress's year-end legislation triggering psychological injury damage (without physical ...
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Is Obesity a Disability Under the ADA?

The Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") provides that employers covered by the statute may not discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability with respect to employment matters. A person making a claim under the ADA, then, must ...
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The ADA and Employees with PTSD

, 136 F.3d 1047 (5th Cir. 1998)The Fifth Circuit found that Hamilton, who suffered only temporary impairment due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), was not 'disabled' under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The court further noted ...
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