This course uses the law of American employment discrimination to explore the law’s treatment of discrimination more generally. The course examines the social creation of difference that leads to discrimination, and the legal doctrines used for proving discrimination. Students will both learn the substantive law of discrimination, and will consider the policy conflicts underlying the relevant legal and social issues.

The successful Discrimination Law student will be

1. prepared to participate in class by presenting assigned cases and other learning material, responding to questions, and participating in-class discussion of the assigned materials; 
2. able to exercise sound professional judgment in dealing with a variety of situations that may occur in discrimination law practice; able to understand and discuss concepts of immutable “difference” from a variety of cultural perspectives; 
3. able to answer essay questions calling for the rules, standards, and doctrines related to the material covered in the assigned reading; 
4. able to identify the legal issues in a novel fact pattern and use written legal analysis and advocacy to predict how a court would resolve those issues in light of the applicable law; and 
5. able to prepare an in-depth written analysis of an open issue in Discrimination Law.

Consistent attendance is required. Students are responsible for everything discussed or distributed in class. Class discussion is participatory.

ONU is dedicated to providing an equitable educational experience for all enrolled students. Universal course policies applicable to all courses can be found at the following link: https://my.onu.edu/registrars_office/policies. This website includes:  

• Academic Dishonest Policy
• Academic Accommodations Policy
• Health and Safety Policy
• Title IX Policy
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

Students have two grading options. The first option is a research paper on a topic covered in class comparing American law to the law of at least one other country (which may include China). The research paper should be approximately 5000-7000 words. Depending on the class size, students might have an option to work on an individual part of a larger group research project. We will discuss this on the first day of class. Students must submit an abstract and outline, and at least one draft, of their paper before submitting their final paper. The second grading option is a final exam, which will consist of essay and short-answer problems.

Our book will be Joseph A. Seiner, Employment Discrimination: Procedure, Principles, and Practice (Aspen Publishers 2019), available at no cost to students through I-Research at https://www.iresearchbook.cn/f/index. The book will be supplemented with extra reading that I will make available online.

Email me any time you would like to set up a time to talk or videoconference.