In Ricci v. DeStefano. in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has said Judge Sotomayor was wrong to conclude that white firefighters hadn’t been discriminated against because of their race when the City of New Haven, Connecticut denied them promotions. What timing!

As noted in two previous posts, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Ricci v. DeStefano would be important because of its potential to change the way discrimination cases are evaluated under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and because Judge Sonia Sotomayor was one of three judges who issued the decision being reviewed by [...]

The above title may be a bit of an overstatement, but Cultural Offering provides us a cartoon that’s right on target.

In a previous post, the case of Ricci v. DeStefano was reviewed. This is the so-called New Haven firefighters case in which Judge Sotomayor was one of three Second Circuit Court of Appeals judges to sign off on an opinion that ruled against white firefighters who had qualified for promotions but were denied them because [...]

I was saddened by the recent deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. I didn’t know them, of course, but all three were part of most of my life. McMahon made Johnny Carson even better. Fawcett made shaving cream, detective work and just about anything else more beautiful. Jackson’s marvelous talent made all of [...]

Three opinions authored by Judge Sonia Sotomayor fall into this general category of traditional labor matters. Because of these decisions and the ones she decided as a district court judge, she may actually have more traditional labor experience than any of the current justices on the U. S. Supreme Court.

John Prine sings a powerful, heartbreaking song about a wounded soldier who comes back home, tries to work, but spends all his money on a drug habit he can’t kick. “All the money goes through the hole in daddy’s arm.”

I’ve previously linked The Man Gene to science and to swine flu. Republican Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina now provides compelling evidence that there’s a link between The Man Gene and mental illness.

There’s only one Second Circuit case authored by Judge Sotomayor to fall within the category of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It’s a somewhat important case, since it deals with whether time commuting to and from work is compensable, and it shows a practical side of Sotomayor that seems to override a purely legal [...]

It’s routine for all kinds of employees to bow their heads silently during all kinds of meetings. Is the person speaking at the meeting leading a prayer? Are the employees praying silently? No. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act isn’t implicated at all. These folks are intently using their BlackBerrys.