Penn State Law

Professor Michael Foreman testifies before EEOCAt the request of the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, professor Michael Foreman, director of Penn State Law's Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, explained the impact of Gross v. FBL Financial Services on unemployed older Americans on November 17.

Professor Foreman testifies on Older Workers Discrimination ActAt the request of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, Professor Michael Foreman, director of Penn State Law's Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, testified during a hearing to examine H.R. 3721, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act. If enacted, the legislation would restore civil rights protections for older workers stripped away by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2009 decision, Gross v. FBL Financial Services.

Civil Rights Appellate Clinic asks High Court to ensure that employees cannot be forced to arbitrate without fair hearingOn Wednesday, March 31, 2010, Penn State Law’s Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, acting as counsel of record for six civil rights groups, filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in Rent-A-Center, West v. Antonio Jackson, Supreme Court Docket Number 09-497.

Civil Rights Appellate Clinic retained as co-counsel in racial discrimination caseThe Penn State Civil Rights Appellate Clinic has been retained as co-counsel to work with a Washington, D.C. boutique employment firm and a national civil rights group to represent Michael Ford in Ford v. Mansfield (4th Cir. No. 10-1254), in an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The case involves a Section 1981 racial discrimination claim for interference with contractual relations.

Civil Rights Appellate Clinic files amicus brief with U.S. Supreme CourtThe Penn State Law Civil Rights Appellate Clinic filed an amici curiae with the U.S. Supreme Court in Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP on behalf of six national organizations including the National Employment Lawyers Association, American Association of Justice, AARP, The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco Law Center.

Professor Foreman to testify before U.S. Senate Committee on Workplace FairnessAt the request of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Professor Michael Foreman, director of Penn State Law's Civil Rights Appellate Clinic and clinical professor, testified at the hearing on "Workplace Fairness: Has the Supreme Court Been Misinterpreting Laws Designed to Protect American Workers from Discrimination?" The hearing was held on Wednesday, October 7, at 10:00 a.m. in room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building

Penn State Law students visit U.S. Supreme Court, meet with Justice SotomayorStudents from Penn State Law’s Civil Rights Appellate Clinic recently visited the U.S. Supreme Court to observe oral arguments in Staub v. Proctor Hospital, a case in which the Clinic had filed an amicus brief. While witnessing arguments in front of the U.S. Supreme Court is in itself extraordinary, Penn State Law students arrived a day early and had the opportunity meet privately with some of the most brilliant legal minds in the country – including Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Penn State Law Clinic Files Brief with Supreme CourtPenn State Law is again on record with the Supreme Court of the United States. The Law School’s new Civil Rights Appellate Clinic filed an amici curiae brief in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, No. 08-441, on Tuesday, February 5. The clinic served as counsel of record for five national civil rights organizations.

Penn State’s Civil Rights Appellate Clinic Files Second Brief with Supreme CourtUniversity Park, Pa. — The Civil Rights Appellate Clinic at Penn Law recently filed an amici curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court in the case Ricci v. DeStefano. The case is scheduled to heard by the Supreme Court on April 22.

ABA President-elect reappoints Professor Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia to Commission on ImmigrationImmigrants’ rights advocate and law professor Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia will serve a second year on the ABA Commission on Immigration, an association that works to ensure fair treatment and full due process rights for immigrants and refugees within the United States. Professor Wadhia is a key voice in the debate about post-9/11 immigration policy and directs the Center for Immigrants’ Rights.