Excellent presentation by @templelaw.bsky.social’s Jennifer Lee about worker movements and local legal reforms in Philadelphia. 💜#lawschoolclinics @sluworklaw.bsky.social

At today’s @sluworklaw.bsky.social symposium. I had to miss Michael Z. Green’s keynote, alas, to teach! But I just learned that “Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law” is #Missouri’s state motto! #worklaw

Noteworthy that in Ames all the Justices joined opinion relying on Bostock w/o filing a separate concurrence disagreeing w/Bostock as precedent. By contrast in SFFA Alito joined Gorsuch’s concurrence citing Bostock while also noting his continued disagreement

www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

Screenshot of SCOTUS opinion in Ames v. Ohio Dept of Youth Servs. Petitioner Marlean Ames, a heterosexual woman, has worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services in various roles since 2004. In 2019, the agency interviewed Ames for a new management position but ultimately hired another candidate—a lesbian woman. The agency subsequently demoted Ames from her role as a program administrator and later hired a gay man to fill that role. Ames then filed this lawsuit against the agency under Title VII, alleging that she was denied the management promotion and demoted because of her sexual orienta- tion. The District Court granted summary judgment to the agency, and the Sixth Circuit affirmed. The courts below analyzed Ames’s claims under McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U. S. 792, which sets forth the traditional framework for evaluating disparate- treatment claims that rest on circumstantial evidence. At the first step of that framework, the plaintiff must make a prima facie showing that the defendant acted with a discriminatory motive. Like the District Court, the Sixth Circuit held that Ames had failed to meet her prima facie burden because she had not shown “ ‘background circumstances to support the suspicion that the defendant is that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.’ ” 87 F. 4th 822, 825. The court reasoned that Ames, as a straight woman, was required to make this showing “in addition to the usual ones for establishing a prima- facie case.” Ibid. Held: The Sixth Circuit’s “background circumstances” rule—which re- quires members of a majority group to satisfy a heightened evidentiary standard to prevail on a Title VII claim—cannot be squared with the text of Title VII or the Court’s precedents. Pp. 4–9. (a) Title VII’s disparate-treatment provision bars employers from in- tentionally discriminating against their employees on the basis of race,

Ames is out, and holds no special rule for disparate treatment for majority class member. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p.... It's unanimous by Justice Jackson.

Panels with Profs Gillespie and Gatter coming up shortly. See you there!

@kellygillespie.bsky.social

Prof Rob Gatter speaking in front of a classroom with his slide talk title page in view.

First sessions of #HLPC25 Day 2 underway now with our own Professor Rob Gatter presenting his work on “Harnessing The Private Bar to Police Private Equity in Health Care.”

THURSDAY: Kelly Gillespie: 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM 3B Panel: New Legal Strategies Against SUD Discrimination in Health Care Robert Gatter: 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM 3D Panel: Corporate Financialization in Health Care: Profit, Power, Governance, and Debt Jamille Fields Allsbrook 1:45 - 3:15 PM 4F Discussion Group: Private Law Approaches to Mediating the Harm of Abortion Bans Theodosia Stavroulaki 3:30 - 5 PM 5D Panel: Non-Profit Hospitals and Their Communities FRIDAY: Sidney Watson: 10:15 - 11:45 AM 6D Panel: Medicaid Demonstrations: Work Requirements and the Future of Sect. 1115 Danielle Pelfrey Duryea: 10:15 - 11:45 AM 6F Discussion Group: Law, Health, and Power: The Fight for Reproductive and Gender Justice in a Changing America Heather Walter-McCabe: 1 - 2:30 PM 7A Panel: Sex and Gender Michael Sinha: 2:45 - 4:15 PM 8F Panel: Direct to Prescription Marketing: Constitutional, Regulatory, and Ethical Implications

The SLU Center for Health Law Studies is thrilled to be traveling to Boston for the 2025 #HealthLaw Professors Conference! We’re excited to collaborate & celebrate the incredible work happening across the field. Check out the graphic to see when you can catch our faculty presenting! #HLPC25

📢 CFP: Columbia–Cornell Jr Scholars Workshop on the Political Economy of Work 🗽 Dec 5–6, 2025 in NYC!

Open to early-career scholars in law, soc, econ, poli sci, history.

Submit 1p abstract by Sept 15
✅ Feedback + mentoring
✅ Travel/lodging support (if needed)

🔗 forms.gle/vDkCHyenE5yQ...

Big thanks to @sluworklaw.bsky.social for inviting me to their colloquium on religion and labor justice; and asking to author a piece in the follow-up issue of the SLU Law Journal! My contribution is: "Whose Labor Law Do We Follow? St. Louis’s Jesuits and Labor Justice."

scholarship.law.slu.edu/lj/

See also the current issue of the SLU Law Journal on our employment law symposium last spring: scholarship.law.slu.edu/lj/

Happening now, the @sluhealthlaw.bsky.social's amazing symposium on Skrmetti and the future of gender affirming care. The health law implications we will hear about today overlap and intersect with worklaw, too.

Excited for this symposium, which has worklaw implications, too!

Photo of Danielle Pelfry Duryea and Scott Hall

Saint Louis University and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital proudly announce a new academic Medical-Legal Partnership; Danielle Pelfrey Duryea (@pelfreyduryea.bsky.social) joins as the founding Director

Read the full announcement here: www.slu.edu/law/news/202...

Brain Strain: Workplace Psychological Injury Compensation - Legal Talk Network Professor Michael C. Duff explores the evolving field of psychological injuries in the workplace including stress and mental trauma. Discover insightful episodes on Legal Talk Network's portfolio of l...

Don't miss this interview with Professor Duff on psychological injuries at work. legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/wor...