Alaska Employment Law

Ledbetter:  In his presentation on U. S. Supreme Court opinions, Edwin Chemerinsky predicted that the Court would issue 65 opinions this term (down from 68 last year).  As to Ledbetter v. Goodyear, he expressed surprise that the employee hadn’t petitioned for cert on the Equal Pay Act claim, stressed that the majority hadn’t decided whether equitable tolling applies to Title VII pay claims, and noted that Ginsburg’s dissent says that 1/3 of private sector employees are under workplace rules that forbid discussion of wages/salaries (thus making it difficult to know when pay disparities exist, and suggesting that equitable tolling may be justified).  Chemerinsky also noted that the Equal Pay Act (unlike Title VII) does not require a showing of disparate intent, and thus may offer a better vehicle for pursuing pay discrimination claims.

Awards: At today’s Bench and Bar lunch, the awards went as follows: BarLayperson Service: Vivien Noll (OSPA); Rabinowitz Public Service: Seaborn Buckalew, Ret. Judge, etc.; and Bar Professionalism: Patrick Gilmore, Atty.

Civil Rights book: In his introduction of Edwin Chemerinsky, Justice Matthews said that he relied on Chemerinsky’s Federal Jurisdiction for a good guide to Section 1983 claims.