Professor Suja Thomas and Sandra Sperino (Illinois Law alumnus and law professor at University of Cincinnati College of Law) recently published Unequal: How America's Courts Undermine Discrimination Law with Oxford University Press. 

It is no secret that since the 1980s, American workers have lost power vis-à-vis employers through the well-chronicled steep decline in private sector unionization. American workers have also lost power in other ways. Those alleging employment discrimination have fared increasingly poorly in the courts. In recent years, judges have dismissed scores of cases in which workers presented evidence that supervisors referred to them using racial or gender slurs. In one federal district court, judges dismissed more than 80 percent of the race discrimination cases filed over a year. And when juries return verdicts in favor of employees, judges often second guess those verdicts, finding ways to nullify the jury’s verdict and rule in favor of the employer.

Throughout the book, Thomas and Sperino trace the modern history of employment discrimination, providing an authoritative account of how our legal system evolved into an institution that is inherently biased against workers making rights claims.

The book has already garnered positive reviews.

"This is a must-read for all who care about workplace fairness and realizing the promise of our nation’s civil rights laws," said David Lopez, Former General Counsel of the EEOC.

Seth Harris, Former Acting and Deputy Secretary of Labor praised, "In this important book, Professors Sperino and Thomas painstakingly and poignantly disclose how courts have broken the promise of America's workplace civil rights laws."

More information is available on Thomas' website.