3 - Equality Rights in American Employment

Summary

Shortly after its adoption, progressive reformers recognized substantial shortcomings of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 governing employment discrimination. To overcome these limitation, members of the Democratic Party worked with aligned justices on the Supreme Court to develop evolving understandings of Title VII to support racial minorities seeking to access the federal judiciary and to reduce the evidentiary burdens necessary to prevail at trail. These progressives also supported willing employers' efforts by protecting affirmative action. Conservatives on the bench and in the elected branches aligned with the Republican Party worked in a deliberative fashion to counter these efforts. But, as is true for both coalitions, when justices introduced novel positions that went beyond the interests of their elected counterparts, they relinquished their novel doctrinal positions, which is consistent with the deliberative partnership thesis.