June 4, 2025

Professor Sperino teaches at Federal Judicial Center conference

Professor Sandra Sperino served as a faculty member for the Federal Judicial Center’s 2025 National Conference for Appellate Staff Attorneys in Phoenix on June 3. Professor Sperino discussed new issues in federal discrimination law, including emerging circuit splits about what counts as a negative action that will lead to liability and the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.

Feb. 26, 2025

Associate Dean Sperino Quoted in Bloomberg Law

Associate Dean Sandra Sperino was quoted in Bloomberg Law on a story involving the US Supreme Court case Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services. To read the full story, visit: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/high-court-weighs-workplace-bias-claim-of-white-straight-woman…

Dec. 20, 2024

Associate Dean Sperino files amicus brief with U.S. Supreme Court

Professor Sandra Sperino co-authored an amicus brief in the case of Ames v. Ohio Dep’t of Youth Services. The brief argues that the statutory text of Title VII should govern the question of whether a plaintiff can prevail on a discrimination claim. Through the McDonnell Douglas framework, some courts have required plaintiffs to prove more than the statutory text demands to proceed on a discrimination claim. The brief is available on the Supreme Court’s docket here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23-1039.html…

Dec. 18, 2024

Associate Dean Sperino Quoted in Bloomberg Law

Associate Dean Sandra Sperino last week was quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding a recent ruling by the US Supreme Court. To read the full story, visit: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/circuit-courts-develop-broader-standard-for-workplace-bias-harm

Nov. 25, 2024

Dean Sperino provides employment law training this fall

In October, Sandra Sperino, associate dean for research and faculty development, traveled to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland to provide training about employment discrimination law at the Titus Employment Law Seminar. In November, Sandra Sperino provided CLE at the Boone County Bar Association’s monthly meeting. She discussed new issues in employment discrimination law.

Nov. 21, 2024

Dean Sperino publishes article in the Texas Law Review

Sandra Sperino, associate dean for research and faculty development and the Elwood L. Thomas Missouri Endowed Professor of Law, this fall published an article, “Bostock and the Forgotten EEOC” in the Texas Law Review. On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued a historic opinion. In Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the SCOTUS formally recognized that federal discrimination law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Supreme Court barely mentioned the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency charged with enforcing federal discrimination law. In her article, Dean Sperino argues that…

Aug. 23, 2024

Dean Sperino cited by U.S. Court of Appeals

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit cited two of Associate Dean Sandra Sperino’s articles in a case involving how causation principles apply to a statute. The Third Circuit cited Statutory Proximate Cause, 88 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1199 (2013) and The Causation Canon, 108 Iowa L. Rev. 703, 704 (2023). The case is U.S. v. Johnson, 2024 2024 WL 3883682 (Aug. 21, 2024). Dean Sperino’s article Revitalizing State Employment Discrimination Law, 20 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 545 (2013) was also cited by the Supreme Court of Connecticut this summer in its discussion of…

Aug. 6, 2024

Dean Sperino cited by Supreme Court of Connecticut

The Supreme Court of Connecticut cited Associate Dean Sandra Sperino’s article, Revitalizing State Employment Discrimination Law, 20 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 545 (2013), in its discussion of whether to adopt the federal standard for defining supervisor for purposes of vicarious liability for employment discrimination. O’Reggio v. Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, 2024 WL 3628514 (dissenting opinion). …

April 22, 2024

Associate Dean Sperino Quoted in Forbes

Sandra Sperino, associate dean for research and faculty development, was quoted last week in Forbes on a story about Supreme Court expansion of employer risk of discrimination. To read her quotes and the full story, visit: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelletravis/2024/04/18/supreme-court-expands-employer-risk-of-discrimination-claims/?sh=22ffd5b53e79

Feb. 15, 2024

Dean Sperino Publishes Article on Summary Judgments in Employment Discrimination Cases

Associate Dean Sandra Sperino has published an article on the McDonnell Douglas framework in the North Carolina Law Review. The McDonnell Douglas framework is the most important analytical structure in employment discrimination law. Scholars and judges have regularly criticized the three-part, burden-shifting test. Despite decades of criticism, a central feature of the framework remains unexamined—its second step is incompatible with the summary judgment standard. In employment discrimination cases, courts often grant summary judgment in the employer’s favor. Scholars have offered various accounts of why this happens, including docket pressures and published case law that focuses on grants of summary judgment.