Evaluating the U.S. Policy of Using Private Lawsuits to Remedy Employment Discrimination

Abstract

The primary mechanism for addressing employment discrimination in the United States is complaint-based, through private law suits seeking tort-like damages awards. No other nation relies so heavily on a private bar of employment discrimination lawyers, relying on fee-shifting statutes and contingent fees, to enforce its civil rights policies. This paper relies on US census data and empirical studies of discrimination litigation to argue that the mechanism is ineffective in addressing the problem of racial discrimination in employment.