Discrimination

The chief justice's comment came in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision last week that sharply limits the ability of school districts to manage the racial makeup of the student bodies in their schools. Roberts said school officials in Seattle and Louisville, Ky., had failed to show that their plans considered race in the context of a larger educational concept, and therefore did not meet a standard set in Brown v. Board of Education, the historic 1954 desegregation decision. ?The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discrimination on the basis of race.

Pay bias ruling puts profit before people Led by President Bush's latest appointee, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., the Supreme Court last week tore the heart out of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as far as pay discrimination is concerned ("Limit on pay-bias lawsuits upheld," May 30). Justice Alito took the lead in the 5-4 ruling that found an employee who believes he or she has been discriminated against in pay based on gender, race, skin color, national origin or religion must file his or her charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 days of the pay being set or be forever barred from seeking redress in the federal courts.

Gov.Martin O'Malley signed an executive order yesterday stating that state employment decisions will be based solely on merit and fitness, and reinforcing an anti-discrimination policy for hiring and personnel activity. The order also mandates that the secretary of budget and management appoint a statewide equal opportunity coordinator to ensure that Maryland is complying with state and federal employment laws. "To bring the best workers to Maryland?s state government we need to guarantee every employee the basic protections that they deserve, and that our state government sets an example for equal employment opportunities throughout Maryland," the governor said in a statement.

A deeply divided Supreme Court ruling sharply limits the ability of workers to sue employers for gender pay discrimination linked to actions taken years earlier. Employer groups praised yesterday's 5-4 decision, saying it protects employers from unfair liability and requires workers to act promptly to protect their rights. Civil rights advocates criticized the ruling, saying it will prevent workers who are discriminated against from recovering all the money they are due from employers.

GOV. PARRIS N. Glendening's bid to enact a law banning discrimination against gay men and lesbians might have been defeated by a Senate committee last month, but the governor is still winning kudos from the gay community.Glendening is the subject of a laudatory profile in the May 25 issue of the Advocate, the national gay and lesbian magazine.In an interview with the magazine, Glendening offered new details on his unsuccessful effort to win General Assembly approval for the anti-discrimination measure.

BOSTON -- Five years ago, Janet Peckinpaugh became "the extra woman." She was the singleton, the uncoupled female who strikes terror in the hearts of all those hosts who arrange dinner parties according to the Noah's Ark theory of entertaining.But it wasn't the sexual symmetry of a dining table that Ms. Peckinpaugh upset. It was the balance of the anchor desk.In 1994, the executives at the CBS affiliate in Hartford, Conn., found themselves with three female anchors and two males. They bluntly told the then 44-year-old Ms. Peckinpaugh that they had "too many women" and threw her overboard.

WASHINGTON -- Workers who are victims of intentional sex and race bias on the job can collect extra, or "punitive," money damages without having to prove that the bias was "outrageous," the Supreme Court ruled yesterday by a 7-2 vote.It is enough, the court said, for the worker to show that the discrimination demonstrated a serious disregard of the worker's right to be treated equally.The ruling cleared up a conflict among lower courts on when punitive damages can be awarded. The justices overturned a federal appeals court decision that said such extra damages should be awarded only in "the worst cases," with clear proof of "outrageous" or "egregious" bias.

Thirty black Baltimore middle school pupils and their chaperons on a class trip to Walt Disney World have filed suit in federal court against Denny's restaurants, claiming they were mistreated at one of the chain's Florida outlets because of race.A spokeswoman for the chain -- which has been operating under a consent decree not to discriminate since it reached a $46 million agreement with the federal government five years ago -- denied the allegations yesterday and said the company would vigorously contest the suit.

In a sweeping and stinging opinion, a federal judge has dismissed two multimillion-dollar lawsuits accusing the Baltimore County Police Department of racial discrimination."

IN WHAT can only be viewed as a blatant case of retaliation, the paramedic who recently won a federal sex discrimination lawsuit against the Maryland State Police now is being required to undergo psychiatric examination.The police agency claims that it is "routine" for officers to submit to psychiatric evaluation when the agency questions their fitness for duty. Statements by Trooper 1st Class H. Kevin Knussman during the trial raised concern about his ability to function as a helicopter paramedic, according to State Police lawyers.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has his work cut out for him cleaning up the mess the Bush administration left at the Justice Department. Having begun by appointing a special prosecutor to investigate CIA abuses in the torture of terror suspects and hiring veteran career attorneys to oversee the department's Office of Professional Responsibility and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, one of his top priorities must be reorganizing the agency's long-suffering...

Former governor now supports gay marriage Tom Schaller is commended for his thoughtful commentary in the Baltimore Sun regarding marriage equality for same-gender couples ("Md. should be a leader on gay marriage," Aug. 25). While serving as Prince George's County executive and governor of Maryland, I was a forceful advocate for enacting laws that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Despite our successes, however, in addressing employment, housing and public accommodations discrimination against gays and lesbians, I was firm in my statements that I believed "marriage should be between a man and a woman."

I'm not surprised that virtually all of your printed responses to Sunday's editorial on same-sex marriage were in agreement with your paper's position in favor of it ("Rethinking marriage," May 10). The fear of being called homophobic, bigoted or even worse prevents most intelligent people who may be opposed to the idea from weighing in on this issue. There are two points in the argument for allowing same-sex marriages that are almost always avoided by those supporting it, and I thought it might be worth mentioning them.

Washington - U.S. District Judge Andr? M. Davis of Baltimore and top Justice Department nominee Tom Perez got a generally cordial reception at a Senate hearing Wednesday, but it remains unclear how long it will take for them to assume their new jobs. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, who chaired the Senate confirmation hearing, said in a brief interview that it would take "at least a couple weeks" before the Judiciary committee acted on the nominations. Republicans could block votes on one or both men, either in committee or by the full Senate.

Carelessness can feed discrimination Even the best intentioned people make slips of the tongue that they regret. We assume that was the case with President Barack Obama, who recently joked on the Jay Leno show that his bowling "was like the Special Olympics." President Obama apologized quickly for his comment, and there is no reason to doubt his sincerity. We shouldn't let this opportunity pass, however, because our children are listening. And we ourselves need to be reminded that casual remarks can hurt people's feelings and, more insidiously, contribute to an environment where some people are treated less equitably than others.

For a century, the NAACP fought lynch mobs, demanded fairness in schoolhouses and cemented a movement of foot soldiers to wage battles large and small against the indignities of legal discrimination. As the nation's oldest civil rights group celebrates its centennial, the circumstances might be different but the mission is the same, its president says. "In black communities across the country, we still see too many young black men killed in the prime of their lives," NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous said yesterday.

Howard teacher loses bid to keep working during suit A federal judge has ruled that a Howard County teacher who won a racial discrimination lawsuit against the school system two years ago cannot return to work while a subsequent suit she filed is pending. Michelle Maupin, 40, an English teacher at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, has been on paid administrative leave since September, when she said the principal, an assistant principal and a police officer came to her classroom and ordered her to leave the campus.

Barack Obama's election to this country's highest office powerfully shattered a centuries-old racial glass ceiling. But we must not be tricked into thinking that this inspiring milestone means we have dismantled all structures of racial discrimination in America, or that we can take a breather from the tireless fight for racial justice. Fighting against individual acts of intentional discrimination is important, but the real cause of persistent segregation is institutional discrimination.

An effort is under way to repeal a Jim Crow-era law that makes it illegal in Maryland to receive any kind of payment, including bus fare, for participating in a protest against racial discrimination. The law was aimed at discouraging Freedom Riders from traveling to the state to agitate against segregation and racism during the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. As part of a compromise that through the lens of history appears unseemly, lawmakers inserted the provision into an anti-discrimination law after rioting in Cambridge focused national attention on the Eastern Shore town.

A county high school teacher recently placed on leave shortly after filing a racial discrimination lawsuit has filed an injunction seeking to return to the classroom. Michelle Maupin, 40, an English teacher at Wilde Lake High who won a racial discrimination suit against the school system last year, lodged a new suit arguing that her legal action led to harassment in her new school. Last month, Maupin said her principal, assistant principal and a police officer came to her classroom and ordered her to gather her belongings and leave the school.