Differences in the nature of employment discrimination litigation between private sector organizations and public sector organizations
| DOI | 10.1177/1358229116645677 |
| Author | André L Honorée,David E Terpstra |
| Published date | 01 December 2016 |
| Date | 01 December 2016 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Differences in the
nature of employment
discrimination litigation
between private sector
organizations and public
sector organizations
David E Terpstra
1
and Andre
´L Honore
´e
2
Abstract
This study reports on the results of a content analysis of federal court cases examining
employment discrimination litigation in private, federal, and state/local sector organi-
zations. One objective was to determine whether there are differences in the types of
employment discrimination claims (e.g. race, sex, age, and disability) across the different
sectors. A second objective was to determine whether there are differences in the
outcomes (whether the case outcome or ruling was for the plaintiff or the defendant) of
the different types of employment discrimination cases across the different sectors. The
results of this study indicate that there are substantial differences in both the types of
discrimination charges and the outcomes of those discrimination charges across the
different sectors. The implications of the most significant findings are discussed, and
recommendations are offered to organizations interested in reducing the occurrence of
employment discrimination and the costs associated with employment discrimination
litigation.
1
Department of Management, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA, USA
2
Department of Management and Business Administration, Southeastern Louisiana University,
Hammond, IL, USA
Corresponding author:
David E Terpstra, Department of Management, Eastern Washington University, Patterson Hall,
Cheney, WA 99004, USA.
Email: dterpstra@ewu.edu
International Journalof
Discrimination and theLaw
2016, Vol. 16(4) 200–213
ªThe Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1358229116645677
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