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7 N.Y.L. Sch. J. Hum. Rts. 95 (1989-1990)
Patterson v. McLean Credit Union

handle is hein.journals/nylshr7 and id is 833 raw text is: PATTERSON v. MCLEAN CREDIT UNION by Merrick T. Rossein What the Court declines to snatch away with one hand, it takes with the other.' I. INTRODUCTION In Patterson v. McLean Credit Union,2 the Supreme Court continued the trend established during its 1988-89 Term by severely limiting the reach of the Reconstruction Era statutes3 and title VII of the Civil Rights Act' as they apply to remedying discrimination in the employment context.5 In a five to four decision, the Court held that a racially motivated refusal to hire violates § 1981 of the 1866 Civil Rights Act,' while a practice of racial harassment adopted after an employee was hired does not by itself violate the employee's rights under the statute. The procedural history of the Patterson case indicates the majority's hostility to civil rights law enforcement, particularly in the area of employment discrimination. * Associate Professor of Law, City University of New York Law School at Queens College. B.A. 1967, Alfred University;, M.P.A. 1972, New York University; J.D. 1975, Antioch School of Law. Author, EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION LAW AND LITIGATION (Clark Boardman Co., Ltd., 1990) (a comprehensive treatise covering title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (codified at 42 U.S.C. § 2000e to 200Oe-17 (1988)), the Reconstruction Era statutes (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, and 1985(3)), and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (codified as amended at 29 U.S.C. § 206)) (Copyright 1990 by Merrick T. Rossein). 1. Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 109 S. Ct. 2363, 2379 (1989) (Brennan, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). 2. 109 S. Ct. 2363 (1989). 3. 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981-1983, 1985-1986, 1988 (1988). See also U.S. CONS. amend. XIII, § 2. 4. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a) (1988). 5. See Jett v. Dallas Indep. School Dist., 109 S. Ct. 2702 (1989); Lorance v. AT & T Technologies, Inc., 109 S. Ct. 2261 (1989); Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 109 S. Ct. 2115 (1989); City of Richmond v. J.A Croson Co., 109 S. Ct. 706 (1989). But see Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 109 S. Ct. 1775 (1989) (the Supreme Court lightened the burden of proof for plaintiffs in mixed-motive sex-discrimination actions, ie., cases that involve both permissible and impermissible reasons for adverse employment decisions). 6. Act of April 9, 1866, ch. 31, 14 Stat. 27 (reenacted as amended pursuant to the ratification of the fourteenth amendment at Enforcement Act of May 31, 1870, ch. 114, 16 Stat. 140 (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (1988)).

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