Out of the Troubles and into Rights: Protection For Gays, Lesbians, and Bisexuals in Northern Ireland Through Equality Legislation in the Belfast Agreement

Part I of this Note explores the history of LGB rights in Northern Ireland, focusing on the development of domestic equality legislation stemming from the recent peace process. Part II examines the statutory framework of this legislation, concentrating on what protections and rights it provides for sexual minorities in Northern Ireland. Part II also looks at a recent European Directive prohibiting discrimination against LGB persons in employment. Part III argues that for truly effective change to occur, LGB individuals need both policy-based and rights-based legislation encompassing the human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination. Part III further argues that the political divisions in the region ultimately hinder the drafting, passing, and effectiveness of such legislation

Diversity As A Trade Secret

When we think of trade secrets, we often think of famous examples such as the Coca-Cola formula, Google’s algorithm, or McDonald’s special sauce used on the Big Mac. However, companies have increasingly made the novel argument that diversity data and strategies are protected trade secrets. This may sound like an unusual, even suspicious, legal argument. Many of the industries that dominate the economy in wealth, status, and power continue to struggle with a lack of diversity. Various stakeholders have mobilized to improve access and equity, but there is an information asymmetry that makes this pursuit daunting. When potential plaintiffs and other diversity advocates request workforce statistics and related employment information, many companies have responded with virulent attempts to maintain secrecy, including the use of trade secret protection. In this Article, I use the technology industry as an example to examine the trending legal argument of treating diversity as a trade secret. I discuss how companies can use this tactic to hide gender and race disparities and interfere with the advancement of civil rights law and workplace equity. I argue that instead of permitting companies to hide information, we should treat diversity data and strategies as public resources. This type of open model will advance the goals of equal opportunity law by raising awareness of inequalities and opportunities, motivating employers to invest in effective practices, facilitating collaboration on diversity goals, fostering innovation, and increasing accountability for action and progress

The EU, the WTO and indirect land use change

Efforts to meet the European Union’s (EU) alternative energy targets have resulted in increased production of biofuels. This production has resulted in deforestation-related emissions through displacement of agricultural production, a problem known as indirect land-use change. The European Commission (EC) has proposed regulatory options to respond to this problem, but all risk not being in conformity with World Trade Organization (WTO) law.Trade law challenges result from the underlying methodological uncertainty, and the attempt to address a systemic problem on the level of individual producers.Yet, this does not necessarily indicate that the intent of these regulations is to protect EU markets.Thus, this is an instructive case study to examine the relationship between WTO law and complex, emerging environmental problems

Equality in the Age of the Internet: Websites under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, no individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation. Currently, courts are split on whether websites are places of public accommodation under Title III. There are two predominant methods to determining whether a website is a place of public accommodation: (1) the nexus test, under which websites are places of public accommodation only if a sufficient nexus exists between the website and a physical place; (2) websites are places of public accommodation regardless of a nexus to a physical place. The circuit split highlights the need for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pass the Title III regulations for websites to provide direct guidance for businesses and courts. The DOJ was expected to release Title III regulations for websites in 2016, but have pushed back the expected release to 2018. Regardless of when, or if, the DOJ releases Title III regulations for websites, companies would benefit from using the many resources available to make their websites accessible as soon as possibl