Title VII Class Action Consent Decree Repository
Consent Decree Repository Launched
Collection of employment discrimination settlement agreements will aid in litigation, research and development of HR best practices
Attorneys, social scientists and human resource practitioners are expected to be among the first users of the Cornell ILR Consent Decree Repository, which can be found at http://cdr.cornell.edu.
It is being launched todayby ILR's Labor and Employment and Law Program, which developed the searchable data base in conjunction with DigitalCommons@ILR and the ILR Web team.
Free and open to the public, the 91-criteria searchable database includes consent decrees negotiated in Title VIIrace and sex discrimination class action lawsuits.
The repository, a practical tool for people in a myriad of professions,
makes accessible details about some of the most important Title VII class action settlements against major companies in the United States, explained Esta R. Bigler ILR '70, director of ILR's Labor and Employment Law Program.
While the repository is being formally launched today, attorneys have already found the website.In February, there were more than 1,400 downloads of entire decrees.
Brad Seligman, founder and senior counsel of The Impact Fund, and of counsel, Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, P.C., said that the repository is, "an incredible resource for class action lawyers, social scientists and enforcement agencies."
Seligman, who represents employees in Title VII cases, added, "Prior to the launch of the repository, access to decrees was fragmentary and catch-as-catch-can. Now, in one site, past and best practices in decrees are instantly available."
Michael Delikat ILR '74, a partner at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, represents employers.He said, "This database is an invaluable resource for those involved in regulatory investigations and private litigation in the class action employment arena. This treasure trove of information is a unique collection of information otherwise not publicly available."
Former vice chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Leslie E. Silverman, now a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP and co-head of its Employment Law Counseling & Training Government Regulatory Compliance and Relations, said, "The repository is a tremendous resourceduring settlement negotiations."
"I have also turned to the repositorywhen advising employers on changing or instituting new HR policies.It gives me instant access to how others have solved an employment issue, saving me valuable research time," Silverman said.
Pamela S. Tolbert, ILR's Lois S. Gray Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Social Sciences, consulted on the design of the database.
"The unique design of this dataset makes it a gold mine for scholars using either quantitative or qualitative methods as it is also intended to be a 'best practices' tool for evaluating the effectiveness of anti-discrimination remedies," she said
"The repository is a valuable source of data for the growing number of sociologists, economists and psychologists who are interested in understanding the impact of legal regulation on discrimination in organizations" said Tolbert, chair of ILR's Department of Organizational Behavior.
Adam Klein ILR '87, partner, Outten & Golden LLP, who represents employees in Title VII cases sees the repository as a multi-purpose tool.
It "opens up exciting research opportunities for social scientists and economists – with the eventual goal of developing better programmatic relief in Title VII class action settlements and consent decrees," he said.
"Now, with one centralized database, private attorneys, government agencies and academics all have a powerful tool set aimed at meeting our national mandate of eradicating discrimination within the U.S. workforce," Klein said.
The Consent Decree Repository contains unedited full text Title VII Class Action Consent Decrees. We offer search for full decrees and specific clauses.
Please visit the Cornell ILR Consent Decree Repository.