Chicago-Kent "All About Accommodations" Symposium: Call for Papers

Nicole Porter, the new director of the Malin Institute for Law & the Workplace at Chicago-Kent writes to invite submissions for "All About Accommodations" Symposium:

Call for Papers: Symposium Hosted by the
Martin H. Malin Institute for Law and the Workplace at Chicago-Kent College of Law

All About Accommodations

The COVID-19 pandemic brought renewed attention to the fact that our diverse workforce often needs modifications of how the job is done or when and where the work is performed. We most commonly think of employees with disabilities as needing accommodations. But as recent developments have demonstrated, pregnant workers might be entitled to accommodations under the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), and employees have a better chance of having their religious practices accommodated after the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision, Groff v. DeJoy

This symposium will explore the current state and future development of accommodations in the workplace. Selected participants might focus on the Americans with Disabilities Act, the PWFA, religious accommodations, the FMLA, state laws, or the lack of protection for employees who might need but are not entitled to accommodations in the workplace, such as employees with caregiving responsibilities. More broadly, we hope to have conversations about the similarities and differences between various accommodation laws, the pros and cons of targeted (versus universal) accommodation mandates, the theoretical justifications for accommodations, the effect of accommodations on coworkers, how COVID-19 has affected accommodations in the workplace, and how workplace accommodations (or the lack thereof) contribute to (or perhaps harm) workplace equality and the well-being of all workers.

The Martin H. Malin Institute for Law and the Workplace at Chicago-Kent College of Law will sponsor an in-person symposium on Friday, March 22, 2024, at Chicago-Kent. Out-of-town speakers’ reasonable travel expenses to Chicago will be paid for by Chicago-Kent. Papers will be published in a forthcoming issue of the well-respected, peer-edited Employee Rights & Employment Policy Journal, published by the Malin Institute at Chicago-Kent.

Interested participants should send a proposed title and one- or two-paragraph description of your proposal to Professor Nicole Buonocore Porter, Director of the Institute, at [email protected]. Please include “Symposium Proposal” on the subject line and include your institutional affiliation and contact information. Proposals are due by Friday, August 18, 2023. Selected participants will be notified by Friday, September 15. Questions can be directed to Nicole at the email above.

Jeff Hirsch