The Supreme Court's Cold Indifference to America's Workers
Jul-01-2014

When the Supreme Court's opening gavel fell Monday, Justice Antonin Scalia was not to be seen. Not to worry, said the Court's Public Information Office, Scalia was traveling and doing fine.

He wasn't the only person missing. In two 5-4 opinions handed down-Harris v. Quinn and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores-the Court's conservative majority made thousands of workers disappear.

The magic was performed in both cases by the junior conservative, Justice Samuel Alito. A few years ago, Emily Bazelon noted that Alito displays "selective empathy"-deep feeling for the pain of some groups and utter indifference to that of others. In this case, Alito was tender toward anti-union workers and anti-contraception employers, flinty toward union members, female employees, and women's so-called health needs.

Courts, of course, must often balance the rights of one group-employees, say-against those of another-employers, perhaps. Employees don't always win, nor should they.

But the majority Monday didn't balance rights; it simply pretended that one side had them and the other didn't.

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Posted by Ken at 1:43 AM - Link to this entry  |  Share this entry  |  Print