From Little Acorns Great Oaks Grow-Neil Gotanda's Contribution to the Law Permitting General & Punitive Damages in Employment Discrimination Cases

Abstract

Although Neil Gotanda's contributions to critical race scholarship are widely recognized, Gotanda's work as a practitioner has also had great impact. In this article, the author tells how Gotanda drafted a "controversial set of regulations" for the California Fair Employment Housing Commission which ultimately paved the way for the 1991 amendment of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act permitting general compensatory and punitive damages in federal employment discrimination cases.