This first session of the Employment Discrimination Law Summer Workshop will discuss works in progress by Daiquiri Steele (Whistleblower Parity) and Ben Pyle (Ban the Box: Fair Chance Hiring, Hiring Discrimination Enforcement, and Local Labor Markets), followed by discussion with attendees.
He has published work in law reviews and peer-reviewed journals, including the Notre Dame Law Review and the International Review of Law and Economics. His research has won several prizes, including The University of Chicago’s Donald M. Ephraim Prize in Law and Economics and The John E. Parker Memorial Prize in Labor Economics and Human Resources.
In addition to theoretical and methodological contributions, Professor Pyle’s scholarly contributions have been relevant to legal practice. His work has been cited by advocates, judicial opinions, and policy makers. His work has been featured in the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers journal, the Champion Magazine, as part of its Getting Scholarship Into the Courtroom Project. Professor Pyle’s work has been supported by grants from the Vital Projects Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the University of Michigan.
Professor Pyle has been active in providing research for the Criminal Justice Administrative Record System (CJARS) at the University of Michigan, a data infrastructure project revolutionizing research and statistical reporting on the US criminal justice system. He has also worked with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on federal employment of people with criminal records and “Ban-the-Box” policies and provided analysis and consulting for employment law cases to support expert witnesses. Professor Pyle has also worked with the National Employment Law Project on projects to improve the design and implementation of unemployment insurance systems. He has also worked with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Washtenaw County, Michigan Prosecutor’s office to improve local prosecutor data transparency.
Professor Pyle earned his JD from the University of Michigan, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and Order of the Coif. He will join Boston University School of Law with a Master’s degree and PhD in economics from the University of Michigan. In addition, he earned a BA, Magna Cum Laude, in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and Mathematics from Claremont McKenna College.
Daiquiri Steele, J.D., Ph.D. serves as an Assistant Professor of Law. She teaches Employment Discrimination, Employment Law, Labor Law, Education Law, Torts, Civil Rights, and Legislation & Regulation. Her research examines whether and how anti-discrimination laws help ensure equal access to employment and education, both of which are crucial determinants of socioeconomic mobility. Her work focuses specifically on anti-retaliation and whistleblower law. Her scholarship has been published or is forthcoming in the Michigan Law Review, Northwestern Law Review, UC Irvine Law Review, Washington Law Review, Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, and Boston University Law Review.
Professor Steele originally joined The University of Alabama School of Law in a hybrid administrative/faculty role as Director of Diversity & Inclusion and Assistant Professor of Law in Residence in 2016. From 2019-2021, she served as a Forrester Fellow at Tulane University Law School before rejoining the Alabama Law faculty.
Professor Steele formerly served as a Civil Rights Attorney with the U.S. Department of Education, where she provided legal counsel relating to federal investigations of discrimination involving the nation’s school districts, colleges, universities, and state educational agencies. She also served as a mediator for civil rights claims. She previously worked for the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, where she assessed federal contractors’ compliance with employment discrimination laws.
Professor Steele serves as Chair of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Labor Relations and Employment Law, Immediate Past Chair of the AALS Section on Employment Discrimination Law, and a Council member of the ABA Section of State Local Government Law. She previously served as a Commissioner on the ABA Commission on Racial & Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Public Education, Diversity Director for the ABA Young Lawyers Division (YLD), Assembly Speaker/Chief Policy Officer for the ABA YLD, Director of ABA Involvement for the State Bar of Georgia YLD, and a member of the Alabama State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
She is an American Bar Foundation Fellow, a graduate of the Georgia Young Lawyers Division Leadership Academy, a recipient of the National Bar Association 40 Under 40 Best Advocates Award, a recipient of the Award of Achievement for Outstanding Service to the Profession by the State Bar of Georgia YLD, and an ABA On The Rise Top 40 Young Lawyers Award recipient.
She graduated with Bachelors of Arts degrees in both Economics and Political Science from Spelman College where she was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law, her Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University, and her Ph.D. in Business Administration from Hampton University. She is actively engaged in multiple charitable and civic organizations, including Girls Inc. of Central Alabama, Heart Gallery Alabama, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and Kids Play Alabama.
