Kat Macfarlane
@katmacfarlane.bsky.social
Law prof interested in civil rights, disability, and procedure. At war with my immune system. I have the best dog. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2115906
Pinned
Higher Education's Accommodations Mistake
<p><span>A university may deny a disabled student’s reasonable accommodation request if it decides that the accommodation would fundamentally alter its academic
papers.ssrn.com
Higher Education’s Accommodations Mistake is forthcoming in the Georgetown LJ. It argues that the fundamental alteration defense is misapplied in higher ed and that Guckenberger & Wynne were wrongly decided, resulting in decades of unjustified accommodation denials. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Working on my Case Western L Rev essay about reasonable accommodations and their treatment in DEI offices. This @chronicle.com tracker is excellent and has been really helpful as a research tool: www.chronicle.com/article/trac.... The tracker cites its sources, which include student newspapers.
At Duke, a Women’s Leadership Program Will Now Be Open to Men
We’ve documented actions taken on hundreds of campuses to alter or eliminate jobs, offices, hiring practices, and programs amid mounting political pressure to end identity-conscious recruitment and re...
www.chronicle.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Working on my Case Western L Rev essay about reasonable accommodations and their treatment in DEI offices. This @chronicle.com tracker is excellent and has been really helpful as a research tool: www.chronicle.com/article/trac.... The tracker cites its sources, which include student newspapers.
Sending good thoughts to all of us who are grading, writing, cooking, and trying to take deep breaths over the next few weeks. Almost there! (At the advice of friends and family, not much cooking is going on at my house 😂😂😂 but I am allowed to bring the wine)
November 25, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Sending good thoughts to all of us who are grading, writing, cooking, and trying to take deep breaths over the next few weeks. Almost there! (At the advice of friends and family, not much cooking is going on at my house 😂😂😂 but I am allowed to bring the wine)
And on a more light hearted note, this was lovely: David Byrne’s Career of Earnest Alienation
David Byrne’s Career of Earnest Alienation
At seventy-three, the former front man of Talking Heads is still asking questions about what it means to be alive. But now he’s also offering ideas of hopefulness and service.
www.newyorker.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:52 PM
And on a more light hearted note, this was lovely: David Byrne’s Career of Earnest Alienation
Rough opening sentence.
BREAKING: Comey case dismissed without prejudice. Halligan invalidly appointed, judge rules. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 24, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Rough opening sentence.
I recognize the need for this regulation, but local rules (and, of course, new/amended FRCPs) provide ample opportunity for public notice and comment, while standing orders do not. These issues merit public discussion.
'More Rules and Hurdles': US Chief Judges Adopt Cybersecurity Sealed Document Safeguards| Law.com
"Because sealed documents filed in CM/ECF will not be accessible or viewable by litigants electronically, service of those documents can no longer be accomplished through CM/ECF," U.S. Chief District ...
www.law.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:33 PM
I recognize the need for this regulation, but local rules (and, of course, new/amended FRCPs) provide ample opportunity for public notice and comment, while standing orders do not. These issues merit public discussion.
Huge congrats to my wonderful @syracuselaw.bsky.social colleague and Burton Blatt Institute chair Peter Blanck on this recent grant: news.syr.edu/2025/11/21/f...
Focus on Disability Rights: Q&A With BBI’s Peter Blanck
A recent $4.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will support the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Employment Policy at Syracuse.
news.syr.edu
November 23, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Huge congrats to my wonderful @syracuselaw.bsky.social colleague and Burton Blatt Institute chair Peter Blanck on this recent grant: news.syr.edu/2025/11/21/f...
Roscioli in Rome is one of my favorite restaurants, ever. Really enjoyed its NYC outpost a few weeks ago. The carbonara made me feel like I was in Rome (and you know I’m picky about such things 😂).
This Italian-born import brings the flavors of Rome to NYC
Part delicatessen, part dining room—full Italian immersion
www.timeout.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Roscioli in Rome is one of my favorite restaurants, ever. Really enjoyed its NYC outpost a few weeks ago. The carbonara made me feel like I was in Rome (and you know I’m picky about such things 😂).
Reposted by Kat Macfarlane
Since February, according to my latest analysis, almost 600,000 Black women have been economically sidelined. The November 20, 2025, Jobs Report makes clear this isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. That is not a recovery. It is a redistribution of opportunity.
The exit economy is here. Black Women are paying the highest price | Fortune
This isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. And it's not a recovery, it's a redistribution of opportunity.
fortune.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Since February, according to my latest analysis, almost 600,000 Black women have been economically sidelined. The November 20, 2025, Jobs Report makes clear this isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. That is not a recovery. It is a redistribution of opportunity.
When you’re done with the photos . . .
November 23, 2025 at 2:04 AM
When you’re done with the photos . . .
Reposted by Kat Macfarlane
Important and timely work by health law extraordinaire @jennoliva.bsky.social featured on @pbsnews.org — discussing the AI battle between private insurers (who use AI to deny claims) & patients (who use new AI tools to draft effective appeals on those denials) . 🔥🔥🔥 www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
How patients are using AI to fight back against denied insurance claims
As health insurers increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to process claims, denials have been on the rise. In 2023, about 73 million Americans on Affordable Care Act plans had their claims for ...
www.pbs.org
November 22, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Important and timely work by health law extraordinaire @jennoliva.bsky.social featured on @pbsnews.org — discussing the AI battle between private insurers (who use AI to deny claims) & patients (who use new AI tools to draft effective appeals on those denials) . 🔥🔥🔥 www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
Reposted by Kat Macfarlane
After being stuck in committee for four years, the Pa. Senate passed the CROWN Act Wednesday with a vote of 44-3.
That means employers and school officials can’t bar people from jobs or schools for wearing their hair as it grows out naturally or choosing styles that protect it.
That means employers and school officials can’t bar people from jobs or schools for wearing their hair as it grows out naturally or choosing styles that protect it.
Passing of the CROWN Act means Pennsylvanians can no longer be fired for wearing Afros, braids, or locs
The act especially impacts Black men and women who are required to cut or straighten their natural hair, often using heat and harmful chemicals.
www.inquirer.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:22 PM
After being stuck in committee for four years, the Pa. Senate passed the CROWN Act Wednesday with a vote of 44-3.
That means employers and school officials can’t bar people from jobs or schools for wearing their hair as it grows out naturally or choosing styles that protect it.
That means employers and school officials can’t bar people from jobs or schools for wearing their hair as it grows out naturally or choosing styles that protect it.
Reposted by Kat Macfarlane
Today we honor the iconic Pauli Murray ❤️
Without Ms. Murray's challenge of the "separate but equal" doctrine, there would be no foundation for Brown v. Board of Education. As we continue to see attacks on public education, Pauli Murray reminds us to remain steadfast in our fight for equality.
Without Ms. Murray's challenge of the "separate but equal" doctrine, there would be no foundation for Brown v. Board of Education. As we continue to see attacks on public education, Pauli Murray reminds us to remain steadfast in our fight for equality.
November 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Today we honor the iconic Pauli Murray ❤️
Without Ms. Murray's challenge of the "separate but equal" doctrine, there would be no foundation for Brown v. Board of Education. As we continue to see attacks on public education, Pauli Murray reminds us to remain steadfast in our fight for equality.
Without Ms. Murray's challenge of the "separate but equal" doctrine, there would be no foundation for Brown v. Board of Education. As we continue to see attacks on public education, Pauli Murray reminds us to remain steadfast in our fight for equality.
My Civil Rights Lit students are wrapping up the semester with presentations focused on ongoing litigation. In connection with a press access case, we all received these today, which I loved:
November 19, 2025 at 7:17 PM
My Civil Rights Lit students are wrapping up the semester with presentations focused on ongoing litigation. In connection with a press access case, we all received these today, which I loved:
The aftermath of Skrmetti’s Bostock pronouncement: 9th Circ. Strikes Down Trans Patients' Win In ACA Bias Case
9th Circ. Strikes Down Trans Patients' Win In ACA Bias Case - Law360 Employment Authority
The Ninth Circuit upended a win Monday for patients who challenged Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois' administration of their employer-provided health plans containing gender-affirming care exclusion...
www.law360.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:03 PM
The aftermath of Skrmetti’s Bostock pronouncement: 9th Circ. Strikes Down Trans Patients' Win In ACA Bias Case
This hurts. Alice, thank you for everything.
November 15, 2025 at 2:25 PM
This hurts. Alice, thank you for everything.
I love @marzhang.bsky.social’s work and am excited to read this new piece!
Today was publication day for my new article!
"How Workplace Equity Laws Perpetuate Inequity": arguing that when work laws benefit some people but not others, the burden to prove membership in a group perpetuates the inequities that the law wanted to solve.
open.mitchellhamline.edu/cgi/viewcont...
"How Workplace Equity Laws Perpetuate Inequity": arguing that when work laws benefit some people but not others, the burden to prove membership in a group perpetuates the inequities that the law wanted to solve.
open.mitchellhamline.edu/cgi/viewcont...
November 14, 2025 at 2:50 AM
I love @marzhang.bsky.social’s work and am excited to read this new piece!
Today @brooklynlawschool.bsky.social’s Anna Roberts gave a fantastic presentation about the fed criminal rulemaking and amendment process. I was inspired. Rules!
November 10, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Today @brooklynlawschool.bsky.social’s Anna Roberts gave a fantastic presentation about the fed criminal rulemaking and amendment process. I was inspired. Rules!
Ten years ago, one of my students had an ‘I ❤️ Civil Rights’ mug made up for everyone in the class, including me. It was my first time teaching the class, I was but a wee teaching fellow, and I loved those LSU students so much.
November 10, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Ten years ago, one of my students had an ‘I ❤️ Civil Rights’ mug made up for everyone in the class, including me. It was my first time teaching the class, I was but a wee teaching fellow, and I loved those LSU students so much.
Great explainer from @stevevladeck.bsky.social about Justice Jackson’s recent strategy (a write-up that will help when my students ask what is going on). 28 U.S.C. 42 in action.
190. SNAP WTF?
A very quick explainer on why Justice Jackson issued an "administrative stay" in the SNAP case late on Friday night, and on what's likely to happen next
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Great explainer from @stevevladeck.bsky.social about Justice Jackson’s recent strategy (a write-up that will help when my students ask what is going on). 28 U.S.C. 42 in action.
So far, am enjoying ‘Look Out: The Delight and Danger of Taking the Long View’ by Edward McPherson. A book for dreamers.
Look Out by Edward McPherson: 9781662602955 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
"A charming, idiosyncratic meditation on the human urge to see further, and more, in this cultural history of the 'aerial view' . . . McPherson makes an elliptical and enchanting case for reinserting ...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:50 PM
So far, am enjoying ‘Look Out: The Delight and Danger of Taking the Long View’ by Edward McPherson. A book for dreamers.
Excuse you, Cooper.
November 7, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Excuse you, Cooper.
Reposted by Kat Macfarlane
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is pressing charges against a man who she said was “drunk” and harassed her, calling the incident “an assault on all women.”
Mexico’s President Sheinbaum takes legal action after groping incident | CNN
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is pressing charges against a man who she said was “drunk” and harassed her on Tuesday, calling the incident “an assault on all women.”
www.cnn.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is pressing charges against a man who she said was “drunk” and harassed her, calling the incident “an assault on all women.”
I loved this book! Highly recommend, feels like vintage McEwan mixed with Station Eleven world-building.
Ian McEwan’s Latest Is the Best Novel He’s Written in Ages
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:43 PM
I loved this book! Highly recommend, feels like vintage McEwan mixed with Station Eleven world-building.
Congratulations @dtraficonte.bsky.social!!!
Excited that my new article is now out in the @yalelawjournal.bsky.social! The article takes a look at intramural research (R&D funded and performed by the government) from an innovation law perspective: yalelawjournal.org/article/gove...
Government Research | Yale Law Journal
Previous scholarship has analyzed a host of innovation institutions––including patents, prizes, and grants––but has overlooked government-conducted...
yalelawjournal.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Congratulations @dtraficonte.bsky.social!!!
The Law School Survey of Student Engagement released its 2025 report, Disability in Law School. Among many helpful findings: 1/5 students report having a disability. This serves as an important counter to what NALP has found (1-2% in offices/firms). Well done, @meeradeo.bsky.social!
lssse.indiana.edu
November 6, 2025 at 12:36 PM
The Law School Survey of Student Engagement released its 2025 report, Disability in Law School. Among many helpful findings: 1/5 students report having a disability. This serves as an important counter to what NALP has found (1-2% in offices/firms). Well done, @meeradeo.bsky.social!