Two faces of state university employment: Ethics in access to federal due process

State universities have grown to become monumental enterprises generating r evenues of more than $124 billion a year in the sale and delivery of educat ion and other services. They compete in a marketplace composed of private s ecular, nonsecular and for-profit higher education institutions. In additio n, state universities in their own right engage in a number of traditionall y for-profit "business" enterprises competing with the private sector. Howe ver, as the enterprise aspect of state universities grows; so tao does the impact of a unique competitive advantage enjoyed solely by state universiti es-that is, the ability of state universities to immune themselves from law suit in federal court under the guise of "sovereign immunity" for disputes arising under federal employment laws. Indeed, as a consequence of recent S upreme Court rulings, state agencies, including universities, are the only entities in the United States that are effectively exempt from the enforcem ent of federal employment laws in federal or state courts. This article rev iews the condition of the "two faces" of the state university regarding fed eral employment law and the apparent new barriers to federal court access o f employees to judicial review of employment disputes.