Digital Commons Network^™

Workplace Sexual Harassment: Assessing The Effectiveness Of Human Rights Law In Canada, Bethany Hastie

Bethany Hastie

This report analyzes substantive decisions on the merits concerning workplace sexual harassment at each of the BC and Ontario Human Rights Tribunals from 2000-2018, with a view to identifying how the law of sexual harassment is understood, interpreted and applied by the Tribunals’ adjudicators. In particular, this report examines whether, and to what extent, gender-based stereotypes and myths known to occur in criminal justice proceedings arise in the human rights context.

This report examines substantive decisions on the merits for claims of workplace sexual harassment from 2000-2018 in BC and Ontario. The limitation to substantive decisions allows for a greater …

Regulating Social Media Use In The Workplace, Yemisi Dina

Yemisi Dina

The advent of social networking sites (SNS) has become a reality of the digital age. These sites are highly interactive, creative and addictive for individuals to exchange personal, professional and social ideas but its use has also been the subject of litigation in the courts lately just like any man made invention. People using these sites have sparked a number of legal challenges that have dramatically changed the world. This raises a number of questions as to whether there are clear guidelines on the use of these tools by employers and employees.

This paper is a case commentary of one …

Internal Dispute Resolution: The Transformation Of Civil Rights In The Workplace, John M. Lande, Lauren B. Edelman, Howard S. Erlanger

Lauren Edelman

Many employers create internal procedures for the resolution of discrimination complaints. We examine internal complaint handlers' conceptions of civil rights law and the implications of those conceptions for their approach to dispute resolution. Drawing on interview data, we find that complaint handlers tend to subsume legal rights under managerial interests. They construct civil rights law as a diffuse standard of fairness, consistent with general norms of good management. Although they seek to resolve complaints to restore smooth employment relations, they tend to recast discrimination claims as typical managerial problems. While the assimilation of law into the management realm may extend …

Payment Finality And Discharge In Funds Transfers, Benjamin Geva

Benjamin Geva

The article explores the occurrence of "final payment" in funds transfers in the form of "accountability" by a bank instructed to pay to a payee/beneficiary. Both the accountability of the drawee/payor bank in a check-collection debit-pull system and that of the beneficiary's bank in a wire-transfer credit-push system are discussed. The article further examines the relationship between "final payment" and the discharge of an obligation paid by means of the "funds transfer." It analyzes relevant provisions of Articles 3, 4, and 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code, sometimes against the background of general common law principles. The article proposes minor …

Foreword: Health In The Workplace, Barbara Fick

Barbara J. Fick

This article is a brief forward to the 1987 Notre Dame Law Review Symposium Issue.

Learning Through Work: An Empirical Study Of Legal Internship, Daniel J. Givelber, Brook K. Baker, John Mcdevitt, Robyn Miliano

Jack McDevitt

The authors present the results of an extended empirical investigation of law students' beliefs about how well they learn in work settings and which factors distinguish between settings where they learn well and those where they do not. The results resonate with a theory of ecological learning which they present in summary form. Through their data, based upon responses to more than 500 work experiences, they attempt to explore the validity of many of the current criticisms of workplace learning. Their analysis and findings cast doubt on the belief, reified by the MacCrate Report, that legal educators must participate actively …

The Cult Of Hostile Gender Climate: A Male Voice Preaches Diversity To The Choir, Dan Subotnik

Dan Subotnik

No abstract provided.

Learning Through Work: An Empirical Study Of Legal Internship, Daniel J. Givelber, Brook K. Baker, John Mcdevitt, Robyn Miliano

Brook K. Baker

The authors present the results of an extended empirical investigation of law students' beliefs about how well they learn in work settings and which factors distinguish between settings where they learn well and those where they do not. The results resonate with a theory of ecological learning which they present in summary form. Through their data, based upon responses to more than 500 work experiences, they attempt to explore the validity of many of the current criticisms of workplace learning. Their analysis and findings cast doubt on the belief, reified by the MacCrate Report, that legal educators must participate actively …

Learning Through Work: An Empirical Study Of Legal Internship, Daniel J. Givelber, Brook K. Baker, John Mcdevitt, Robyn Miliano

Daniel J. Givelber

The authors present the results of an extended empirical investigation of law students' beliefs about how well they learn in work settings and which factors distinguish between settings where they learn well and those where they do not. The results resonate with a theory of ecological learning which they present in summary form. Through their data, based upon responses to more than 500 work experiences, they attempt to explore the validity of many of the current criticisms of workplace learning. Their analysis and findings cast doubt on the belief, reified by the MacCrate Report, that legal educators must participate actively …

Discrimination Cases (The Supreme Court And Local Government Law: The 1995-1996 Term), Eileen Kaufman

Eileen Kaufman

No abstract provided.

Respecting Language As Part Of Ethnicity: Title Vii And Language Discrimination At Work, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

This article argues that, in the absence of a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason or a business necessity, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act can protect employees from language-based discrimination in the workplace. Language is a part of one’s ethnicity, which refers to one’s culture. Ethnicity, much as race already does, should receive protection under Title VII. Plaintiffs, however, have the burden of proof in litigation, and so a plaintiff who sues under a discrimination theory should have to make his or her case to the appropriate fact-finder.

Drawing upon the insights of critical theory, particularly to explore concepts like …

The Need For A Revitalized Regulatory Scheme To Address Workplace Bullying In The United States: Harnessing The Federal Occupational Safety And Health Act., Susan Harthill

Susan Harthill

This paper explores the potential for harnessing the OSH Act and the OSHA regulatory apparatus to tackle the widespread problem of workplace bullying. Workplace bullying is a phenomenon that has attracted a considerable amount of domestic and international inter-disciplinary attention. It can be described as psychological or emotional abuse occurring regularly, repeatedly, and over a period of time. Common types of overt behavior include constant criticism, shouting and verbal abuse, persistently picking on the victim, and repeatedly assigning unreasonable or impossible targets or deadlines. In an earlier article, I explained how the experience of the United Kingdom in combating workplace …

Should Employees Have To Choose Between Enduring Pain And Keeping Their Jobs?, Reka Bala

Reka Bala

For patients in constant pain, medical marijuana is often the only substance that offers complete relief. Yet these individuals and their employers are still at risk of job-related concerns as cannabis legislation consistently neglects employment issues. In a controversial 2008 decision, Ross v. RagingWire Telecommunications, Inc. forced California cannabis patients to cruelly decide between alleviating pain and staying employed. This Note argues that Ross contradicts legislative intent and violates state and federal law, all of which call for broader rights to medical marijuana users. It also recommends changing California law or designing a judicial remedy to better protect patients from …

Should Employees Have To Choose Between Enduring Pain And Keeping Their Jobs?, Reka Bala

Reka Bala

For patients in constant pain, medical marijuana is often the only substance that offers complete relief. Yet these individuals and their employers are still at risk of job-related concerns as cannabis legislation consistently neglects employment issues. In a controversial 2008 decision, Ross v. RagingWire Telecommunications, Inc. forced California cannabis patients to cruelly decide between alleviating pain and staying employed. This Note argues that Ross contradicts legislative intent and violates state and federal law, all of which call for broader rights to medical marijuana users. It also recommends changing California law or designing a judicial remedy to better protect patients from …

English Only At Work, Por Favor, Natalie Prescott

Natalie Prescott

Whether or not employees can be required to speak only English at work is a very delicate question. This issue has caused considerable disagreement among courts and legal scholars and gained greater prominence in 2006, when the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals created a circuit split by allowing for the possibility that an English-only rule may violate Title VII. Some scholars have attempted to address the legality of an English-only rule, mostly arguing that the rule violates Title VII. This Article, however, explains why Title VII does not apply to an English-only rule. The Article addresses a wide range of …