Digital Commons Network^™

Chosen Family, Care, And The Workplace, Deborah Widiss

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Employees often request time off work to care for the medical needs of loved ones who are part of their extended or chosen family. Until recently, most workers would not have had any legal right to take such leave. A rapidly growing number of state laws, however, not only guarantee paid time off for family health needs, but also adopt innovative and expansive definitions of eligible family.

Several provide leave to care for intimate partners without requiring legal formalization of the relationship. Some go further to include any individual who has a relationship with the employee that is “like” or …

"Bring Your Own Device" Policies Also Bring Complications In Workplace Sexual Harassment Lawsuits, Morgan Davenport

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Examining Pay Differentials In The Legal Field, Barbara Donn, Christine Cahill, Meghan H. Mihal

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

This study investigates pay discrimination towards women in the legal field. Recent research has shown that a pay gap does exist in the legal field, and we show that this gap widens throughout the lawyers’ early careers. For our analysis, we focus on the pay differentials between associate level men and women at large private law firms in the United States. The data used in this study is provided by the American Bar Association and is a nationally representative data set following lawyers who began their legal career in 2000. We show that women earn less than their male counterparts …

Women's Employment Rights In China: Creating Harmony For Women In The Workplace, Jamie Burnett

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This Note explores the global problem of gender-based labor inequality as exemplified in China. China's historic and cultural framework, the efforts the Chinese government has made to coordinate with the global community on women's rights initiatives, and recent legislation passed at both national and local levels in China provide an interesting case study for countries facing gender inequality in the workplace. The items of legislation, though sometimes drafted using international treaties as a framework, contain unique provisions that provide protections for Chinese women that are not seen elsewhere in the world. Additionally, the Chinese government's current political goal of achieving …

Domestic Violence And The Workplace: The Explosion Of State Legislation And The Need For A Comprehensive Strategy, Deborah A. Widiss

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In recent years, domestic violence legislation has migrated out of its traditional locus in family law and criminal law to include a rapidly growing body of employment law. The new laws respond to a relatively simple problem: Economic security is one of the most important factors in whether a victim of domestic violence will be able to separate from an abusive partner, but domestic violence often interferes with victims' ability to maintain jobs, thus causing job loss that further traps victims in abusive relationships. By providing supports to victims and empowering employers to take direct legal action against perpetrators of …

Why Don't "Reasonable Women" Complain About Sexual Harassment?, L. Camille Hébert

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Protecting The E-Marketplace Of Ideas By Protecting Employers: Immunity For Employers Under Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act, Eric M.D. Zion

Federal Communications Law Journal

While we credit employers that provide employees with free Internet access, such access comes at a price to the public because employers are one of the traditional defendents in defamation suits. Complicating matters, Congress enacted the Communications Decency Act. Its section 230 provides broad federal immunity for ISPs when defamatory material of a third party is published using their services. With the passage of section 230, Congress rendered employers immune for the same tort which they are so closely associated. Some argue that employers should not be capable of invoking the immunity because it would allow employers to defame with …

The Private Workplace And The Proposed “Notice Of Electronic Monitoring Act”: Is “Notice” Enough?, Nathan Watson

Federal Communications Law Journal

On July 20, 2000, an interesting mix of federal legislators proposed legislation that would affect monitoring of employee communications and computer usage in the workplace. Had it passed, NEMA would have required employers to notify their employees if they wished to conduct surveillance of their employees' electronic mail ("e-mail") or other electronic communications. Employer groups succeeded in convincing the Judiciary Committee to pull the bill from further consideration, citing a potential increase in litigation and more work for human resources professionals. This Note argues that NEMA should be adopted, since it would improve the current state of affairs relating to …

Business-Only E-Mail Policies In The Labor Organizing Context: It Is Time To Recognize Employee And Employer Rights, Allegra Kirsten Weiner

Federal Communications Law Journal

Cyberspace changed communication in the workplace. Now that employees are on employers' e-mail systems, union organizers can contact employees in the workplace, during working hours, without any of the obstacles that more traditional forms of union communication impose. Of course this new technologically-advanced labor organizing is ideal for the labor organizers, but it also interferes with the rights of employers. Which groups interests' prevail? Unfortunately there is no precedent. Normally, adherence to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decisions is the answer but no case has come before the NLRB that solves this issue. Therefore, employers and employees are left …

Discrimination As Accident, Amy L. Wax

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Response To Professor Wax: Discrimination As Accident: Old Whine, New Bottle, Michael Selmi

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review. Turbulence!: Challenges And Opportunities In The World Of Work: Are You Prepared For The Future? By Roger E. Herman, Juliet Casper Smith

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.