Law Commons^™

Labor And Employment Law, Eric Wallace

Law Student Publications

During the past two years, there have been several significant developments in labor and employment law, both on the state and federal levels. Because developments in both state and federal law likely will have a profound impact on employers and employees throughout Virginia, they warrant significant discussion in this survey. In addition to examining notable decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern District and Western District of Virginia, this survey also discusses decisions of the Supreme Court of Virginia …

Direct Employer Liability For Punitive Damages, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In Punitive Damages, Due Process, and Employment Discrimination, Joseph Seiner tackles the growing complexity of employment discrimination punitive damages claims and provides a workable solution to a difficult problem. Given the importance of punitive damages in shaping incentives to bring discrimination suits, his contribution is valuable, especially in trying to align recent constitutional punitive damages cases with the underlying discrimination law.

This Essay begins by emphasizing the fundamental idea on which Professor Seiner and I agree-that there should be little room for courts to reduce punitive damages in federal employment discrimination cases based on constitutional concerns about excessiveness. Title …

Soul Of A Woman: The Sex Stereotyping Prohibition At Work, Kimberly A. Yuracko

Faculty Working Papers

In 1989 the Supreme Court in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins declared that sex stereotyping was a prohibited from of sex discrimination at work. This seemingly simple declaration has been the most important development in sex discrimination jurisprudence since the passage of Title VII. It has been used to extend the Act's coverage and protect groups that were previously excluded. Astonishingly, however, the contours, dimensions and requirements of the prohibition have never been clearly articulated by courts or scholars. In this paper I evaluate four interpretations of what the sex stereotyping prohibition might mean in order to determine what it actually …

Workplace Reform In A Jobless Recovery, Marcia L. Mccormick

All Faculty Scholarship

In 2012, the United States was recovering from a recession and policy makers were debating how to solve the country’s economy. This essay looks at the labor and employment reforms (or lack thereof) of President Obama’s first term, and the differing views of the role of government in creating jobs. The article challenges us to think beyond the two solutions commonly discussed: de-regulation and a “New Deal” program.

There are ways current lawmakers could come together to help protect jobs. Some of the solutions offered by the article include using automatic contribution plans, promoting part-time work, and giving employees more …

Before Wisconsin And Ohio: The Quiet Success Of Card-Check Organizing In The Public Sector, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler

Faculty Publications

Card-check laws, which have been unsuccessfully pursued by private-sector unions, mandate that employers recognize the union as the representative of employees on the basis of signed authorization cards without reliance on a representation election. Card check authorization benefits unions because it short circuits the usual organizing process by eliminating the union's need to further prove majority support in a secret ballot election.' But by doing so, it imposes costs on employers by restricting their efforts to erode union support through aggressive campaign tactics. Our paper seeks to better understand the development of these laws and their effects, and in that …