Law Commons^™

Notice To Class Members Under The Fair Labor Standards Act Representative Action Provision, Thomas Ashby

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Federal courts currently apply different standards concerning the permissibility of notice. Although the Ninth Circuit forbids notice and the Seventh Circuit grants plaintiffs a right to send notice, the Second Circuit permits notice only in appropriate cases. This Note advocates that plaintiffs in FLSA and ADEA actions should be allowed to notify potential class members in appropriate cases. Part I analyzes inherent court powers, statutes, legislative history, and federal policies relating to notice. It concludes that enactment of FLSA and ADEA remedies did not alter the inherent power of federal courts to permit or prohibit notice. On the contrary, only …

The Deduction Of Unemployment Compensation From Back-Pay Awards Under Title Vii, Eric A. Martin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that federal courts should not deduct unemployment insurance benefits from Title VII back-pay awards. Part I reviews the legislative history and purposes behind the remedial provisions of Title VII. Part I also presents the arguments that courts have advanced regarding the deduction of unemployment benefits from Title VII back-pay awards. Part II assesses these arguments in light of analogous common law doctrine and the legislative objectives of Title VII, and advances arguments not yet considered by the courts. Finally, Part II concludes that federal courts should resolve this division of authority by not deducting unemployment benefits from …

Protection Against Unjust Discharge: The Need For A Federal Statute, Jack Stieber, Michael Murray

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

We argue that only a federal statute can fully protect American workers from the harsh consequences of the employment-at-will rule. Part I of this Article outlines the nature and scope of the problems caused by the at-will doctrine. Part II surveys a variety of potential solutions to these problems - unionism, voluntary internal grievance mechanisms, existing statutes, the Constitution, and judicially created exceptions to the at-will rule - and finds each an inadequate source of protection. The final Part urges the enactment of a federal statute to protect all American workers from unjust dicharge and sets out several substantive criteria …

Exploring Voluntary Arbitration Of Individual Employment Disputes, Alfred W. Blumrosen

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article outlines an arbitration process which may be employed in individual employment contracts to achieve a fair disposition of disputes, with the maximum finality for an arbitration decision which is consistent with legal principles. Where finality is not possible, arbitration would be a condition precedent to formal legal processes. To assure fairness in the process, the employer would agree to pay the arbitrator's fee and the employee's attorney fees incurred in connection with the arbitration.

Employment Problems Of The Handicapped: Would Title Vii Remedies Be Appropriate And Effective?, Cornelius J. Peck

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article argues that the employment problems of the handicapped are not well-suited for treatment under a statutory discrimination model. Underlying this argument is the belief that the concept of discrimination is not adaptable to the problems of the handicapped, and efforts to apply it will only worsen existing problems. Part I begins by defining the meaning of discrimination, and then explores the similarities and differences between discrimination against the handicapped, and discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and national origin. The purpose of this discussion is to provide a basic framework for understanding claims that the handicapped should be …

Protecting The Whistleblower From Retaliatory Discharge, Martin H. Malin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This approach to the problem of whistleblowing, however, is misguided; the appropriate balance is between the employee's interest in acting in accordance with his individual conscience and his duty of loyalty to his employer. This Article argues that although the law should protect individual acts of whistleblowing once they have occurred, it should not affirmatively encourage whistleblowing. Part I discusses the protection currently available to whistleblowers under the common law, collective bargaining agreements, and the antiretaliation provisions of several important statutes. Part II proposes a general standard of whistleblower protection that is designed to protect individual whistleblowers in appropriate circumstances, …

Reforming At-Will Employment Law: A Model Statute, Liana Gioia, Per Ramford

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Effective relief for at-will employees can only be achieved through statutory reform. Although specific legislation has been proposed on the federal

Challenging The Employment-At-Will Doctrine Through Modern Contract Theory, Clare Tully

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note advocates an implied contract analysis that both satisfies contractual requirements and protects the reasonable expectations of employees and employers. Part I describes the various reliance interests that employees bring to their jobs, the employer inducements that cause this reliance, and the business benefits that accrue when employees rely upon these inducements. Part II examines in detail judicial reluctance to enforce either these reliance interests or employer promises as contract rights under the at-will doctrine. Part II also urges the increased use of modern contract theories such as promissory estoppel, quasi-contract, and implied contract to protect employee reliance interests …

Employment-At-Will Doctrine: Providing A Public Policy Exception To Improve Worker Safety, Daniel T. Schibley

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Occupational safety would be greatly enhanced if employees had a viable option of refusing to work under unsafe conditions without risking their jobs. This Note proposes a public policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine that would give a cause of action to an employee discharged for refusing to work under unsafe conditions. Part I examines the employment-at-will rule and its recognized exceptions. Part II analyzes the inadequacies of existing statutory remedies for a discharged employee who refused to work under unsafe conditions. Finally, Part III proposes an alternative remedy: providing a common-law exception to the employment-at-will rule that will give …

Introduction, Clyde W. Summers

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Ten years ago a symposium on the subject of employment at will would have been unthinkable. There would have been few commentators willing to write on the subject, and few others interested in reading about it. The misbegotten legal doctrine was mechanically, and at times brutally, applied by the courts but was seldom examined or questioned. It was one of our inherited legal curses which we mindlessly accepted.

The symposium speaks to the task ahead - to use every legal device available to sweep away the remnants of the employment-at-will doctrine and bring a measure of freedom, respect, and dignity …

A Right Of Fair Dismissal: Enforcing A Statutory Guarantee, Janice R. Bellace

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Support for the concept that employees should be protected against wrongful dismissal continues to grow in this country. Yet, many advocates of protection have thus far refrained from venturing into the legislative arena. Even though the movement to achieve this protection is still at an early stage, it is not too soon to focus on specific proposals designed to translate ideals into protections. By failing to coalesce behind a single proposal, supporters have retarded the progress of the movement. Without a proposal for specific legislation, supporters lack a rallying point and legislators have nothing concrete to debate. This Article attempts …