Law Commons^™

The Time Is Now: A Call For Federal Elimination Of Non-Competes Against Low-Wage And Hourly Workers In The Wake Of The Pandemic, Lori N. Ross

William & Mary Business Law Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the United States’ labor market and has led to an economic recession. Millions of Americans lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic and were forced to apply for unemployment benefits. Consequently, many of these workers were confronted with the question of whether their existing non-compete agreements were enforceable. Not surprisingly, courts across the nation started seeing more pandemic-related litigation surfacing during the second part of 2020, related to employees seeking a declaration that these agreements were unenforceable.

Prior to the pandemic, there was a rise in the use of noncompete agreements at …

Who Owns The Meme?: Establishing A Definitive Framework To Resolve Disputes In Social Media Account Ownership Between Employers And Employees, Tom Galvin

William & Mary Business Law Review

The pervasive nature of social media and its growing impact on every aspect of society has created a novel issue: who owns a social media account, an employer or an employee, following the termination of the employment relationship? Courts thus far have produced an inconsistent and confusing legal terrain that will only continue to breed uncertainty amongst parties involved in disputes over social media account ownership. This Note examines the current jurisprudence, analyzes its strengths and weaknesses, proposes a definitive framework to determine ownership between the parties, and demonstrates that framework using the facts of an ongoing case. This framework …

A Title Vii Dead End? Machine Learning And Employee Monitoring, Kayla Burris

William & Mary Law Review Online

This Note will argue that Title VII, as courts currently apply the law, does not adequately protect employees from algorithmic discrimination when companies use machine learning to monitor their employees' computers. Part I will provide an introduction to how employee monitoring tools work, how employers are using machine learning in their monitoring programs, and how these programs can discriminate. Because scholars have already done significant work in this area, this Note will not try to replicate this research but will provide an overview of how this discrimination can occur. Parts II and III will then analyze how an employee might …

The Coddling Of The American Worker's Mind: The Anti-Free Speech Nature Of Popular Labor Law Reforms, Daniel V. Johns

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

As the nation enters an era in which a new presidential administration will likely push such labor law reforms, it is worth considering whether transparently anti-free speech reform measures make sense for the future of labor policy and law. This Article argues that they do not. Because employee free choice is furthered, not diminished, by hearing both sides of an issue, American workers should have the opportunity to hear and evaluate employer speech in the course of union campaigns. Only then can employees make an informed decision about their workplace future. In the end, freedom of speech furthers employee freedom …

Franchisees, Consumers, And Employees: Choice And Arbitration, Robert W. Emerson, Zachary R. Hunt

William & Mary Business Law Review

Commentators and lawmakers have called attention to the rising frequency of contractual arbitration as a non-negotiable condition of many relationships. Indeed, it is a rare individual who is not subject to at least one pre-dispute, binding arbitration agreement.

This Article studies common concerns associated with binding, pre-dispute arbitration agreements and evaluates their use in consumer-vendor, employee-employer, and franchisee-franchisor relationships. Having introduced concepts relevant throughout the Article, the Article in Part I studies contractual arbitration as a form of alternative dispute resolution for transactional disputes between consumers and vendors. It examines industry self-regulation, due process, consumer salience, and forum accessibility including …

2022'S States With The Highest Job Resignation Rates: Ask The Experts, Adam Mccann, Erin J. Hendrickson

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Don't Abolish Employee Noncompete Agreements, Alan J. Meese

Faculty Publications

For over three centuries, Anglo-American courts have assessed employee noncompete agreements under a Rule of Reason. Despite long-standing precedent, some now advocate banning all such agreements. These advocates contend that employers use superior bargaining power to impose such "contracts of adhesion," preventing employees from selling their labor to the highest bidder and reducing wages. Abolitionists also contend that such agreements cannot produce cognizable benefits and that employers could achieve any benefits via less restrictive alternatives without limiting employee autonomy.

This Article critiques the Abolitionist position. Arguments for banning noncompete agreements echo hostile critiques of other nonstandard contracts during antitrust law's …