Law Commons^™

Privatization Of Employment Claims: Perhaps A Hybrid Approach Will Free American Society From The Epic Trap The Supreme Court Has Sprung Without Forfeiting All Advantages Of Arbitration, Weyman Johnson, Kailyn G. Coots, Alexander Edmonds

William & Mary Business Law Review

Mandatory individual arbitration, as a condition of employment, binds many U.S. employees after the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis. In effect, fundamental employment protections—such as relief under current anti-discrimination statutes—are privatized. Now, only a legislative fix will break those bonds. Congress and state legislatures have ventured into the fray, though preemption problems plague the latter, and both seem fixated on either excessively narrow categories (harassment claims in employment) or politically distasteful, broad solutions (no individual arbitration allowed in employment or consumer contracts). This Article acknowledges the quandary that the Epic decision, and the Court’s …

Tackling Discrimination In The Nfl: How The Recent Cte Race-Norming Agreement Highlights The Need To Provide Broader Anti-Discrimination Protections For Nfl Players Through Collective Bargaining Agreements, Victoria Nauman

William & Mary Business Law Review

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is becoming a commonly known consequence of playing football. Many have become stunned at the effects of CTE among some of the National Football League’s (NFL) most popular players. While the NFL agreed to compensate players who have suffered the effects of CTE, they did not do so fairly. The NFL employed practices of racial-baselining cognitive brain evaluations to systemically provide Black players with lower CTE settlement payouts than their white counterparts. Though shocking, this is but one instance of the NFL discriminating against their players of color in a majority-minority league. However, settling out of …

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 …

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 …

To Bar Or Not To Bar: Title I Of The Ada And After-Acquired Evidence Of A Plaintiff's Failure To Satisfy Job Prerequisites, Kathryn Johnson-Monfort

William & Mary Business Law Review

Through enactment of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, Congress unequivocally resolved to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in the workplace. However, distortions have since created loopholes through which disability-based employment discrimination may freely slip. An enforcement regulation promulgated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enables such circumvention of the ADA by creating an additional prima facie requirement: a plaintiff must not only be able to perform the essential functions of the position as required by the statute, but must also satisfy all job-related requirements of the position as demanded by the …

Twenty-First Century Labor Law: Striking The Right Balance Between Workplace Civility Rules That Accommodate Equal Employment Opportunity Obligations And The Loss Of Protection For Concerted Activities Under The National Labor Relations Act, Christine Neylon O'Brien

William & Mary Business Law Review

Employees who engage in protected concerted activities relating to work generally are shielded from discipline by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Where otherwise protected work-related activity involves profanity or offensive speech or actions, whether in or out of the workplace, on a picket line, or on social media, such may violate employer civility rules and/or equal employment opportunity laws. Important interests are at stake, including for employers to maintain a safe, discrimination-free workplace; and for employees to exercise their right to communicate about workplace matters. This Article analyzes recent cases on the question when offensive employee …

Using The Abc Test To Classify Workers: End Of The Platform-Based Business Model Or Status Quo Ante?, Robert Sprague

William & Mary Business Law Review

In light of California’s recent adoption of the ABC employee/ independent contractor classification test, this Article provides a comprehensive analysis of the ABC test’s application in the platformbased (gig) economy. After first reviewing the current state of precarious work arrangements, particularly through gig work, and reviewing more traditional classification tests (the common law control test, the economic realities test, and the IRS test) as well as more recent Market Platform legislation, this Article provides a thorough examination of the factors necessary to satisfy the three parts of the ABC test. Since there are almost no reported decisions applying the ABC …

Janus And The Future Of Collective Bargaining: Rhetorically Predicting A First Amendment Right To Negotiation, Thomas J. Freeman, Aaron Mckain, Destynie J.L. Sewell

William & Mary Business Law Review

The importance of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees has been widely recognized for its effect on reducing the power and influence of public unions. A close reading of the majority opinion provides a clue that compulsory collective bargaining itself may be settling into the court’s crosshairs. Collective bargaining is an important tool, by which labor can reduce the often-inherent power imbalance it has with ownership and management. Yet as this Article outlines, the interests of individual workers can often be at odds with those other workers workers, particularly those …

University Inventions Reconsidered: Debunking The Myth Of University Ownership, Patricia E. Campbell

William & Mary Business Law Review

Most universities today assert ownership rights over all patentable inventions (and many other types of intellectual property) created by members of the university community, including faculty, staff, students, visitors, and others. Universities then attempt to license that intellectual property (IP) to third parties, in order to generate revenue for the university and to give the public the benefit of innovations developed by the institution, often with the use of federal funds. This Article provides an evaluation of the technology transfer policies and practices of U.S. universities. Part I surveys the IP policies of a representative group of universities, showing that …

Graduate Student Employees Or Employee Graduate Students? The National Labor Relations Board And The Unionization Of Graduate Student Workers In Postsecondary Education, Leslie Crudele

William & Mary Business Law Review

This Note concerns the ongoing debate over the unionization of graduate student employees at private universities. An issue that the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) has historically been inconsistent on, graduate student unionization remains a contentious topic as university administrators continue to try to oppose student unionization efforts while graduate student employees seek to assert their collective bargaining rights under the National Labor Relations Act (the NLRA or the Act).

This Note will propose two considerations that the Board should take into account concerning issues of graduate student employee unionization: the appropriate bargaining unit and bargainable issues in academia. …

Cry Havoc: Are Incompetent Private Military Companies Ruining The Defense Base Act?, William Burke

William & Mary Business Law Review

The Defense Base Act (“DBA” or “Act”) provides a no-fault, insurancebacked workers’ compensation mechanism for compensating private security contractors who are injured overseas. Critics of the Act allege that it should be fundamentally altered or replaced because combat zone work is uninsurable, the Act’s compensation is insufficient, and it is less efficient than the alternatives. This Note argues that, on the contrary, the DBA insurance market is functional and improving, its benefits are sufficient when viewed in combination with contractors’ other compensation, and it is a far more efficient compensation system than is offered by tort litigation. The flaws cited …

Compatible Or Conflicting: The Promotion Of A High Level Of Employment And The Consumer Welfare Standard Under Article 101, Tom C. Hodge

William & Mary Business Law Review

The antitrust, or competition, regime of the European Union (EU) differs substantially from that of the United States, because EU competition law forms part of the EU Treaties and is therefore imbibed with the multiple values of the European Union itself. Accordingly, it is by no means clear or settled if the anti-cartel law of the European Union, Article 101 TFEU, must focus solely on a consumer welfare standard or must also consider the broad and multiple policy aims enshrined in the EU Treaties. If Article 101 must balance multiple aims, this would be in stark contrast to Section 1 …

Going Postal: What Can Reform Do For You?, Lauren T. Andrews

William & Mary Business Law Review

The sending and receiving of post and parcel is a vital aspect of daily living in the United States. Despite this vitality, the setup for post and parcel delivery in the United States has been heavily criticized. This Note, in response to these criticisms, explores whether postal reform is warranted in the United States today. To do so, this Note examines the origins of the public/private dichotomy inherent in the delivery of post and parcel, governmental regulation of the United States Postal Service and its private competitors, and the monopolies possessed by the United States Postal Service. It then analyzes …

Texas Elective Workers' Compensation: A Model Of Innovation?, Jason Ohana

William & Mary Business Law Review

Workers' Compensation is often described as a bargain between employers and employees. Employees give up the right to sue their employers in negligence for workplace injuries, and, in return, employers agree to pay predictable, statutorily mandated benefits to injured employees. Over time, this “bargain” became compulsory in every state but one. Texas is the only state in which employers and employees can decide whether or not to enter the workers' compensation bargain. This elective system has some fairly serious problems, and many have advocated its abandonment. This Note analyzes the system's history, compares the system to conventional compulsory systems, analyzes …

Is The Breast Best For Business?: The Implications Of The Breastfeeding Promotion Act, Brit Mohler

William & Mary Business Law Review

In June of 2009, the 111th Congress was asked again to consider the Breastfeeding Promotion Act. During that year, for the first time in history, the Senate also took up consideration of the issue, and the President of the United States signed into legislation a portion of the Act as included in a healthcare bill. The Breastfeeding Promotion Act is meant to protect a woman’s right to breastfeed in the workplace. The Act accomplishes this goal by: amending the Civil Rights Act to ensure that breastfeeding will be considered a protected act in the workplace, amending the Fair Labor Standards …