Law Commons^™

Ensuring Enforceability & Fairness In The Arbitration Of Employment Disputes, Stacy A. Hickox

Stacy A. Hickox

Private arbitration of employment law claims has become common in recent years. The Supreme Court has shown a strong preference for requiring that an employee pursue an employment claim through an arbitration program rather than seeking to enforce his or her rights in court. At the same time, legislation has been introduced to try to protect the rights of employees who, without an arbitration program in place, would have the opportunity to assert their statutory rights in court. This article explores what safeguards should be in place to assure that employers can rely on the enforceability of an arbitration program …

Survey Of The Federal Government On Supervisor Practices In Employment Of People With Disabilities, Susanne M. Bruyere, William Erickson, Richard L. Horne

Susanne Bruyère

In 1999, the Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities (PTFEAD) funded Cornell University to conduct a survey of federal sector HR and EEO representatives regarding their experience implementing the employment disability nondiscrimination requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990(ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. One of the recommendations from this research was to conduct a follow-up study of federal agency supervisors and managers about their experience in accommodation and employment of persons with disabilities in the federal sector, and in addition to inquire about their awareness of the series of Executive …

Working Effectively With People With Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, Eve W. Tominey, Matthew Tominey, Susanne M. Bruyere

Susanne Bruyère

This brochure on People with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one of a series on human resources practices and workplace accommodations for persons with disabilities edited by Susanne M. Bruyère, Ph.D., CRC, SPHR, Director, Program on Employment and Disability, School of Industrial and Labor Relations – Extension Division, Cornell University. Cornell University was funded in the early 1990’s by the U.S. Department of Education National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research as a National Materials Development Project on the employment provisions (Title I) of the ADA (Grant #H133D10155). These updates, and the development of …

Just Semantics: The Lost Readings Of The Ada, Jill C. Anderson

Jill C. Anderson

Just Semantics: The Lost Readings of the ADA

Jill C. Anderson

INTRODUCTION

I. THE NARROWED DISABILITY DEFINITION

II. DE DICTO-DE RE AMBIGUITY

III. HOW THE COURTS MISS AMBIGUITY

IV. RESOLVING AMBIGUITY

V. APPLICATIONS IN CASE LAW

VI. IMPLICATIONS FOR REFORM

CONCLUSION

Abstract

Disability rights advocates and commentators agree that the ADA has veered far off course from its mandate of protecting people with disabilities---actual or perceived---from discrimination. They likewise agree that the fault lies in the language of the statute itself and in the courts’ “literalist” reading of its definition of disability. As a result, many disability rights advocates have …

Rural Families And Work-Family Issues, Lisa Pruitt

Lisa R Pruitt

This essay, an entry for the on-line Sloan Work and Family Encyclopedia, provides an overview of work-family challenges in the context of rural America. Among the issues addressed are lack of economic diversification and opportunity; deficits in human capital; the dearth of childcare, transportation and other services that facilitate employment; and the deeply entrenched character of gender roles in rural societies. The entry discusses not only concerns related to rural socioeconomic disadvantage, but also those arising from the distances that separate rural residents from work, educational opportunities, and services. The essay notes that rural families are sometimes disserved by policies …

From Court-Surrogate To Regulatory Tool: Re-Framing The Empirical Study Of Employment Arbitration, W. Mark C. Weidemaier

W. Mark C. Weidemaier

Mega-Cases, Diversity, And The Elusive Goal Of Workplace Reform, Nancy Levit

Nancy Levit

Employment discrimination class action suits are part of a new wave of structural reform litigation. Like their predecessors - the school desegregation cases in the 1950s, the housing and voting inequalities cases in the 1960s, prison conditions suits in the 1970s, and environmental lawsuits since then - these are systemic challenges to major institutions affecting large segments of the public. This article explores the effectiveness of various employment discrimination remedies in reforming workplace cultures, promoting corporate accountability, and implementing real diversity.

Reviewing the architecture and aftermath of consent decrees in five major employment discrimination cases - the cases against Shoney's, …

Some Reflections On Labor And Employment Ramifications Of Diocesan Bankruptcy Filings, David L. Gregory

David L. Gregory

Sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic clergy is perhaps the greatest scandal in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States. On September 7, 2007, the San Diego, California diocese settled with 144 claimants for $198 million. In mid-July, the Los Angeles Archdiocese settled with 508 claimants for $660 million. No article in the burgeoning law review literature on the scandal and its aftermath has focused on the labor and employment ramifications of diocesan bankruptcy filings. After first presenting the situations in the five dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy, I discuss the case and canon law …

Explaining The Spread Of At-Will Employment As An Inter-Jurisdictional Race-To-The-Bottom In Employment Standards, Richard A. Bales

Richard A. Bales

The at-will employment rule often is attributed to Horace Gay Wood, who described the rule in an 1877 treatise. Over the next forty years, the rule was judicially adopted in most American states. How and why the rule spread, however, has been the subject of considerable academic debate.

This essay argues that the underindustrialized states first adopting the at-will rule likely did so as a means of attracting capital. In any event, and more importantly, this essay argues that once the first underindustrialized states adopted the rule, other underindustrialized states would have been compelled to adopt the rule to remain …

The Employment Equality (Age) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2006 (United Kingdom), Aparna Meduri

Aparna Meduri

No abstract provided.

The Problem With Unpaid Work, Katharine K. Baker

Katharine K. Baker

This article examines the problems with a social norm that assumes women should shoulder a disproportionate amount of unpaid family work. It evaluates the most recent empirical data which suggests that women continue to do substantially more unpaid work than men, and men continue to do substantially more paid work than women. It then briefly reviews two standard explanations for where this gendered division of work may come from, biological inclination and/or systems of male dominance. It suggests that neither of these traditional explanations have given adequate consideration to the normative question begged by the extant division of labor. Is …

Employers On The Fence: A Guide To The Immigratory Workplace, Natalie Prescott

Natalie Prescott

The Article discusses potential problems employers across the nation face when hiring, promoting, or employing foreign workers. It gives practical advice to employers on how to prevent discriminatory practices and avoid discrimination lawsuits and penalties and serves as an abbreviated employer's manual to immigration law.

Blowing The Whistle On Whistleblower Protection: A Tale Of Reform Versus Power, Mary K. Ramirez

mary k ramirez

Abstract: Blowing the Whistle on Whistleblower Protection: A Tale of Reform Versus Power, by Mary Kreiner Ramirez Congress is currently considering expanding whistleblower protection, which the President has vowed to veto. With every wave of scandals or with each new political movement, Congress seems to include whistleblower protection. Yet, this article shows that after nearly 150 years of piecemeal evolution, whistleblowing remains fraught with risk. The protections extended to whistleblowers are a porous net rather than a secure blanket. Indeed, one should only enter these dangerous waters with the advice of counsel. The recent extension by Congress of whistleblower protection …

Curbing Day Laborers: Anti-Solicitation Ordinances, Commercial Speech, And Hiring Centers. A User's Guide To Protecting Municipalities From Day Labor-Related Lawlessness And Litigation, Jon D. Feere

Jon D Feere

As Americans across the country become increasingly frustrated by continuous violations of immigration laws, many legal groups aimed at suing city, state, and federal governments have been created with the hope that increased pressure will result in increased enforcement. Laws not originally designed to specifically address immigration issues, such as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), and basic laws of trespass are being used by the public to creatively fight immigration violations. At the same time, state and local governments are also discovering a need to act creatively in managing the massive increase of illegal immigrants moving into …

Föräldrar I Arbete. En Könskritisk Undersökning Av Småbarnsföräldrars Arbetsrättsliga Ställning (Parents At Work. A Gender-Critical Study On The Position Of Parents Of Young Children In Labour Law) Diss. 448 P., Jenny Julén Votinius

Jenny Julén Votinius

This dissertation deals with the position of working parents in labour legislation and the protection. The starting point for the thesis is that the rules in labour law concerning employees? parenthood, despite the fairly strongly formulated protection of their rights, in practice have a relatively weak normative position in working life and in labour law. The weakness of the rules on parenthood can be explained as a result of a normative conflict, or incoherence, affecting the judicial sphere, which means that deviating norms and values encroach on the rules about parenthood and weaken their position. The central aim of the …

'Real Time' Strategies For Relational Conflict, Thomas J. Stipanowich

Thomas J. Stipanowich

The emergence of mediation and other informal approaches for the efficient, effective resolution of conflict represent opportunities for “thin-slicing” that are revolutionizing public and private dispute resolution. They are also challenging the primacy of litigation and arbitration with their emphasis on extensive information exchange and weighty procedure. Today, more and more disputants and counsel are recognizing that less is usually more—especially when the emphasis is on maintaining relationships or relational systems. The need for speedy and effective intervention has promoted the evolution of a wide range of strategies in very different relational settings, from integrated conflict systems in the workplace …

Mine Improvement And New Emergency Response Act Of 2006 (Miner Act), Usa , Aparna Meduri

Aparna Meduri

No abstract provided.

Immigration Reform Fuels Employment Discrimination, Natalie Prescott

Natalie Prescott

This Article addresses the tension between two conflicting IRCA provisions: 8 U.S.C. § 1324a, which authorizes sanctions for hiring illegal immigrants, and 8 U.S.C. § 1324b, which provides that employers cannot ask foreign job applicants for proof of work authorization beyond what is specified on the I-9 form.

Kerala Samsthana Chethu Thozhilali Union Vs. State Of Kerala And Others, Aparna Meduri

Aparna Meduri

No abstract provided.

The Uk Disability Discrimination Act 2005 , Aparna Meduri

Aparna Meduri

No abstract provided.

Inventors Of The World, Unite! A Call For Collective Action By Employee-Inventors, Ann Bartow

Ann Bartow

While technological innovation is often lauded as the cornerstone of the American economy into the next century, and both governmental and private observers ponder with fascination and some trepidation the ability of U.S. companies to reach and sustain high levels of innovative productivity, very little attention is paid to actual inventors. This article is one effort to draw attention to the importance of employee-inventors, the people who conceive and develop the inventions that American corporations rely on for growth and profitability. Though it is universally accepted that skills gained by an employee in the course of his employment belong to …

Eeoc V. Board Of Govenors Of State Colleges And Universities: Collective-Bargaining Agreements And Age Discrimination In Employment Act Claims: What Counts As Retaliation Under Adea Section 4(D)?, Edward C. Lyons

Edward C. Lyons

University governing boards and higher-education administrative bodies have a natural interest in avoiding litigation and minimizing administrative costs of alleged-wrongful-termination claims. As a result, universities and colleges often enter into specific collective-bargaining agreements providing for the opportunity to arbitrate such claims. One difficulty with such provisions, however, is that on occasion they may violate constitutional or statutory protections applicable to those claims. By way of illustration, some collective-bargaining agreements may attempt to require that all Title VII claims be submitted for binding arbitration. In Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co.,1 however, the United States Supreme Court held that collective-bargaining agreements (CBA) requiring …

Let Them Become Professionals: An Analysis Of The Failure To Enforce Title Vii’S Pay Equity Mandate, Pamela L. Perry

Pamela L Perry

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Being Earnest: Pleading And Maintaining A Class Action For The Purpose Of Binding Class Members, David G. Karro

David G. Karro

This 1981 article contends, as its title suggests, that federal class actions should be brought only if class counsel believe they can represent the individual interests of the members of the class described in the complaint. After all, the mere filing of a class action complaint has legal consequences, and it is generally acknowledged that the members of even an alleged class have some right to rely on the class attorney to protect their interests. A certification order therefore does not create a class, but instead puts the court's imprimatur on class counsels’ representation that they can carry out rhw …