Law Commons^™

Working Sick: Lessons Of Chronic Illness For Health Care Reform, Elizabeth Pendo

All Faculty Scholarship

Although chronic illness is generally associated with the elderly or disabled, chronic conditions are widespread among working-age adults and pose significant challenges for employer-based health care plans. Indeed, a recent study found that the number of working-age adults with a major chronic condition has grown by 25 percent over the past 10 years, to a total of nearly 58 million in 2006. Chronic illness imposes significant costs on workers, employers, and the overall economy. This population accounts for three-quarters of all personal medical spending in the United States, and a Milken Institute study recently estimated that lost workdays and lower …

Let Unions Be Unions: Allowing Grants Of Benefits During Representation Campaigns, Michael Hayes

All Faculty Scholarship

Unions exist to provide assistance to employees; this is their reason for being. Yet once a union begins a campaign to represent a group of employees, it is legally barred from extending tangible assistance to the workers. The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or the "Board") and courts deem a union grant of benefits to employees during or prior to a representation campaign objectionable conduct that requires setting aside the results of the representation election and holding another election.

This article's proposal to open the door to unconditional union benefits during an organizing campaign will likely be controversial. Part of …