Law Commons^™

Unavoidability In U.S. Privacy Law, Laura M. Moy

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Why is U.S. privacy law structured the way it is, with a series of sectoral laws rather than a cross-sectoral law or laws? Why does U.S. privacy law protect information shared in certain contexts—such as information shared with an attorney, a healthcare provider, or a financial provider—rather than particular types of information? One possibility is that sectoral laws apply to contexts in which people typically share highly “sensitive” information containing intimate secrets or with the potential to harm them financially or psychologically.

But this Article argues that there is something else at play—that in fact, an under-discussed and underappreciated factor …

#Blacklivesmatter: From Protest To Policy, Jamillah Bowman Williams, Naomi Mezey, Lisa O. Singh

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In summer 2020, mass protests spread across the globe challenging police brutality and racial injustice and demanding change. Fueled by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd, these protests drew 15 million to 26 million participants in the United States alone to participate in late May and June of 2020. The sheer scale of these protests made them the largest movement in U.S. history. While there has been some consensus that this unprecedented protest movement pushed social awareness and changed the national conversation around race, existing research has yet to clearly …

“Big” Food, Tobacco, And Alcohol: Reducing Industry Influence On Noncommunicable Disease Prevention Laws And Policies, Belinda Reeve, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The food, tobacco and alcohol industries have penetrated markets in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with a significant impact on these countries’ burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Tangcharoensathien and colleagues describe the aggressive marketing of unhealthy food, alcohol and tobacco in LMICs, as well as key tactics used by these industries to resist laws and policies designed to reduce behavioural risk factors for NCDs. This commentary expands on the recommendations made by Tangcharoensathien and colleagues for preventing or managing conflicts of interest and reducing undue industry influence on NCD prevention policies and laws, focusing on the needs of LMICs. A …

Workplace Flexibility: A Norm Of The American Workplace, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

A PowerPoint slide-show that outlines the challenges, options, policies, solutions, and innovations associated with Flexible Work Arrangements.

Flexible Work Arrangements: Improving Job Quality And Workforce Stability For Low-Wage Workers And Their Employers, Jessica Glenn, Liz Watson

Published Reports

In 2009, workers and their families across the country felt the impact of serious economic downturn, with unemployment reaching a 26-year high. While recent news suggests things may be improving, we cannot forget that for many low-wage and hourly workers -- who now represent over a quarter of the U.S. workforce -- the recession only exacerbated their ongoing struggle to hold down quality jobs while caring for their families.

Low-wage workers face many of the same challenges that the rest of us face in reconciling our work, family and personal lives, but for many of these workers, it's simply a …

Flexible Work Arrangements (Fwas): Possible Public Policy Approaches, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

There is a range of ways in which public policy can help workplace flexibility become a norm in the American workplace. Indeed, the various bills introduced in the 110th Congress to increase access to FWAs, one component of workplace flexibility, represent a wide range of public policy approaches.

This document categorizes and characterizes these public policy approaches to help clarify the options that might be pursued to increase access to FWAs.

Health Insurance Exchanges: Legal Issues, Timothy S. Jost

O'Neill Institute Papers

Health insurance exchanges (HIE) are entities that organize the market for health insurance by connecting small businesses and individuals into larger pools that spread the risk for insurance companies, while facilitating the availability, choice and purchase of private health insurance for the uninsured. While there are legal issues that warrant consideration under a federal, state, or private exchange framework, those issues are not insurmountable barriers to implementation.

Plenty Of Bark, But Not Much Bite: Putting Teeth Back Into Historic Preservation Enforcement In D.C., Winston Sale

Georgetown Law Historic Preservation Papers Series

Washington, D.C. has one of the largest inventories of protected historic buildings of any city in the United States. Over 25,000 structures stand within the city's borders that are either individually landmarked or contributing buildings within a historic district. These buildings are covered by statutory protection designed to prevent alteration or demolition without consultation with the Office of Historic Preservation (HPO) and/or the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). Enforcement of these protections relies on HPO's inspectors.

While the District currently employs two historic preservation inspectors, recent changes in the structure of HPO and other D.C. bureaucracies brought about a …

The United Kingdom Flexible Working Act, Georgetown Federal Legislation Clinic

Memos and Fact Sheets

In 2002, the United Kingdom passed new legislation granting employees with young or disabled children the right to request flexible work arrangements from their employers. The law does not guarantee a right to flexible working but seeks to increase flexibility in UK workplaces by requiring a process for negotiation between employees and employers. Stated simply, that process places the initial responsibility on the employee to propose a new work arrangement and explain its potential impact on the employer. The employee and employer must then consider the request together, and the employer may refuse the request only for certain business reasons.

Improving Historic Preservation Enforcement In The District Of Columbia, David J. Henry

Georgetown Law Historic Preservation Papers Series

Within the past few years, the creation of the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) has been an important change in the District of Columbia government. OAH is viewed by many as an innovative government agency that provides fair and impartial administrative adjudication for District agencies, with efficiency. However, since OAH began full operations in 2004, the effectiveness of historic preservation enforcement has actually decreased. The primary indicators of this are the fewer number of completed adjudications and the smaller amount of fines collected in the past year.

This paper is a policy paper. As such, the paper will identify problems …

Flexible Work Arrangements: A Definition And Examples, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

Workplace Flexibility 2010 defines a “flexible work arrangement” (FWA) as any one of a spectrum of work structures that alters the time and/or place that work gets done on a regular basis. A flexible work arrangement includes:

1. flexibility in the scheduling of hours worked, such as alternative work schedules (e.g., flex time and compressed workweeks), and arrangements regarding shift and break schedules;

2. flexibility in the amount of hours worked, such as part time work and job shares; and

3. flexibility in the place of work, such as working at home or at a satellite location.

Our research indicates …