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Labor and Employment Law Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Labor and Employment Law

The Truth About "Right To Work" Laws, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine Jan 2011

The Truth About "Right To Work" Laws, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

There are many misconceptions about “right-to-work” laws. This sounds like it would be a plus for working people. However, this term is misleading, and a distortion of the reality underlying it. Despite its name, right-to-work laws do not guarantee anyone a job, protect against unfair firing, guarantee equitable wages, or decent working conditions. By undermining unions and the ability of labor and management to bargain freely, right-to-work laws weaken the best job security protection workers have -- the union contract. Maine has rejected such a law a number of times in the past, including a 1948 referendum in which state …


A Moral Contractual Approach To Labor Law Reform: A Template For Using Ethical Principles To Regulate Behavior Where Law Failed To Do So Effectively, Zev J. Eigen, David S. Sherwyn Jan 2011

A Moral Contractual Approach To Labor Law Reform: A Template For Using Ethical Principles To Regulate Behavior Where Law Failed To Do So Effectively, Zev J. Eigen, David S. Sherwyn

Faculty Working Papers

If laws cease to work as they should or as intended, legislators and scholars propose new laws to replace or amend them. This paper posits an alternative—offering regulated parties the opportunity to contractually bind themselves to behave ethically. The perfect test-case for this proposal is labor law, because (1) labor law has not been amended for decades, (2) proposals to amend it have failed for political reasons, and are focused on union election win rates, and less on the election process itself, (3) it is an area of law already statutorily regulating parties' reciprocal contractual obligations, and (4) moral means …


The Challenge Of Temporary Work In Twenty-First Century Labor Markets: Flexibility With Fairness For The Low-Wage Temporary Workforce, Harris Freeman, George Gonos Jan 2011

The Challenge Of Temporary Work In Twenty-First Century Labor Markets: Flexibility With Fairness For The Low-Wage Temporary Workforce, Harris Freeman, George Gonos

Faculty Scholarship

As the Commonwealth wrestles with the social and economic aftershocks of the worst economic recession in 80 years, the widespread use of temporary staffing arrangements is a sober reminder that the “standard” employment relationship, a cornerstone of the prosperity of the post-­World War II era, is no longer available to a large segment of the American workforce. “Job ladders” have disintegrated, depriving capable and dedicated workers of predictable promotions. Regular step increases in pay and cost-­of-­living adjustments are in many occupational categories a thing of the past. Simply put, the “good jobs” working people need to support families, pay the …