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Labor and Employment Law Commons

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Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Labor and Employment Law

Access To Justice: Ensuring Equal Pay With The Paycheck Fairness Act, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg Apr 2014

Access To Justice: Ensuring Equal Pay With The Paycheck Fairness Act, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

No abstract provided.


Regulation By Amicus: The Department Of Labor's Policy Making In The Courts, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg Aug 2013

Regulation By Amicus: The Department Of Labor's Policy Making In The Courts, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

This Article examines the practice of “regulation by amicus”: that is, an agency’s attempt to mold statutory interpretation and establish policy by filing “friend of the court” briefs in private litigation. Since the United States Supreme Court recognized agency amicus interpretations as a source of controlling law entitled to deference in Auer v. Robbins, agencies have used amicus curiae briefs—in strategic and at times aggressive ways—to advance the political agenda of the President in the courts. Using the lens of the U.S. Department of Labor’s amicus activity in wage and hour cases, this Article explores the tension between the extraordinary …


Opening The Doors To The Local Courthouse: Maryland’S New Private Right Of Action For Employment Discrimination, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg Aug 2013

Opening The Doors To The Local Courthouse: Maryland’S New Private Right Of Action For Employment Discrimination, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

No abstract provided.


Wal-Mart Stores V. Dukes: Lessons For The Legal Quest For Equal Pay, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg Jan 2012

Wal-Mart Stores V. Dukes: Lessons For The Legal Quest For Equal Pay, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

The Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes provides a unique opportunity to reflect on whether and how the legal system should address unjustified pay disparities between men and women who perform similar jobs. This Article describes the Court’s decision and analyzes the insights it offers about the legal quest for equal pay. First, Wal-Mart demonstrates the tension between Title VII’s focus on the employer’s intent and the economic realities of how pay discrimination happens in the modern workplace. As the women at Wal-Mart experienced and research confirms, pay disparities tend to be the greatest when employers delegate …


Money, Sex, And Sunshine: A Market-Based Approach To Pay Discrimination, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg May 2011

Money, Sex, And Sunshine: A Market-Based Approach To Pay Discrimination, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

The Equal Pay Act had a distinct market purpose. Congress made a policy choice to modify the existing compensation market so that employees who perform jobs requiring substantially “equal skill, effort, and responsibility” earn equal wages, regardless of sex. The Act aimed not simply to promote individual fairness, but to foster a more efficient, equitable wage market on a systemic level. Congress recognized that paying lower wages to women constituted “an unfair method of competition,” burdened “commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce,” and prevented the “maximum utilization of available labor resources.” Over time, however, the “market” in …


Shattering The Equal Pay Act's Glass Ceiling, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg Jan 2010

Shattering The Equal Pay Act's Glass Ceiling, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

This Article provides the first empirical and rhetorical analysis of all reported Equal Pay Act (EPA) federal appellate cases since the Act’s passage. This analysis shows that as women climb the occupational ladder, the manner in which many federal courts interpret the EPA imposes a wage glass ceiling, shutting out women in non-standardized jobs from its protection. This barrier is particularly troubling in light of data that shows that the gender wage gap increases for women as they achieve higher levels of professional status. The Article begins by examining data regarding the greater pay gap for women in upper-level jobs. …


Opening The Doors To The Local Courthouse: Maryland's New Private Right Of Action For Employment Discrimination, Deborah Eisenberg Dec 2008

Opening The Doors To The Local Courthouse: Maryland's New Private Right Of Action For Employment Discrimination, Deborah Eisenberg

Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

No abstract provided.