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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Paradox Of The Right To Contract: Noncompete Agreements As Thirteenth Amendment Violations, Ayesha Bell Hardaway
The Paradox Of The Right To Contract: Noncompete Agreements As Thirteenth Amendment Violations, Ayesha Bell Hardaway
Seattle University Law Review
Employers in a variety of fields are increasingly imposing noncompete agreements on their workers as a condition of the workers’ at-will employment. These employees are working at or near minimum wage, in positions that require little or no advanced technical skills. Major news sources have highlighted this issue while covering recent employment litigation between Jimmy Johns and a pair of its former employees. In this litigation, two plaintiffs filed suit in federal court seeking injunctive relief and declaratory judgment invalidating the noncompete and confidentiality agreements that they signed with the sandwich maker. Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss, the Illinois District …
The Last Legally Beaten Servant In America: From Compulsion To Coercion In The American Workplace, Lea Vandervelde
The Last Legally Beaten Servant In America: From Compulsion To Coercion In The American Workplace, Lea Vandervelde
Seattle University Law Review
Historically, the law of master-servant allowed corporal punishment. Today it seems strange to contemplate that intentionally inflicted violence was ever an acceptable method of compelling workers to labor in America. Strange as it seems, the practice of striking servants to discipline them was considered a legitimate, implicit part of the relationship between masters and servants. Servants, as well as slaves, could be subjected to cuffings and even severe beatings as means of “correction” and compulsion to labor. Menial servants, apprentices, and domestic servants could be beaten with hands, fists, straps, sticks, and sometimes whips, all in the name of correction …
“They Outlawed Solidarity!”, Richard Blum
“They Outlawed Solidarity!”, Richard Blum
Seattle University Law Review
In attacking § 8(b)(4)(ii)(B)’s ban on secondary labor picketing in support of a consumer boycott as a violation of the First Amendment, critics have repeatedly condemned the Supreme Court’s reliance on a supposed distinction between “pure speech” and “speech plus conduct,” such as a picket. The Court’s invocation of an “unlawful objectives” doctrine to defend banning speech contrary to public policy has also been repeatedly criticized. After all, picketing has been recognized as protected expressive activity and it is entirely lawful for consumers to choose to boycott the target of a picket. However, commentators have not sought to argue that …
Toward A Federal Constitutional Right To Employment, R. George Wright
Toward A Federal Constitutional Right To Employment, R. George Wright
Seattle University Law Review
This Article outlines an argument for a federal constitutional right to employment. The Article begins by examining the harms and costs of involuntary long-term unemployment. It then discusses the historical contributions to our understanding of the value of work, before drawing on several well-established jurisprudential distinctions to explain why, and to justify initial optimism regarding a constitutional employment right.
In Willful Disregard Of The Employment Security Act: Culpability And The Determination Of Disqualifying Misconduct By The Courts, James Levy
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment argues that the most appropriate test for applying the statutory definition of misconduct an objective test based on knowing disregard of the employer's interests by the employee, rather than any current interpretation of the definition by the courts of Washington. In Section One of this Comment, the policies behind the Employment Security Act and the ramifications of different culpability elements are discussed. Section Two details the different tests for misconduct generated by the courts. Part A of Section Two discusses the common law tests and their culpability elements prior to the 1993 statutory definition of misconduct. Part B …
Learning Disabilities In The Workplace: A Guide To Ada Compliance, Hilary Greer Fike
Learning Disabilities In The Workplace: A Guide To Ada Compliance, Hilary Greer Fike
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment is a guide for both employers and employees in successfully complying with the ADA's provisions, as they relate to persons with learning disabilities. Part II of this paper examines the types of employment discrimination that individuals with learning disabilities encounter in the application, daily work, and promotion processes. Part III provides an overview of the employment discrimination provisions of the ADA and how those provisions apply to people with learning disabilities. To illustrate how different people with learning disabilities fare in the workforce, Part IV includes narratives of two learning disabled people attempting to find equal employment and …
Begging The Federal Question: Removal Jurisdiction In Wrongful Discharge Cases, Michael D. Moberly
Begging The Federal Question: Removal Jurisdiction In Wrongful Discharge Cases, Michael D. Moberly
Seattle University Law Review
This Article analyzes the federal question jurisdiction issue in the context of state law claims for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy articulated in federal law. Part II of this Article contains a general discussion of the public policy exception to the employment at will rule. Part III discusses removal and federal question jurisdiction. Part IV analyzes cases relevant to the issue of federal question removal jurisdiction in the wrongful discharge context, including the United States Supreme Court's decisions in Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals v. Thompson and Christianson v. Colt Industries Operating Corp. This Article concludes that a wrongful discharge …
Don't Throw The Price Waterhouse Baby Out With The Bath Water: Age Discrimination And The Direct Evidence/Mixed Motive Puzzle, Mary L. Beyer
Don't Throw The Price Waterhouse Baby Out With The Bath Water: Age Discrimination And The Direct Evidence/Mixed Motive Puzzle, Mary L. Beyer
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment examines why Washington should place a higher burden on employers in direct evidence and mixed motive age discrimination cases. Because Washington courts follow federal case law in interpreting state anti-discrimination legislation, Section II examines relevant federal statutes and the history of their interpretation by federal courts. Section III explores the courts' modification of the traditional federal approach found in direct evidence and mixed motive cases. Section IV discusses Washington's anti-discrimination statute and Washington's judicial interpretation of that statute. Section V demonstrates Washington's insufficient response to federal developments in direct evidence and mixed motive cases. Finally, Section VI identifies …
Baldwin V. Sisters Of Providence: Washington Gives At Will Employees A Gun With No Ammunition To Fight Against Unjust Dismissal, Michael T. Zoretic
Baldwin V. Sisters Of Providence: Washington Gives At Will Employees A Gun With No Ammunition To Fight Against Unjust Dismissal, Michael T. Zoretic
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment will explore the status of the employment at will doctrine and unjust dismissal actions following the supreme court's decision in Baldwin. First, Section I will explain the historical background of the employment at will doctrine and its steady erosion in the modern era. Next, Section II will provide an overview of the Baldwin case itself, including facts, procedural history, and general holdings. Sections III through V will explore the three major issues decided by the court in Baldwin: allocating burdens of proof in wrongful discharge suits; implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing in employment …
Enhanced Monitoring Of White Collar Employees: Should Employers Be Required To Disclose?, Jeff Kray, Pamela Robertson
Enhanced Monitoring Of White Collar Employees: Should Employers Be Required To Disclose?, Jeff Kray, Pamela Robertson
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment presents a five part legal and economic analysis of enhanced monitoring of white collar employees. Section I defines the employment contract. Section II provides an overview of the legal issues raised by enhanced monitoring of white collar employees. Section III discusses the economics of enhanced monitoring. Section IV presents an analysis of the legal and economic effects of an employer's enhanced monitoring of white collar employees. Finally, Section V describes and evaluates proposed federal legislation that would require employers to disclose the use of enhanced monitoring to employees.
At-Will Employment In Washington: A Review Of Thompson V. Sl Regis Paper Co. And Its Progeny, Richard Wall
At-Will Employment In Washington: A Review Of Thompson V. Sl Regis Paper Co. And Its Progeny, Richard Wall
Seattle University Law Review
The purpose of this Article is to examine the nature and origin of the issues now being faced by Washington courts in the area of at will employment and to argue that the well-established legal principles governing other kinds of contracts be consistently applied to at will employment contracts. This will result in a proper balance between the desire to protect at will employees from unfair termination and the need to allow employers the freedom to make decisions in the hiring and termination of at will employees without undue interference. This Article will first review the historical development of the …
Age Discrimination In Employment: The 1978 Adea Amendments And The Social Impact Of Aging, Thomas J. Reed
Age Discrimination In Employment: The 1978 Adea Amendments And The Social Impact Of Aging, Thomas J. Reed
Seattle University Law Review
This article will explore the sociology behind the original Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the structure of the 1967 ADEA, its weaknesses and strengths during its ten-year life, and the effectiveness of the 1978 amendments in dealing with the problems inherent in the original Act.