Law Commons^™

Six Clicks Of Separation: The Legal Ramifications Of Employers Using Social Networking Sites To Research Applicants, Ian Byrnside

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

As social networking sites like Facebook.com and MySpace.com continue to grow in popularity, college students and other job applicants voluntarily divulge an increasing amount of personal information on them, often unaware of the potential negative effects it may have on their search for employment. Employers are beginning to take note of this trend and are increasingly using applicants' social networking profiles to supplement traditional application information. Many applicants feel that employers should not base employment decisions on social networking profiles in any way and believe that it is illegal for employers to do so. Yet, it appears that employers that …

A Structural Approach As Antidiscrimination Mandate: Locating Employer Wrong, Tristin K. Green

Vanderbilt Law Review

A structural approach to employment discrimination law seeks to impose an obligation on employers not to facilitate discriminatory decisionmaking in the workplace. Scholars across disciplines agree that a structural approach is a crucial element of an effective antidiscrimination law. Existing law fails to account for the ways in which bias manifests subtly in day-to-day workplace decisionmaking, or for the influence of organizational context on that decisionmaking. But the future of a structural approach depends, in part, on its normative foundation. Without sufficient normative underpinning, a structural approach is unlikely to gain traction in the public or in the courts.

In …

Multinational Enterprises And Workplace Reproductive Health: Extending Corporate Social Responsibility, Rebecca K. Atkins

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Corporate social responsibility is a relatively new approach to the protection of human rights. While the human rights to whole-body health and workplace health are long-standing, the right to reproductive health is a new topic of discussion. This Note examines the right to reproductive health in the workplace and proposes that it would be best protected by imposing an affirmative duty on multi-national enterprises via corporate social responsibility. Origins of human rights, corporate social responsibility, and reproductive health are discussed before turning to the developing stalemate between multi-national enterprises and less developed countries.

The Title Vii Tug-Of-War: Application Of U.S. Employment Discrimination Law Extraterritorially, Latoya S. Brown

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Companies around the world increasingly are engaging in cross-border business transactions. Globalization is a must if companies want to continue to be competitive in the marketplace--indeed it is an inevitable reality. However, in the midst of this reality is another reality: the legal implications of establishing operations abroad. Transnational expansion introduces companies to an interesting game of tug-of-war in which companies may find themselves torn between compliance with U.S. law and compliance with the laws of the host country. This Note discusses this tug-of-war in the context of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Over 15 years …

Privileged But Equal? A Comparison Of U.S. And Israeli Notions Of Sex Equality In Employment Law, Leora F. Eisenstadt

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Ever-expanding media coverage, scholarship, and popular publications discussing the difficulty of combining work and family suggest that this issue is now the essential locus for gender debate in the United States. The essence of the debate is the meaning of equality: whether it carries the same meaning for women and men, whether biological and sociological differences should impact the understanding of equality, and whether law and social policy should reflect or encourage these differences. Privileged but Equal details the theory of sex equality that is embodied in Israeli employment law and contrasts it with the U.S. approach. The Article suggests …

Understanding Change In International Organizations: Globalization And Innovation In The Ilo, Laurence R. Helfer

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the growing cacophony of voices heralding or contesting the many facets of globalization, international organizations ("Os") are playing an increasingly prominent role. Government officials, advocacy groups, and scholars are heatedly contesting the merits and demerits of using IOs to promote interstate cooperation and to resolve the many transborder collective action problems that globalization has fostered. These controversies raise important questions about how IOs are designed and how they respond to the uncertainties and changing circumstances that are endemic to international affairs. In the debates over globalization and institutional change, one IO-the International Labor Organization ("ILO")-has been given surprisingly short …

Upon Further Review: Why The Nfl May Not Be Free After Clarett, And Why Professional Sports May Be Free From Antitrust Law, Darren W. Dummit

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note begins by reviewing the Jewel Tea line of cases that theoretically serve as the starting point for any non-statutory exemption discussion, followed by brief overviews of the contrasting Wood and Mackey lines of cases. The background section then turns to a summary of Brown--the latest Supreme Court decision relating to the collective bargaining process in professional sports--followed by a brief discussion of the NFL eligibility rule and how it differs from the recently-enacted NBA eligibility rule, which is of unquestioned legality. Finally, both the District Court and Court of Appeals decisions in Clarett are summarized.

The analysis begins …

Enforcing International Labor Standards: The Potential Of The Alien Tort Claims Act, Marisa A. Pagnattaro

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Professor Pagnattaro argues that courts should allow claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) to enforce international labor rights for alien workers. She begins by reviewing the history of the ATCA and the developing jurisprudence in the international labor context, including recent and pending cases involving employee ATCA claims against U.S. multinational corporations. After outlining what is necessary to assert an ATCA claim, including what is required to satisfy jurisdictional requirements, to state a claim under the law of nations, and to hold employers liable for violations of the law of nations, she details international foundations which can be …

Labor Standards On Cypriot Ships: Myth And Reality, Iliana Christodoulou-Varotsi, Dmitri A. Pentsov

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article offers a comprehensive comparative analysis of labor and social security standards on Cypriot and Greek ships. Potential cost savings for shipowners who register their ships in one country rather than the other may result from the absence of a given standard in the country of registration, or a lower or more flexible standard in that country than in the other. The authors conclude that the registration of ships in Cyprus does not provide overall advantages (in terms of "inferior" labor standards) over registration in Greece. Broadly speaking, shipowners may gain certain advantages by registering their ships in Cyprus …

Resuscitating The National Resident Matching Program: Improving Medical Resident Placement Through Binding Dual Matching, Melinda Creasman

Vanderbilt Law Review

People outside the medical profession have likely heard of the long hours that doctors keep, but are probably unaware of the low salaries and nonnegotiable contracts that medical school graduates must accept upon entering a residency program. In fact, young doctors are among the few professionals who do not find postgraduate employment in the open job market. Currently, fourth-year medical students seeking postgraduate residency training participate in a process that matches them to a single residency program. This match dictates where the new doctor will spend the next three to seven years of her career. Upon receiving a match, the …

On Virtue And Peace: Creating A Workplace Where People Can Flourish, Caryn L. Beck-Dudley, Steven H. Hanks

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professors Beck-Dudley and Hanks explore the virtues necessary for individuals to flourish within a business organization. Through this exploration, they conclude that modern discussions of business ethics fail to account for the value and virtue of peaceableness. Then, focusing on the freedom from conflict aspect of peaceableness, they use Champion Paper Products, Sartell Minnesota Paper Mill, as a case study in the significant improvements in human flourishing and organizational performance that can occur when management and labor choose peaceable solutions to labor conflicts.

Recent Cases, Law Review Editor

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Remedies--Fair Labor Standards Act--Private Damage Suit Unavailable to Redress Violations of Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act

Securities Regulation--Commercial Paper--Promissory Notes with Maturity Not Exceeding Nine Months but Offered to Public as Investment Are "Securities" Within Section 3(a)(10) of the 1934 Act.

Securities Regulation--Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5--A Reorganization in the Form of a Tripartite Merger in Which There Is No Change in the Total Assets Represented by a Share of Stock Does Not Involve a "Purchase or Sale" Within the Meaning of Section 10(b) of The Securities Exchange Act …

Novartis And The U.N. Global Compact Initiative, Lee A. Tavis

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The U.N. Global Compact initiative evolved from a challenge posed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the business community at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 1999. "I call on you--individually through your firms, and collectively through your business associations--to embrace, support, and enact a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labor standards and environmental practices." His vision is "to give a human face to the global market." Over a year of intense interaction among business chief executive officers and associations, non-governmental organizations, labor unions, and four U.N. agencies led to the formulation of nine …

The Organizational Model For Workplace Security, Thomas K. Capozzoli

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article addresses the issue of workplace violence, focusing on the United States and potential terrorist actions in the workplace. The Author begins with an organizational model for workplace security, describing the types of workplace violence, and the factors that may trigger violence. The Article continues with a description of the common behavior traits that violent workers possess, and also describes the "cycle" ultimately leading to workplace violence. In looking more closely at the common types of workplace violence and the characteristics of those who commit workplace violence, the Author provides an organizational model for reducing or preventing workplace violence. …

The United Student-Athletes Of America: Should College Athletes Organize In Order To Protect Their Rights And Address The Ills Of Intercollgiate Athletics?, Marc Jenkins

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note will focus on the legal feasibility and practicality of forming a student-athlete players association or union. It assumes that a strike is a possible avenue the CAC may take in the future. Unlike the professional sports unions, the make-up of athletes on college campuses is in constant flux. This will obviously make it harder to initiate a strike. Part I of the note will concentrate on the realities of major college sports and the athletes that play them. This background will establish why student-athletes may want to form a players association. Part II will analyze the NCAA governing …

Major League Baseball's Answer To Salary Disputes And The Strike:, Brien M. Wassner

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Initially, this paper will briefly consider arbitration in general and then discuss the evolution of FOA and its implementation into MLB salary disputes. This paper will thereafter analyze the praises and criticisms of FOA, and establish that FOA is a superior mechanism for resolving salary disputes in professional sports because the FOA system is designed to facilitate negotiation and settlement rather than to resolve the dispute subsequent to adversarial hearings.

Groundings Of Voice In Employee Rights, Dana Muir

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The 2001 Symposium on Corporate Governance, Stakeholder Accountability, and Sustainable Peace explored possible connections between corporations and sustainable peace. The Symposium's discussions were inspired by the view that liberal values and democratic principles help prevent violent conflict in society. In this Article, the Author discusses the notable ideas expressed in the symposium, including those articulated by Professors Timothy L. Fort, Cindy A. Schipani, and Terry M. Dworkin. The Author posits that formal programs enabling employees as owners and participants in their corporations may promote employee voice and improve corporate governance. Financial participation rights, decision-making participation rights, and "entry" and "exit" …

Workplace Violence And Security: Are There Lessons For Peacemaking?, Frances E. Zollers, Elletta S. Callahan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The workplace can serve as a microcosm for global peace initiatives. The many facets of workplace violence provide various lessons for peacemaking. There are a variety of types and causes of workplace violence. There are also many techniques for dealing with workplace violence. Modern management practices parallel the values that are conducive to peace. Corporate structures that promote trust, participation, and dignity are transportable to the local, national, and global markets for peace.

Can't We Play Too?: The Legality Of Excluding Preparatory Players From The Nba, Thomas Lombardi

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note illustrates the legal action necessary to secure a high school underclassman's eligibility to compete in the NBA. Following the precedent established by Spencer Haywood in his suit against the NBA, a case factually analogous to the present issue, the NBA faces an anti-trust action alleging a group boycott in violation of Section I of the Sherman Act. However, incorporating the high school graduation rule into a collective bargaining agreement precludes a straightforward antitrust analysis and necessarily implicates the nonstatutory labor exemption. This Note suggests that even under an analysis favorable to the challenging preparatory player, the nonstatutory exemption …

Proving An Employer's Intent: Disparate Treatment Discrimination And The Stray Remarks Doctrine After Reeves V. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Laina R. Reinsmith

Vanderbilt Law Review

Throughout the development of employment discrimination law, the United States Supreme Court has wrestled with the task of producing a suitable analytical framework, under which plaintiffs can attempt to prove their cases of disparate treatment by their employers. An element of this task has been determining which types of evidence of discriminatory intent have probative value, and what effect that evidence should have on plaintiffs' and defendants' cases. In June 2000, the Supreme Court decided Reeves v. Sander- son Plumbing Products,' a case involving a disparate treatment claim brought by an employee alleging age discrimination by his employer in violation …

Employment Discrimination By Religious Institutions: Limiting The Sanctuary Of The Constitutional Ministerial Exception To Religion-Based Employment Decisions, Laura L. Coon

Vanderbilt Law Review

A religious organization enters a contract with a builder to construct a new facility and breaches the contract; a student at a private, religiously-affiliated school slips on a patch of ice and is seriously injured because of the school maintenance crew's negligence. The builder and the student are aggrieved by the actions of the respective religious institutions. Consequently, they seek to re- solve their disputes through the judicial system, as would any other individual with a potential legal claim. Although the adjudicative process would involve church and state, the First Amendment Religion Clauses would not likely be implicated, because the …

No Harm, No Fraud: The Invalidity Of State Fraud Claims Brought Against Employment Testers, Robert T. Roos

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the summer of 1995, two female African-American students at Northwestern University began their summer jobs as part of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago's ("LAFC") employment discrimination testing project.' The women, Kyra Kyles and Lolita Pierce, were hired as employment "testers" for the project, where they were to gather data about Chicago-area employers by taking part in the application process for numerous potential jobs. As part of the testing process, the project manager paired Kyles and Pierce with two white female LAFC employees, forming a pair of interviewing teams that each consisted of one African-American tester and one white …

Working Without Rights: Recognizing Housestaff Unionization--An Argument For The Reversal Of "Cedars-Sinai Medical Center And St. Clare's Hospital", Jennifer A. Shorb

Vanderbilt Law Review

Increased competition in today's health care industry has contributed to the industry's growing emphasis on cost-containment. Concerns about this focus on the bottom line have motivated some caregivers to attempt to improve working conditions and the quality of patient care through unionization. One such group, "housestaff' or "house officers," is comprised of hospital interns, residents, and fellows. These individuals are medical school graduates seeking additional training for licensure and specialization. Housestaff are often overworked, underpaid, and forced to deal with working conditions that adversely affect patient care. Such conditions force many house officers to join union organizations and seek the …

Free Competition Or Corporate Theft?: The Need For Courts To Consider The Employment Relationship In Preliminary Steps Disputes, Scott W. Fielding

Vanderbilt Law Review

The scenario occurs daily in many different businesses. A disgruntled employee decides to use her talents, skills, and knowledge of the industry to start a rival enterprise. She plans to do things differently-offer lower prices, a different sales approach, a more service-oriented style. To minimize the risk involved, the employee decides to investigate potential markets, possible locations for the business, and financing. She would also like to discuss first-hand with current clients or fellow employees the possibility that they would follow her into the new business. Concerned with breaching fiduciary obligations, the employee contacts her attorney and asks for advice-specifically, …

Compulsory Arbitration Agreements In Employment Contracts From Gardner-Denver To Austin: The Legal Uncertainty And Why Employers Should Choose Not To Use Preemployment Arbitration Agreements, John-Paul Motley

Vanderbilt Law Review

In Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp. the Supreme Court enforced a mandatory arbitration clause in a securities registration application and barred the employee from seeking relief in federal court for his Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") claim.' Since the Court's decision compelling arbitration of an employee's statutory claim, labor and employment lawyers have encouraged employers to include binding arbitration clauses covering all potential employer-employee claims in employment applications, handbooks, and collective bargaining agreements ("CBAs"). As one commentator wrote after the Gilmer decision, "[t]he only thing remaining is for employers to begin writing compulsory arbitration clauses into their employment contracts." …

Gray Power In The Gray Area Between Employer And Employee: The Applicability Of The Adea To Members Of Limited Liability Companies, Alan R. Haguewood

Vanderbilt Law Review

The American populace is aging.' At the same time, modern medicine enables Americans to remain productive members of the workforce for a longer period of time. The confluence of these two trends augurs increased use of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA), as companies try to force aging employees to retire despite their prolonged productivity. Another trend within the past decade has been the rise of various hybrid corporate forms that combine the beneficial aspects of partnerships and corporations, one example of which is the limited liability company ("LLC"). This increase in the number of different types of corporate …

Teen Prostitution In Japan: Regulation Of Telephone Clubs, Andrew D. Morrison

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The history of prostitution in Japan may be traced to the eighth century. Originally, prostitutes carried on their trade individually and independently. Around the thirteenth century, however, the nature of prostitution changed, as prostitutes formed small enterprises located in red-light districts. By the seventeenth century, red-light districts existed throughout Japan.

In 1900, the Japanese government, realizing the widespread proliferation of the prostitution industry, passed the Regulation for Control of Prostitutes. The law regulated prostitution nationwide by requiring prostitutes to register with local government authorities and to undergo regular health inspections. This system continued until the end of World War Two, …

Mandating English Proficiency For College Instructors: States' Responses To "The Ta Problem", Kenneth King

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note examines the background, provisions, effects, and constitutionality of state legislation mandating English proficiency assessment for college instructors. Such legislation responds to complaints about the comprehensibility of international instructors--particularly teaching assistants--at U.S. colleges and universities. U.S. universities employ large numbers of international instructors in scientific, technical, and business fields. Such employment is only one aspect of a broader U.S. importation of scientific and technical talent. This Note first considers the background and legitimacy of complaints about international instructors, and then examines the background and details of specific state provisions. It discusses the statutes' effects and particular concerns they raise, …

God, Labor, And The Law: The Pursuit Of Religious Equality In Northern Ireland's Workforce, Jane H. Thorpe

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In Northern Ireland, a Catholic man is twice as likely to be unemployed as his Protestant counterpart. This employment differential can be attributed directly to the religious sectarianism that has plagued Northern Ireland for almost 400 years. Traditionally, the Protestant community has used economic rights and employment opportunities to maintain its power and authority over the Catholic community. Resolution of this employment differential would be a key step toward achieving peace and unity in Northern Ireland; however, no progress can be made toward this goal until both communities share economic benefits and hardships. In 1989, the British Parliament passed the …

A Straitjacket For Employment At-Will: Recognizing Breach Of Implied Contract Actions For Wrongful Demotion, Gregory M. Munson

Vanderbilt Law Review

For over a century, employment at-will has been the law in almost all American jurisdictions.' As a result, employers can fire their employees, and employees can quit, with or without reason. In addition, employers have the authority under the at-will rule to regulate all terms and conditions of employment. During the past two decades a series of judicial exceptions to the at-will rule that prohibit termination of an employee for a variety of reasons have eroded the at-will doctrine. These exceptions fall into two categories. First, an employer may not terminate an employee for reasons that violate public policy Second, …