Law Commons^™

Utah Antidiscrimination Efforts: Shortcomings, Challenges, And The Way Forward, Greta L. Asay

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Despite being a pro-business state, Utah is not considered employee-friendly; employment discrimination is prevalent, in spite of the state and federal laws in place to protect against it. The state agency that is in place to safeguard employees against unlawful discrimination is the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division (UALD), established by the Utah Antidiscrimination Act (UADA). While the UALD has the potential to be a powerful legal guardrail for employees, it currently is not fulfilling this potential. This paper explores the shortcomings of the UALD and argues that changes should be made to strengthen the authority of the UADA.

The Gig-Economy War: The Drive Towards Regulating Rideshare Employment Misclassification, Inae Cavalcante

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

With the emergence of the gig-economy, the doctrine distinguishing independent contractors from employees has never been more relevant in the state of California. Currently, the state faces a legal battle regarding employment misclassification of rideshare apps’ drivers, specifically Uber Technologies. While many believe that drivers should be entitled to the label of employee and receive benefits and protections under the California Labor Code, the law is not tailored to this new market and renders itself ambiguous. Although many solutions were presented in the past, such as the Borello Test, the ABC Test, Assembly Bill 5, and Proposition 22, no employment …

Bostock’S Paradox: Intersections In Lgbtq Employment Rights And Private, Religious Businesses, Christopher Smith

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Thanks to the recent opinion of Bostock v. Clayton County by the United States Supreme Court regarding the protection of LGBTQ employees in the workplace, discussion has turned to how this protection relates to religious employers. Religious organizations such as churches and mosques are afforded protections thanks to an exemption found in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The role and scope of these protections in regards to private, religious (but not religion-owned) businesses has been debated as recently as 2014 in the Supreme Court. In this paper I address this issue and determine that, underneath current ruling …

Realigning Federal Statutes: Contradictions Between The Federal Arbitration Act And The National Labor Relations Act, Denise Han

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Christopher Steele and Brendan Leveron were employees at a private

maintenance company named Pinnacle. Both Steele and Leveron

reported that Pinnacle allegedly forced them to work overtime without

just compensation—an allegation that, if proven valid, would

violate the Fair Labor Standards Act and California state law. They

also claimed that Pinnacle was guilty of unfair business practices,

retaliation and whistleblowing violations, and a failure to account.

Soon after Steele and Leveron filed these allegations, they discovered

that their predicament was not unique across the firm. In 2012,

they decided to represent their fellow employees in a class-action suit

which so …