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Employee Electronic Communications In A Boundaryless World, Robert Sprague
Employee Electronic Communications In A Boundaryless World, Robert Sprague
Robert Sprague
In 2007, the National Labor Relations Board decided that an employer could maintain an email communications policy that prohibits nonwork-related messages, even if those messages involved communications otherwise protected under the National Labor Relations Act. In December 2014, the National Labor Relations Board reversed this holding, but in doing so, limited its decision to just workplace email. This article argues that such a prescription is outdated and archaic in light of today’s modern workplace filled with communications devices and systems that blur the distinction between work and personal life. This article explains that such a prescription can cause employees to …
Redefining "Employee" To Provide Worker Protections Within A Flexible Workforce, Robert Sprague
Redefining "Employee" To Provide Worker Protections Within A Flexible Workforce, Robert Sprague
Robert Sprague
This paper focuses on firms misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of as employees. This means fewer and fewer workers are afforded legal workplace protections. The tests used to determine how workers should be classified are complex and convoluted. This paper argues that rather than focus on classifying a worker solely as either an employee or independent contractor, the concept of “employee” should be redefined to incorporate those workers who are somewhere in between, which describes a large number of workers in the U.S. who are denied protection from workplace laws.