Law Commons^™

From Healthcare To Hiring: Impacts Of Social And Public Policy On Disabled Veterans In The United States, Benjamin Michael Stoflet

Student Scholarship

The United States Government is struggling to fulfill commitments it has made to service members suffering from disabilities incurred during honorable service to the country. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation structure, job training programs, and methods of alternative dispute resolution is a patchwork resulting from decades of legislation creating a system where veterans often become locked in a complicated and often combative process to obtain benefits they have earned. Employers, advocacy groups, academics, and federal officials agree that there are systematic issues within the VA negatively impacting disabled veterans. These include a lack of patient-centered care, divergent …

Campaign Finance Reform, Union Dues, And The First Amendment: The Collision Of Politics And Rights, Mark Adams

Articles

No abstract provided.

Does U.S. Federal Employment Law Now Cover Caste Discrimination Based On Untouchability?: If All Else Fails There Is The Possible Application Of Bostock V. Clayton County, Kevin D. Brown, Lalit Khandare, Annapurna Waughray, Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt, Theodore M. Shaw

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article discusses the issue of whether a victim of caste discrimination based on untouchability can assert a claim of intentional employment discrimination under Title VII or Section 1981. This article contends that there are legitimate arguments that this form of discrimination is a form of religious discrimination under Title VII. The question of whether caste discrimination is a form of race or national origin discrimination under Title VII or Section 1981 depends upon how the courts apply these definitions to caste discrimination based on untouchability. There are legitimate arguments that this form of discrimination is recognized within the concept …

Wage Theft Criminalization, Benjamin Levin

Scholarship@WashULaw

Over the past decade, workers’ rights activists and legal scholars have embraced the language of “wage theft” in describing the abuses of the contemporary workplace. The phrase invokes a certain moral clarity: theft is wrong. The phrase is not merely a rhetorical flourish. Increasingly, it has a specific content for activists, politicians, advocates, and academics: wage theft speaks the language of criminal law, and wage theft is a crime that should be punished. Harshly. Self-proclaimed “progressive prosecutors” have made wage theft cases a priority, and left-leaning politicians in the United States and abroad have begun to propose more criminal statutes …

Broader-Based And Sectoral Bargaining Proposals In Collective Bargaining Law Reform: A Historical Review, Sara Slinn

All Papers

Labour legislation regulating Canada’s private sector has incorporated forms of broader-based or sectoral certification and bargaining (BBB) in varying degrees for decades, particularly in British Columbia and Quebec. However, BBB had not been the subject of significant post-war labour law reform discussion until the 1990s. This decade saw a wave of interest in introducing BBB arise across several jurisdictions. Originating in Ontario in the late 1980s, it spread to British Columbia as a key part of labour law reform discussions in the early and late 1990s and became a minor issue in the federal labour law reform review process later …

Outsourcing Discrimination, Llezlie Green

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The significant growth in employers’ use of labor intermediaries—that is, third parties that stand between the workers and the organizations for whom they complete work— has fundamentally changed how many low-wage workers enter and function in the workplace. Temporary staffing agencies that hire and place workers with companies and organizations have taken on a gatekeeper role to low-wage jobs in many industries. Recent litigation and various reports allege flagrant hiring discrimination by temporary staffing agencies whose clients encourage them not to hire African American workers and hire and send Latinx immigrants instead. This Article explores the discriminatory treatment of low-wage …

Dehumanization 'Because Of Sex': The Multiaxial Approach To The Title Vii Rights Of Sexual Minorities, Shirley Lin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Although Title VII prohibits discrimination against any employee “because of such individual’s . . . sex,” legal commentators have not yet accurately appraised Title VII’s trait and causation requirements embodied in that phrase. Since 2015, most courts assessing the sex discrimination claims of LGBT employees began to intentionally analyze “sex” as a trait using social-construction evidence, and evaluated separately whether the discriminatory motive caused the workplace harm. Responding to what this Article terms a “doctrinal correction” to causation within this groundswell of decisions, the Supreme Court recently issued an “expansive” and “sweeping” reformulation of but-for causation in Bostock v. Clayton …

The Problem With Predators, June Carbone, William K. Black

Faculty Works

Both corporate theory and sex discrimination law start with presumptions that CEOs seek to advance legitimate ends and design the internal organization of business enterprises to achieve such ends. Yet, a growing literature questions why CEOs and boards of directors nonetheless select for Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and toxic masculinity, despite the downsides associated with these traits. Three scholarly literatures—economics, criminology, and gender theory—draw on advances in psychology to shed new light on the construction of seemingly dysfunctional corporate cultures. They start by questioning the assumption that CEOs—even CEOs of seemingly mainstream businesses—necessarily seek to advance “legitimate” ends. Instead, they suggest …

Testimony Of Marcy L. Karin In Support Of B23-0494. The "Ban On Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act Of 2019", Marcy L. Karin

D.C. Council Testimony

No abstract provided.

Disrupting The Discrimination Narrative: An Argument For Wage And Hour Laws' Inclusion In Antisubordination Advocacy, Llezlie Green

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The traditional discrimination narrative dominates both legal and popular understanding of workplace exploitation of African American workers. This narrative, however, is incomplete as it fails to consider other chronic workplace challenges such as wage theft. The dominant narrative draws upon an anticlassification framework rather than an antisubordination framework. In addition, post-racial legal analyses complicate the dominant narrative’s utility, particularly in a system plagued by structural inequality. Furthermore, both its legal underpinnings and the normative realities of pursuing discrimination claims challenge its efficacy in addressing workplace subordination. Wage theft has largely characterized only the immigrant worker exploitation narrative, despite wage theft’s …

The Female Body In The Workplace: Judges And The Common Law, Maritza I. Reyes

Journal Publications

If the common law serves to liberate women, everybody, including judges, should understand the role they do play and should play in the development of the common law. As a career law clerk in the federal courts, I witnessed the decision-making process inside the chambers of federal judges and in the courtrooms. I came to the conclusion that judges, more than statutory law, influence what happens to female bodies in the workplace. Litigants initially drive the common law by filing complaints. However, judicial decisions affect not only the litigants in their individual cases, they also serve as precedent for future …

Criminal Employment Law, Benjamin Levin

Scholarship@WashULaw

This Article diagnoses a phenomenon, “criminal employment law,” which exists at the nexus of employment law and the criminal justice system. Courts and legislatures discourage employers from hiring workers with criminal records and encourage employers to discipline workers for non-work-related criminal misconduct. In analyzing this phenomenon, my goals are threefold: (1) to examine how criminal employment law works; (2) to hypothesize why criminal employment law has proliferated; and (3) to assess what is wrong with criminal employment law. This Article examines the ways in which the laws that govern the workplace create incentives for employers not to hire individuals with …

Testimony Of Marcy Karin. The Committee Of The Whole. October 10, 2017, Marcy L. Karin

D.C. Council Testimony

No abstract provided.

Internal Disciplinary Procedures – Internet And Social Media. Dilemmas Of Bilateral Relations, Adrian Berski

Reports

Nowadays, Social Media and the Internet are useful and powerful tools within society. It provides great convenience to conduct activities within the job market such as: free web advertising, talent hunting or collecting precious marketing data. However, in some cases, Social Media and the Internet can be a “bone of contention” between the employer and employee relationship.

The main purpose of this essay is to demonstrate bilateral relations between internal disciplinary procedures between Companies and the Internet – Social Media, in light of the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977-2007. It will be presented in relation to the following determinants[1]: …

Foreword: The Restatement Of Employment Law Project, Michael C. Harper, Samuel Estreicher, Matthew T. Bodie, Stewart J. Schwab

Faculty Scholarship

After over a dozen years of work, the American Law Institute (ALI or Institute)'s Restatement of Employment Law has been completed. The membership of the ALI, the nation's leading private organization dedicated to clarifying and improving the law, approved the proposed final draft, subject to editing, at its May 2014 annual meeting. The final edits are done and the volume is now available both electronically and as a book to practitioners, judges, scholars, and law libraries around the country and world.

We have had the honor to serve as Reporters for the Restatement of Employment Law and are pleased to …

Summary Of Hohenstein V. State Emp’T Sec. Div., 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 17 (Apr. 2, 2015), Walter Fick

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that NRS 453.3363 prevents the Nevada Employment Security Division from using a guilty plea for a first-time drug offense, which led to a suspended sentence pending completion of probation, to justify denying unemployment benefits on the grounds of misconduct.

Cronyism, Corruption, And Political Intrigue: A New Approach For Old Problems In Public Sector Employment Law, Jonathan Fineman

Journal Publications

This article argues that the best interest of the public is served when at least some public employees receive some degree of job protection. However, there is also value in the argument that we no longer can justify the retention of a uniform system of traditional civil service protections for all public employees. Therefore, this article takes the position that this debate should not be framed as an "either/or" proposition between a rigid system of job protections for all (or most) employees on one hand and unfettered managerial discretion on the other. Instead, job protections should be context-based, varied depending …

The Roberts Court And The Law Of Human Resources, Matthew T. Bodie

All Faculty Scholarship

The rise of human resources departments parallels the increase in the myriad statutory and regulatory requirements that govern the workplace. The Supreme Court's decisions in labor and employment law cases are largely monitored and implemented by HR professionals who must carry out these directives on a daily basis. This article looks at the Roberts Court's labor and employment law cases through the lens of human resources. In adopting an approach that is solicitous towards HR departments and concerns, the Roberts Court reflects a willingness to empower these private institutional players. Even if labor and employment law scholars do not agree …

Working On Immigration: Three Models Of Labor And Employment Regulation, Rick Su

Journal Articles

The desire to tailor our immigration system to the economic interests of our nation is as old as its founding. Yet after more than two centuries of regulatory tinkering, we seem no closer to finding the right balance. Contemporary observers largely ascribe this failure to conflicts over immigration. Shifting the focus, I suggest here that longstanding disagreements in the world of economic regulations — in particular, tensions over the government’s role in regulating labor conditions and employment practices — also explains much of the difficulty behind formulating a policy approach to immigration. In other words, we cannot reach a political …

Reemployment Under Userra Sections 4312 & 4313: At Will Employment Vs. Temporary Employment, Richard L. Pate

WCBT Faculty Publications

As thousands of service members return to the U.S., severe economic conditions render acclimation to civilian life especially difficult. In 2010, as the combat mission in Iraq approached an end, the unemployment rate of Iraq and Afghanistan era veterans had reached 13.1 percent. The Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301-4333 (1994) ("USERRA"), was enacted, in great part, to mitigate harms such as those caused by the aforementioned perfect storm. Among other things, USERRA protects service members by entitling them to reemployment after military service. More specifically, USERRA Sections 4312 & 4313 entitle returning service members …

The Importance Of Immutability In Employment Discrimination Law, Sharona Hoffman

Faculty Publications

This article argues that recent developments in employment discrimination law require a renewed focus on the concept of immutable characteristics. In 29 two new laws took effect: the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA). This Article’s original contribution is an evaluation of the employment discrimination statutes as a corpus of law in light of these two additions.

The Article thoroughly explores the meaning of the term “immutable characteristic” in constitutional and employment discrimination jurisprudence. It postulates that immutability constitutes a unifying principle for all of the traits now covered by the employment …

Consider The Source: When The Harasser Is The Boss, Susan Grover, Kimberly Piro

Faculty Publications

In Consider the Source, Susan Grover and Kim Piro argue for a change in the analysis that courts apply to determine whether actionable workplace harassment has occurred. They identify a gap in current doctrine, which allows courts to ignore the status of the harasser as co-worker or supervisor. The authors argue that harassment at the hands of a supervisor is necessarily more severe and pervasive than the same harassment by a coworker. As a result, they recommend that the harasser's identity as a supervisor or co-worker be treated as a necessary consideration when courts assess whether actionable harassment has occurred.

Book Review (Paul Frymer's Black And Blue: African Americans, The Labor Movement, And The Decline Of The Democratic Party)., Sophia Z. Lee

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Talking Is Worthwhile: The Role Of Employee Voice In Protecting, Enhancing, And Encouraging Individual Rights To Job Security In A Collective System, Anne M. Lofaso

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Leaving Maryland Workers Behind: A Comparison Of State Employee Leave Statutes, Michael Hayes

All Faculty Scholarship

Maryland law is not quite a blank slate for employee leave rights-but it is close. While the state forbids employers from terminating employees for job time lost for jury service or attending a court proceeding in response to a subpoena or pursuant to victim's rights laws, Maryland is one of a "select few" that does not require any breaks for adult workers, including time off for meals. Maryland law does not require family or medical leave for private sector workers. In fact, the state's most generous leave law stems from repealing antiquated "blue laws" that required businesses to be closed …

Symposium Introduction: Women's Work Is Never Done: Employment, Family, And Activism, Kristin (Brandser) Kalsem, Verna L. Williams

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This article frames the issues in the Supreme Court case, Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, and introduces the articles making up the inaugural symposium of the Law and Women's Studies Program at the University of Cincinnati. Hibbs involved a husband who was trying to get leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in order to take care of his severely injured wife. The case presents an opportunity to rethink issues of work and family, the legal subordination of women, and the law as an agent for social change, and it was therefore an ideal focus for …

Employee/Employer, Sandra S. Klein

Journal Articles

The issue of privacy as it relates to employment in general is one of great concern, both to employers and employees. Both groups are faced with increasing threats to their individual or corporate privacy. Given that such threats carry personal, economic and social consequences, it is not surprising that many people are concerned. The bibliography which follows provides the reader with many sources which should prove useful to those well-versed in the subject, as well as to those who are looking at this issue for the first time.

The Statutory And Constitutional Limits Of Using Protected Speech As Evidence Of Unlawful Motive Under The National Labor Relations Act, Rebecca White

Scholarly Works

A difficulty inherent in cases under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), as in other areas of employment law, is in determining why the employer acted. Perhaps an even harder question, and one too frequently overlooked, is what form of evidence the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) and any reviewing court properly may consider in determining motive. More specifically, can the Board take into account an employer's vigorous opposition to the union in deciding whether or not a particular action was motivated by antiunion animus? Although common sense suggests yes, several courts of appeals have said no, relying …

Employment-At-Will & Codes Of Ethics: The Professional's Dilemma, Seymour Moskowitz

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Accommodating Employees' Sabbaths: Is It The Government's Job?, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.