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Articles 1 - 30 of 47
Full-Text Articles in Law
Political Polarization In America: Its Impact On Industrial Democracy And Labor Law, Rafael Gely
Political Polarization In America: Its Impact On Industrial Democracy And Labor Law, Rafael Gely
Faculty Publications
This article explores the impact that political polarization is having in the social, legal, and regulatory space, particularly on American worker-management relations. Polarization is affecting decisions involving social relationships and market transactions, the ability of institutions built to generate debate and discussion to successfully complete these missions, and people's willingness to listen to and engage with views contrary to their own.
Achieving The Achievable: Realistic Labor Law Reform, Rafael Gely
Achieving The Achievable: Realistic Labor Law Reform, Rafael Gely
Faculty Publications
A common reprise among labor activists and scholars has been that for the fortunes of labor to change, the law must change. Prompted perhaps by a seeming surge in labor movement activity over the past few years, including headline-grabbing strikes and recent union victories at several U.S. Starbucks locations, various labor law activists and scholars have called to seize the moment and proposed the enactment of comprehensive labor law reform. We argue in this Article that broad-scale labor law reform is unlikely to be enacted by the current U.S. Congress or even have all its provisions pass muster when potentially …
Overtime Overruled: Why The New Department Of Labor Overtime Regulations Should Not Go Into Effect, Morgan Westhues
Overtime Overruled: Why The New Department Of Labor Overtime Regulations Should Not Go Into Effect, Morgan Westhues
The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review
The United States Department of Labor recently revised its overtime regulations for white collar workers to keep up with the changing economy and inflation. While the salary level for who can receive overtime pay needs to be elevated, the proposed elevation to the salary level under the Obama Administration is too drastic. The proposed overtime regulations essentially double the current salary level for overtime eligibility. This drastic increase is already having negative effects on employees, even though it has not yet gone into effect. To prepare for the new regulations to take effect, employers have begun to find ways around …
Are We All In This Together? Enforcing Class Arbitration Waivers, Ariel M. Kiefer
Are We All In This Together? Enforcing Class Arbitration Waivers, Ariel M. Kiefer
Missouri Law Review
Mandatory class arbitration waivers are increasingly common in employment agreements. It is estimated that forty-three percent of companies have mandatory class arbitration waivers. Employees sign them because they either do not believe they will ever have a major problem with their employer, they believe arbitration is a cheaper and faster method of dispute resolution, or they simply do not read or understand the clause. This Note discusses the facts surrounding the Eighth Circuit’s decision in Cellular Sales of Missouri to uphold a class arbitration waiver. It analyzes the approach other federal circuit courts have taken in upholding and striking down …
Banning The Box In Missouri: A Statewide Step In The Right Direction, Jessica Chinnadurai
Banning The Box In Missouri: A Statewide Step In The Right Direction, Jessica Chinnadurai
Missouri Law Review
Missouri, like many other states, has evaluated and decided to address employment discrimination that occurs as a result of requiring people with a criminal history to disclose that information during the initial phases of the hiring process. Efforts to eliminate bias have been seen through the “Ban the Box” movement. The movement generally advocates removing the box applicants check if they have a criminal history, opting instead to delay this question for later in the employment process. This Note analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of adopting this legislation and evaluates whether doing so leads to a lower risk of employment …
Few Thoughts About Scalia's Dissenting Opinion In Rutan V. Republican Party Of Illinois And His View Of The Public Workplace, Rafael Gely
Faculty Publications
I first became familiar with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, when I began teaching employment law a few years after the decision was issued. Having spent six years in Illinois while attending law school and graduate school, and returning to teach at Chicago-Kent College Law, the case was of particular interest to me, as the names and location of the case all seemed so familiar. I found the dissent by Justice Antonin Scalia particularly interesting in that it raised a number of fascinating issues and made various assertions that seemed to make sense. …
Stripping Away Employment Rights: The Unconscionability Of Class Waivers In Employment Agreements, Nikki Clark
Stripping Away Employment Rights: The Unconscionability Of Class Waivers In Employment Agreements, Nikki Clark
Journal of Dispute Resolution
As support for arbitration clauses began to grow, employers began to include arbitration clauses in employment agreements because it lowers the cost and uncertainty of litigation. Many of these arbitration clauses contain waivers of the right to class action. This Note argues that a waiver of collective action, whether express or unknowing, should be per se unconscionable to provide consistency and to resolve the inconsistency between and even within federal circuits.
In Defense Of Mcdonnell Douglas: The Domination Of Title Vii By The At-Will Employment Doctrine, Chuck Henson
In Defense Of Mcdonnell Douglas: The Domination Of Title Vii By The At-Will Employment Doctrine, Chuck Henson
Faculty Publications
The purpose of this Article is to describe the actual relationship between the Doctrine and Title VII as implemented in the Court's disparate treatment decisions. Title VII and the Doctrine are not separate forces warring with each other. The at-will employment doctrine guided the Court's Title VII disparate treatment jurisprudence, giving the maximum possible latitude to employers because that was the Eighty-eighth Congress's intent.
Arbitration Whack-A-Mole: The Federal Policy Favoring Arbitration Hammers The Rights Of Individual Employees, Spring E. Taylor
Arbitration Whack-A-Mole: The Federal Policy Favoring Arbitration Hammers The Rights Of Individual Employees, Spring E. Taylor
Journal of Dispute Resolution
In a country that protects the plaintiff's right to a day in court, it only seems natural that Sally should have the opportunity to take her cause to the courthouse. But the strong fedral presumption that supports the enforcement of arbitration provisions is like a hammber that pushes plaintiffs like Sally and those if Huffman into the arbitration arena. In Huffman, the Sixth Circuit rescued an employwer from an ambiguous arbitration provision contained in the employer-drafted employment agreement and enforced the arbitration provision as one of the provisions to survive expiration of the contract, even though it was not listed …
"Horton And The Who": Determining Who Is Affected By The Emerging Statutory Battle Between The Faa And Federal Labor Law, James R. Montgomery
"Horton And The Who": Determining Who Is Affected By The Emerging Statutory Battle Between The Faa And Federal Labor Law, James R. Montgomery
Journal of Dispute Resolution
In the early 20th century, social changes brought about a system designed to protect employees. As part of the American system of labor laws, workers are given certain rights to proceed collectively, to "band together," and to proceed as a unit. Labor laws were first enacted in the United States during a period of Supreme Court jurisprudence that granted a broad array of powers to corporations, in the form of "liberty of contract." Justice Holmes dissented in Lochner v. New York, and planted a seed in his opinion that would later go on to support the idea behind federal labor …
Employment Arbitration At The Crossroads: An Assessment And Call For Action, Stephen L. Hayford, Jamie Darin Prenkert, Anjanette H. Raymond
Employment Arbitration At The Crossroads: An Assessment And Call For Action, Stephen L. Hayford, Jamie Darin Prenkert, Anjanette H. Raymond
Journal of Dispute Resolution
Arbitration agreements must be on equal footing with all types of contracts. This stark reality demands that the various stakeholders in the arbitration community converge in the interest of designing and institutionalizing arbitration mechanics and processes that, as a start, exceed the minimum requirements to avoid arguments of substantive unconscionability and, more broadly, provide the fair, just, and accountable alternative dispute resolution system the FAA and the U.S. Supreme Court have indicated it can be. This paper seeks to guide this next stage of the debate by first reviewing the doctrinal developments over the past thirty years that led to …
Restoring Our Children's Future: Ending Disparate School Discipline Through Restorative Justice Practices, Kaeanna Wood
Restoring Our Children's Future: Ending Disparate School Discipline Through Restorative Justice Practices, Kaeanna Wood
Journal of Dispute Resolution
This note opens the discussion on disparate school discipline with a case harboring egregious facts, then goes on to explore the history of zero-tolerance policies as the primary method of school discipline, federal civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination based on race in school discipline, and the rise of restorative practices as a means of school discipline. In conclusion, this note argues that in implementing restorative justice practices as an alternative dispute resolution method, schools can end a pattern of disproportionately disciplining African American and Hispanic students and create an environment that fosters success for all children.
A Religious Organization’S Autonomy In Matters Of Self-Governance: Hosanna-Tabor And The First Amendment, Carl H. Esbeck
A Religious Organization’S Autonomy In Matters Of Self-Governance: Hosanna-Tabor And The First Amendment, Carl H. Esbeck
Faculty Publications
In Hosanna-Tabor, a teacher suing her employer, a church-based school, alleged retaliation for having asserted rights under a discrimination statute. The School raised the “ministerial exception,” which prohibits ministers from suing their religious employer. The Court held the exception was constitutionally required. Before giving the facts that convinced it that this teacher was a “minister,” the Court had to distinguish the leading case of Employ. Div. v. Smith. Plaintiffs in Smith held jobs as counselors at a drug rehabilitation center. They were fired for illegal drug use (peyote), and later denied unemployment compensation. The Native American Church ingests peyote during …
Title Vii Works - That's Why We Don't Like It, Chuck Henson
Title Vii Works - That's Why We Don't Like It, Chuck Henson
Faculty Publications
In response to the universal belief that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is not fulfilling its purpose, this Article presents a different perspective on the reality of this federal employment discrimination law. Title VII is fulfilling the purpose of the Congress that created it. The purpose was not the eradication of all discrimination in employment. The purpose was to balance the prohibition of the most obvious forms of discrimination with the preservation of as much employer decision-making latitude as possible. Moreover, the seminal Supreme Court decision, McDonnell Douglas v. Green, accurately implemented this balance. This Article …
Before Wisconsin And Ohio: The Quiet Success Of Card-Check Organizing In The Public Sector, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler
Before Wisconsin And Ohio: The Quiet Success Of Card-Check Organizing In The Public Sector, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler
Faculty Publications
Card-check laws, which have been unsuccessfully pursued by private-sector unions, mandate that employers recognize the union as the representative of employees on the basis of signed authorization cards without reliance on a representation election. Card check authorization benefits unions because it short circuits the usual organizing process by eliminating the union's need to further prove majority support in a secret ballot election.' But by doing so, it imposes costs on employers by restricting their efforts to erode union support through aggressive campaign tactics. Our paper seeks to better understand the development of these laws and their effects, and in that …
Card-Check Laws And Public-Sector Union Membership In The States, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler
Card-Check Laws And Public-Sector Union Membership In The States, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler
Faculty Publications
We examine the impact of state card-check legislation on public-sector union membership. Based on an empirical analysis of data from 2000 to 2009, a time during which eight states enacted card-check legislation for public employees, we find significantly higher levels of public-sector union membership for states that passed card-check legislation in years after the laws were enacted relative to states that did not pass such laws. Moreover, average public-sector union membership increased for the states that passed card-check legislation after the laws were passed relative to their precard-check law union-membership levels.
Organizing Principles: The Significance Of Card-Checks Laws, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler
Organizing Principles: The Significance Of Card-Checks Laws, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler
Faculty Publications
The use of “card checks” as a method of union organizing has recently garnered a lot of attention, much of it surrounding the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. If passed, this legislation would amend the National Labor Relations Act by requiring employers to recognize a union when the employer is presented with evidence of majority support for union recognition via union authorization cards. Although the proposed bill has had difficulty gaining traction in the U.S. Congress, several states have recently passed similar legislation covering state and local public employees. In this article, we compare card-check organizing by public sector employees …
Understanding Card-Check Organizing: The Public Sector Experience, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler
Understanding Card-Check Organizing: The Public Sector Experience, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler
Faculty Publications
The use of “card checks” as a method of union organizing has recently garnered considerable attention, much of it surrounding the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. The proposed legislation seeks to amend the National Labor Relations Act by requiring employers to recognize a union when the employer is presented with evidence of majority support for union recognition via card checks. Despite this recent interest in card checks, there is little empirical research on the topic due, in part, to the lack of available data. Although card-check organizing in the private sector is not rare, such organizing is voluntary, and does …
Educating The United States Supreme Court At Summers' School: A Lesson On The "Special Character Of The Animal", Rafael Gely, Ramona L. Paetzold, Leonard Bierman
Educating The United States Supreme Court At Summers' School: A Lesson On The "Special Character Of The Animal", Rafael Gely, Ramona L. Paetzold, Leonard Bierman
Faculty Publications
In this article, we explore the implications that Professor Summers' insights regarding public employment have for the Garcetti and Davenport decisions. In particular, we focus on the extent to which the political nature of public employment affects public employees' rights to freedom of speech as well as matters regarding the representational functions of public employee unions.
The Application Of Rfra To Override Employment Nondiscrimination Clauses Embedded In Federal Social Services Programs, Carl H. Esbeck
The Application Of Rfra To Override Employment Nondiscrimination Clauses Embedded In Federal Social Services Programs, Carl H. Esbeck
Faculty Publications
General federal employment nondiscrimination legislation permits religious organizations to take religion into account when making employment decisions. However, some federal social service programs have embedded in their authorizing legislation a nondiscrimination clause binding on recipients of program grants. And a few of these embedded clauses require that grantees (including religious grantees) not discriminate in employment on the basis of religion. This extended essay demonstrates how the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 overrides these employment nondiscrimination clauses when applied to faith-based social service grantees. Not only is this the conclusion of the U.S. Department of Justice in its policy announced …
Card Check Recognition: New House Rules For Union Organizing?, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler
Card Check Recognition: New House Rules For Union Organizing?, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler
Faculty Publications
A significant policy debate has been occurring regarding union organizing methods in the United States. This debate focuses on the appropriateness of granting union recognition based on majority support as demonstrated by union authorization card signatures, also known as “card checking.” Critics describe the practice as anathema to basic democratic principles and accuse unions of wanting to deal from the bottom of the deck to secure undeserved representation of employees. Proponents of card check recognition argue that reliance on National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) organizing procedures fails to protect employees' rights to organize, and forces unions to compete against a …
Social Isolation And American Workers: Employee "Blogging" And Legal Reform, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman
Social Isolation And American Workers: Employee "Blogging" And Legal Reform, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman
Faculty Publications
This article further demonstrates that state common law exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine are not providing significant redress to employees fired or otherwise disciplined for blogging.
The Law And Economics Of Identity, Rafael Gely
The Law And Economics Of Identity, Rafael Gely
Faculty Publications
A growing number of legal scholars have written about the demands that society and particular employers have placed on non-traditional employees to perform their identities, “or make themselves palatable” to their employers, by comporting with the criteria that the institution values. These authors have forcefully made the argument that some of these requirements are actually a form of class subordination; as a response, they argue for various forms of legal intervention.
Workplace Blogs And Workers' Privacy, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman
Workplace Blogs And Workers' Privacy, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman
Faculty Publications
In this article we focus on a related issue. We discuss the development of blogs, and the virtual “space” where blogs and bloggers interact the “blogosphere” and their impact on the issue of workers' privacy. To some extent it would seem a bit of a contradiction to talk about privacy and blogging in the same article. Blogging, as we will discuss below, does not appear to be the most private of enterprises. There are, we argue, a number of interesting privacy issues raised by the development of blogs as an employee communication tool and by the way employers have reacted …
Love, Sex And Politics? Sure. Salary? No Way: Workplace Social Norms And The Law, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman
Love, Sex And Politics? Sure. Salary? No Way: Workplace Social Norms And The Law, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman
Faculty Publications
A recent article in the New York Times captioned “Love, sex and politics? Sure. Salary? No way” discusses Americans' strong aversion to talking about their salaries. The piece notes that while discussion of financial matters is often acceptable in some parts of the world, it is generally considered “crass” in the United States. In short, discussion by individuals of their salaries and related matters can be seen as violating an American “social norm.” One-third of United States private sector employers have reinforced this norm by adopting specific rules prohibiting employees from discussing their wages with co-workers, rules known as pay …
Avoiding Regulatory Mismatch In The Workplace: An Informational Approach To Workplace Safety Regulation, Thom Lambert
Avoiding Regulatory Mismatch In The Workplace: An Informational Approach To Workplace Safety Regulation, Thom Lambert
Faculty Publications
The purpose of this article is to do just that. As it turns out, there is fertile middle ground between the pure libertarian “do nothing” approach and the paternalistic command-and-control approach OSHA tends to favor. Even the middle ground “information-provision” approach a number of theorists have advocated (in imprecise terms) could be implemented several different ways, some of which would be more effective than others. It is therefore possible to make some systematic policy prescriptions that may aid regulators attempting to avoid regulatory mismatch.In the course of exploring the range of regulatory options, this article attempts to make several contributions …
Pay Secrecy/ Confidentiality Rules And The National Labor Relations Act, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman
Pay Secrecy/ Confidentiality Rules And The National Labor Relations Act, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman
Faculty Publications
This article seeks to provide a comprehensive account of doctrinal issues related to the use of pay secrecy/confidentiality rules (“PSC rules”) under the NLRA. In Part II, we describe what pay secrecy/confidentiality is and discuss recent survey evidence of their presence in workplaces across the United States. In Part III, we describe the current legal framework under which PSC rules are evaluated under the NLRA, while in Parts IV and V, we explore various doctrinal issues related to these rules in more detail. This leads us to Part VI, where we ponder the future of PSC rules under the NLRA …
Supreme Court's 2002 Term Employment Law Cases: Is This Justice Scalia's Court?, Rafael Gely
Supreme Court's 2002 Term Employment Law Cases: Is This Justice Scalia's Court?, Rafael Gely
Faculty Publications
In a recent article,' Erwin Chemerinsky argues that the Supreme Court's constitutional law decisions of the 2002 Term "cannot be explained by any overarching theory or underlying set of interpretative principles." Instead, he argues, "constitutional law is all about value choices made by the Justices." Professor Chemerinsky also argues that given the current composition of the Court, "it is the value choices of the middle" - Justice O'Connor and Justice Kennedy - that matter the most. Professor Chemerinsky ends his article with the assertion that "[f]or better or worse, this really is the O'Connor Court." In reviewing the cases decided …
Spouses Need Not Apply: The Legality Of Antinepotism And No-Spouse Rules , Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler, Jack Howard, Robin Cheramie
Spouses Need Not Apply: The Legality Of Antinepotism And No-Spouse Rules , Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler, Jack Howard, Robin Cheramie
Faculty Publications
We begin this analysis in Part II with a brief discussion of employment policies that have been adopted to meet the unique needs of working families. Interestingly, these practices often exist contemporaneously with policies that restrict employment opportunities for dual-earner couples, namely antinepotism and no-spouse rules. In Part III, we present the results of our comprehensive analysis of case law in this area to show the nature of legal challenges to antinepotism and no-spouse rules and how they have been decided by the courts. In Part IV, we describe the legislative framework under which MSD claims have been raised and …
Supreme Court Employment Law Cases 2001-02 Term, Rafael Gely
Supreme Court Employment Law Cases 2001-02 Term, Rafael Gely
Faculty Publications
I set two simple objectives for the article. First, the article will summarize each of the cases. My intent is to provide those unfamiliar with the cases a brief review of the facts and a summary of the Court's reasoning. Parts II through VI provide this discussion, grouping the cases by subject area. Second, in Part VII, the article provides a "big picture" analysis of the various cases. My intent is to identify trends, issues, interesting aspects and features of the Court's term. My objective is to aid in our understanding of the patterns that might affect the Court's treatment …