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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Hundred-Years War: The Ongoing Battle Between Courts And Agencies Over The Right To Interpret Federal Law, Nancy M. Modesitt Oct 2009

The Hundred-Years War: The Ongoing Battle Between Courts And Agencies Over The Right To Interpret Federal Law, Nancy M. Modesitt

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Since the Supreme Court’s 1984 Chevron decision, the primary responsibility for interpreting federal statutes has increasingly resided with federal agencies in the first instance rather than with the federal courts. In 2005, the Court reinforced this approach by deciding National Telecommunications Ass'n v. Brand X Internet Services, which legitimized the agency practice of interpreting federal statutes in a manner contrary to the federal courts' established interpretation, so long as the agency interpretation is entitled to deference under the well-established Chevron standard. In essence, agencies are free to disregard federal court precedent in these circumstances. This Article analyzes the question left …


Leaving Maryland Workers Behind: A Comparison Of State Employee Leave Statutes, Michael Hayes Apr 2009

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

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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 …


The Myth Of Equality In The Employment Relation, Aditi Bagchi Mar 2009

The Myth Of Equality In The Employment Relation, Aditi Bagchi

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Although it is widely understood that employers and employees are not equally situated, we fail adequately to account for this inequality in the law governing their relationship. We can best understand this inequality in terms of status, which encompasses one’s level of income, leisure and discretion. For a variety of misguided reasons, contract law has been historically highly resistant to the introduction of status-based principles. Courts have preferred to characterize the unfavorable circumstances that many employees face as the product of unequal bargaining power. But bargaining power disparity does not capture the moral problem raised by inequality in the employment …


Foreword Symposium: Having It Our Way: Women In Maryland's Workplace Circa 2027, Margaret E. Johnson Jan 2009

Foreword Symposium: Having It Our Way: Women In Maryland's Workplace Circa 2027, Margaret E. Johnson

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On November 14, 2007, the University of Baltimore School of Law, the University of Maryland School of Law and the Women's Law Center of Maryland co-sponsored a symposium entitled "Having it Our Way: Women in Maryland's Workplace Circa 2027." The insightful collection of papers in this volume of the University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class represents the work of employment law scholars, public policy specialists, and activists who presented on the current state of Maryland employment law and discussed Maryland's future. This distinguished group of experts and scholars present several themes: the hope of new …


The Paradox Of Public Sector Labor Law, Martin H. Malin Jan 2009

The Paradox Of Public Sector Labor Law, Martin H. Malin

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No abstract provided.


Of Labor Inspectors And Labors Judges: Chilean Labor Law Enforcement After Pinochet (And What The United States Can Do To Help) (Symposium), César F. Rosado Marzán Jan 2009

Of Labor Inspectors And Labors Judges: Chilean Labor Law Enforcement After Pinochet (And What The United States Can Do To Help) (Symposium), César F. Rosado Marzán

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No abstract provided.


Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Seiu's Failed Bid In Puerto Rico, César F. Rosado Marzán Jan 2009

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Seiu's Failed Bid In Puerto Rico, César F. Rosado Marzán

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No abstract provided.


Working For (Virtually) Minimum Wage: Applying The Fair Labor Standards Act In Cyberspace, Miriam A. Cherry Jan 2009

Working For (Virtually) Minimum Wage: Applying The Fair Labor Standards Act In Cyberspace, Miriam A. Cherry

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As more work enters cyberspace, takes place in virtual worlds, and collapses traditional nation-state barriers, we are entering a new era of “virtual work.” In this article, I use “virtual work” as an umbrella term to encompass work in virtual worlds, crowdsourcing, clickworking, even sweeping in, to some degree, the commonplace telecommuting and “mobile executives” that have become ubiquitous over the past decade.Are such new forms of “work” entitled to the minimum payment standards mandated under the FLSA? As the United States enters another economic crisis, and with advances in technology key to continued economic growth and stability, these questions …


Embracing Paradox: Three Problems The Nlrb Must Confront To Resist Further Erosion Of Labor Rights In The Expanding Immigrant Workplace, Michael C. Duff Jan 2009

Embracing Paradox: Three Problems The Nlrb Must Confront To Resist Further Erosion Of Labor Rights In The Expanding Immigrant Workplace, Michael C. Duff

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This article discusses the Supreme Court's 2002 Hoffman Plastic Compounds opinion, normally considered in terms of its social justice ramifications, from the different perspective of NLRB attorneys tasked with pursuing enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) under the conceptually (and practically) odd rubric that some NLRA employees (unauthorized workers) have no remedy under the NLRA. The article focuses on three problems evincing paradox. First, NLRB attorneys prosecuting cases involving these workers will probably gain knowledge of unlawful background immigration conduct. To what extent must the attorneys disclose it, and to whom? Second, NLRB attorneys are extraordinarily reliant on …


Working Sick: Lessons Of Chronic Illness For Health Care Reform, Elizabeth Pendo Jan 2009

Working Sick: Lessons Of Chronic Illness For Health Care Reform, Elizabeth Pendo

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Although chronic illness is generally associated with the elderly or disabled, chronic conditions are widespread among working-age adults and pose significant challenges for employer-based health care plans. Indeed, a recent study found that the number of working-age adults with a major chronic condition has grown by 25 percent over the past 10 years, to a total of nearly 58 million in 2006. Chronic illness imposes significant costs on workers, employers, and the overall economy. This population accounts for three-quarters of all personal medical spending in the United States, and a Milken Institute study recently estimated that lost workdays and lower …


Labor Injunctions In Bankruptcy: The Norris-Laguardia Firewall, Michael C. Duff Jan 2009

Labor Injunctions In Bankruptcy: The Norris-Laguardia Firewall, Michael C. Duff

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This article considers whether federal courts, including bankruptcy courts, are authorized to issue injunctions in connection with various kinds of labor disputes arising after the filing of a petition in bankruptcy. The question takes on renewed importance in light of the record number of Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings in 2008, including filings by two of the three major American automakers, which are unionized. Given the increasing complexity of some of these notorious reorganizations, the likelihood of post-petition labor disputes appears to have correspondingly increased. In agreement with the few federal circuits that have considered the question, the article concludes that, …