Law Commons^™

Unpacking The Employee-Misconduct Defense, Sachin S. Pandya

Faculty Articles and Papers

When a worker sues an employer, the employer sometimes learns thereafter that the worker had committed some misconduct at the time of hire or while on the job. In those cases, most American work laws provide the employer with a defense that precludes employer liability, or at least limits remedies, if the employer shows that, had it known of the worker’s misconduct at the time of its allegedly wrongful act, it would have fired the worker because of that misconduct. This Article evaluates the prevailing arguments for and against the employee-misconduct defense as it appears in the National Labor Relations …

System Adjustments, Brendan Maher

Faculty Articles and Papers

This invited Essay considers the future of law data and system reform.

Tax Liability For Wage Theft, Sachin S. Pandya

Faculty Articles and Papers

This paper shows how, under existing tax law, illegal wage underpayment by an employer (sometimes called “wage theft”) may generate employer tax liability for unreported income or disallowed business expense deductions. Given that the tax authority needs information from the underpaid worker to prove such liability, the paper identifies two ways that a worker can transmit that information to a tax authority: becoming a tax informant, or bringing a qui tam action under a state false claims act. Finally, the paper discusses possible influences on the decision of the unpaid worker to inform on the employer to the tax authority, …

What Is The Value Of Associations, Or Is It Safe To Row Alone, Darcy Kirk

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Moral Turpitude, Julia Simon-Kerr

Faculty Articles and Papers

Moral turpitude is a legal standard used in areas of American law as diverse as torts, immigration, professional licensing, and evidence. Although the standard has a profound effect on a wide array of privileges, entitlements, and liabilities, scholars have devoted scant attention to it. The few who have studied it have echoed the courts in arguing that the standard is vague. This Article argues, in contrast, that the problem with moral turpitude is that it has too much meaning, not too little. Moral turpitude imports into our legal system an outdated nineteenth century honor code that reflects republican virtues: oath …

Rites Without Rights: A Tale Of Two Military Commissions, Alexandra Lahav

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Region Codes And Human Rights, Molly Land

Faculty Articles and Papers

This essay considers what Professor Peter Yu’s article on DVD region coding, “Region Codes and the Territorial Mess,” illustrates about the challenges associated with using human rights law to respond to limitations on access to knowledge. The kind of activity that Professor Yu points to — the decisions of corporate actors pursuing their own interests that have significant unanticipated effects on individual rights — presents a recurring and thorny problem for those concerned about expression and culture today. At what point do these burdens constitute a human rights violation that can and should be regulated by the state? The essay …

Rebalancing Trips, Molly Land

Faculty Articles and Papers

Application of the World Trade Organization’s dispute resolution procedures to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) has provoked a variety of reactions over time. Initially perceived as a significant loss for developing countries, more recent responses maintain that these fears were unfounded. This Article argues that the availability of adjudication through the WTO has indeed had significant consequences for the policy space of developing countries — just not in the manner initially imagined. One of the most important yet underappreciated consequences of the decision to link trade and intellectual property has been the conflation of trade and …

Employees Versus Independent Contractors: Why States Should Not Enact Statutes That Target The Construction Industry, James Kwak

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Some Thoughts On Health Care Exchanges: Choice, Defaults, And The Unconnected, Brendan Maher

Faculty Articles and Papers

One feature of the ACA that appealed to observers across the political spectrum was the creation of health insurance “exchanges.” Among other things, exchanges are intended to aid consumers in making simple and transparent choices regarding the purchase of health insurance. This Article considers how exchanges might benefit from the use of “default” options — both online and off. Given the significant number of Americans that have limited or no Internet access, offline defaults may be an attractive way to promote coverage of the “unconnected.”

Building- Related Renewable Energy And The Case Of 360 State Street, Sara Bronin

Faculty Articles and Papers

This Article argues that a well-conceived policy approach to building-related renewable energy (“BRRE”) — that is, renewable energy incorporated into inhabited structures and used by those structures’ occupants — could transform the way we produce and consume energy by maximizing efficiency while simultaneously minimizing energy sprawl. The vast majority of Americans favor renewable energy, at least in concept. Yet private property owners still face significant obstacles in trying to incorporate renewable energy into their projects. This Article analyzes barriers faced by the project team for 360 State Street, an award-winning, mixed-use LEED® Platinum building in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Among …

The Once And Future Networked Self, Steven Wilf

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

The Case For Trial By Formula, Alexandra Lahav

Faculty Articles and Papers

The civil justice system tolerates inconsistent outcomes in cases brought by similarly situated litigants. One reason for this is that in cases such as Wal-Mart v. Dukes, the Supreme Court has increasingly emphasized liberty over equality. The litigants’ right to a “day in court” has overshadowed their right to equal treatment. However, an emerging jurisprudence at the district court level is asserting the importance of what this Article calls “outcome equality” – equal results reached in similar cases. Taking the example of mass torts litigation, this Article explains how innovative procedures such as sampling are a solution to the problem …

Cities, Property, And Positive Externalities, Peter Siegelman, Gideon Parchomovsky

Faculty Articles and Papers

Cities are the locales of numerous interactions that generate externalities-both negative and positive. Although the common law provides a vast array of mechanisms for limiting negative externalities, there is a striking absence of provisions for stimulating the production of positive ones. As a consequence, activities whose social benefits are greater than their private costs are not undertaken, with a resulting efficiency loss.

In this Article, we demonstrate how cities can develop commercial districts that allow for the capture of positive externalities by following the example of suburban malls. In malls, anchor stores provide positive externalities-additional customers-to neighboring stores. Anchors capture …