Law Commons^™

Proposition 22: A Vote On Gig Worker Status In California, Miriam A. Cherry

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

In the shadow of the 2020 United States Presidential election, an important vote was also taking place about the employment status of gig workers. In 2019, the California Legislature had enacted AB5, a bill that expanded the definition of “employees” to include workers in the on-demand economy. In response, gig platforms like Uber, Lyft, and Postmates backed a direct ballot initiative, California’s Proposition 22, which asked voters to undo the work of the Legislature. Gig workers would be reclassified as independent contractors, but they would also receive certain benefits, including, among others, the ability to sue for discrimination under …

Social Bargaining In States And Cities: Toward A More Egalitarian And Democratic Workplace Law, Kate Andrias

Articles

A well-documented problem motivates this symposium: The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not effectively protect workers’ rights to organize, bargain, and strike. Though unions once represented a third of American workers, today the vast majority of workers are non-union and employed “at will.” The decline of organization among workers is a key factor contributing to the rise of economic and political inequality in American society. Yet reforming labor law at the federal level—at least in a progressive direction—is currently impossible. Meanwhile, broad preemption doctrine means that states and localities are significantly limited in their ability to address the weaknesses …

Q: Since Marijuana Use Is Absolutely Prohibited Under Federal Law, Can An Employer Safely Fire An Employee Who Tests Positive For Cannabis? (A: Yes, No, Maybe, I Don't Know. Can You Repeat The Question? 1), Darrell M. Crosgrove, Michael T. Zugelder, Kimberly Nigem, Donald K. Wedding

Finance Faculty Publications

Twenty-nine states and three US territories offer medical marijuana prescriptions for their citizens, with others considering such. Some of these states make it a violation to terminate an employee for medical marijuana use. Federal laws make any marijuana possession or use a crime, and in some instances, require a drug-free workplace. Should employers enforce drug screening rules, or relax their standards and permit employees with prescriptions for medical marijuana to test positive provided work product is not affected? And can relaxing these standards be presented as a benefit to both employees that use medical marijuana, and those who do not? …

Internships As Invisible Labor, Melissa Hart

Publications

No abstract provided.

Report Surveys Colorado River Basin Leaders: Collaborative Approaches To Dwindling Supplies Are Highlighted, Sarah Bates, University Of Montana Missoula. Center For Natural Resources And Environmental Policy

Navigating the Future of the Colorado River (Martz Summer Conference, June 8-10)

4 pages.

Press release "April 14, 2011"

"Executive Summary April 2011" of report, Thinking Like a River Basin: Leaders' Perspectives on Options and Opportunities in Colorado River Management

Full report available at:

http://www.carpediemwest.org/wp-content/uploads/Thinking_Like_A_River_Basin_8-20-13.pdf

Defining "Disability": The Approach To Follow, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

The definition of "disability" has once again become a central issue in workers' compensation law. I am partly responsible. A decade ago I served as the Governor's Special Counselor on Workers' Compensation. In my Reportto the Cabinet Council on Jobs and Economic Development, I stated: "If I could write on a clean slate, I would prefer to see the Michigan definition brought even closer into the mainstream of American law by declaring that 'disability' means a 'limitation of an employee's wage earning capacity in work suitable to his or her qualifications and training resulting from a personal injury or work …

The Model Employment Termination Act: Fairness For Employees And Employers Alike, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

The Model Employment Termination Act (META), which state legislatures are expected to consider in the near future aims to prevent the unfair firing of Amer~ ican workers. At the same time, the Act aims to prevent devastating financial blows to American business. For both employees and employers, META offers streamlined dispute resolution procedures that would be simpler, less costly, and less time-consuming than the civil courts. The essence of the proposal is compromise-not as a matter of political expediency but as a practical, balanced accommodation of the competing worthwhile interests of employers and employees. Workers are entitled to be free …

A Seed Germinates: Unjust Discharge Reform Heads Toward Full Flower, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

In this paper, I shall briefly review the nature and limitations of the theories most frequently invoked by the courts in dealing with wrongful dismissal. I shall then examine the major arguments for and against a general overhaul of the doctrine of employment at will. Lastly, I shall discuss some of the particular questions that will have to be addressed in fashioning a statutory solution.

The Twilight Of Employment At Will? An Update, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

A 55-year-old white male, who has spent thirty years working his way up to a responsible middle-management position in his company, is asked for his resignation. No reason given. Even though the employee could demonstrate that he still is qualified to perform his duties, the employer's action in dismissing him would be quite unexceptionable under the conventional American common law doctrine of employment at will. The situation could be even more disturbing. If the employment-at-will principle were allowed its full scope, an employee would have no recourse even if he knew he was being discharged because he had refused to …

Compensation For Loss Of Earning Capacity, Robert R. Wright

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Constitutionality Of Legislation Designating Time And Manner Of Payment Of Wages, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

Not infrequently the legislatures of various states have deemed it advisable to provide by law for the time and manner of payment of wages of men engaged in certain designated employments; and these laws have been the cause of considerable litigation. Their validity has been challenged mainly on the ground of deprivation of property without due process of law and denial of the equal protection of the law, the contention being that the refusal of the privilege of contracting for the manner and time of payment is a deprivation of liberty and property, and the classification of men in certain …

Validity Of Legislation Limiting Hours Of Labor For Women, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

Public opinion and the development of social and economic thought are well read in the decisions, of the courts. An excellent illustration: of this is found in the recent case of Ritchie & Co. et al. v. Wayman, 244. Ill. 509, 91 N. E. 695, decided April 21, 1910.