Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Vol. 29, No. 1, James C. Franczek, Amy K. Dickerson

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Education Reform in Illinois: Making Performance Count by James C. Franczek, Jr. and Amy K. Dickerson

Recent Developments

Defined (Yet Uncertain) Benefit Pension Plans In America, Travis Bayer

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Despite playing a central role in many public and private employees' retirements, defined benefit pension plans are woefully underfunded. Moreover, the combination of a Baby Boomer retirement bulge and a struggling economy are putting even more pressure on defined benefit plans. This Note examines relevant background information regarding defined benefit pension plans and demographic data of the Baby Boomer generation. This Note then explores how and to what extent states and private employers have created contractual obligations through defined benefit plans and addresses what happens when those contractual obligations are breached. Finally, this Note suggests that litigation cannot provide a …

An Industry Missing Minorities: The Disparate Impact Of The Securities And Exchange Commission's Fingerprinting Rule, Kelly Noonan

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") recently asserted that the use of criminal background checks as an employment screening tool may have a disparate impact on African Americans and Hispanics, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC and some private claimants have even filed lawsuits against employers claiming disparate impact violations based on statistics that show African Americans and Hispanics are considerably more likely to have criminal records than other racial groups. Yet, certain federal regulatory agencies require participants in their industries to subject employees to criminal background checks as a condition of …

Compassion And Coalitions: A Review Of Reshaping The Work Family Debate: Why Men And Class Matter By Joan Williams, Carolyn Shapiro

All Faculty Scholarship

Reshaping the Work-Family Debate: Why Men and Class Matter by Joan Williams is illuminating, intellectually challenging, and insightful. It is not, however, a typical law professor book. Neither academic inquiry nor policy analysis (although it contains elements of both), Reshaping the Work-Family Debate is more of a manifesto. Williams seeks measurable and meaningful change in the family and work lives of Americans, even if that change is imperfect or incomplete, and she sees theoretical or ideological rigidity as one obstacle to such change.

Williams believes that coalition-building is essential to addressing the work family challenges she identifies. Although she has …

Vol. 28, No. 4, James J. Powers

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

A New Look At "Supervisors": Is Illinois Following the National Trend?, by James J. Powers

Recent Developments

Announcement

Vol. 28, No 3, Andrew Malahowski

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Health Care Reform: Implications for Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector, by Andrew Malahowski

Recent Developments

"Mancession" Or "Momcession"?: Good Providers, A Bad Economy, And Gender Discrimination, Joan C. Williams, Allison Tait

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In the aftermath of the 2008 economic downturn, two of the hardest hit industries were manufacturing and construction. As a result, men became unemployed at a higher rate than women, and consequently, women—for the first time ever—became over fifty percent of the employment. This "mancession" gave rise to great debate over the place of women in the workforce and the important role that employment plays in shaping male identity. An intervening critique came in the form of the "momcession" discourse that focused on the impact of the recession on mothers, who were often responsible for caretaking, homemaking, and providing the …

Defiling The Retaliation Doctrine: Kasten V. Saint-Gobain And The Anti-Retaliation Provision Of The Fair Labor Standards Act, Madeline Engel

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The anti-retaliation provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act makes it unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an employee who has "filed any complaint" under the FLSA. In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., the Seventh Circuit declared its position in a growing circuit split as to whether an employee can "file" a verbal complaint of an alleged FLSA violation. Kasten answered the question in the negative, holding that verbal complaints are not protected activity under the Act. This note analyzes relevant Supreme Court precedent and the evolution of the circuit split, as well as principles of statutory …

Vol. 27, No. 4, Ryan Shannon

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Public Sector Furloughs: Player Perspectives, Strategies, and Grounds for Challenge, by Ryan Shannon

Recent Developments

Vol. 27, No. 3, Librado Arreola

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

The Fate of Arbitration Agreements after 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, by Librado Arreola

Recent Developments

Discrimination Outside Of The Office: Where To Draw The Walls Of The Workplace For A "Hostile Work Environment" Claim Under Title Vii, Douglas R. Garmager

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it "an unlawful employment practice for an employer . . . to discriminate against any individual" on the basis of sex. Accordingly, in Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, the Supreme Court recognized that sex discrimination in employment can give rise to a hostile work environment claim under Title VII. The scope of a hostile work environment claim has not been interpreted uniformly by the lower courts, however, as a circuit split exists today over whether conduct occurring outside the workplace is relevant to a hostile work environment claim. …

Closing The Gap Legislatively: Consequences Of The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Carolyn E. Sorock

Chicago-Kent Law Review

With the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Congress both reversed the result of the widely criticized Ledbetter Supreme Court case and expanded the statute of limitations for all employment discrimination claims relating to compensation. Under the Act, a compensation-based employment discrimination claim's statute of limitations period of three hundred days begins to run whenever an employee is "affected" by a discriminatory practice. The language of the Act is far-reaching, but just five months after the Act was signed into law, the Supreme Court stepped in again to narrow the Act's application to pension benefits in AT&T Corp. v. …

Vol. 27, No. 2, Michael J. Duggan, Julie E. Lewis, Mallory Milluzzi

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Labor Relations in Hard Times, by Michael J. Duggan, Julie E. Lewis, and Mallory Milluzzi

Recent Developments

Reforming The United States' Economic Model After The Failure Of Unfettered Financial Capitalism, Richard B. Freeman

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This Article is based on the 2009 Kenneth M. Piper Lecture at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The 2008–2009 financial meltdown and ensuing economic developments have shown three things about modern capitalism: First, that unfettered financial markets remain the Achilles heel of capitalism with the capability of destroying economic stability and bringing misery to all. Second, that high-powered incentives paid to "talent" in finance are a fundamental cause of the excessive risk-taking, chicanery, and financial fraud that contributes to instability. Without a new compensation system that rewards banking and finance for contributing to sustainable economic progress rather than for economic …

The Evolving Schizophrenic Nature Of Labor Arbitration, Martin H. Malin

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Canadian Auto Workers--Magna International 'Framework For Fairness' Agreement: A U.S. Perspective (Symposium), Martin H. Malin

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Vol. 27, No. 1, Ronald J. Kramer

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Ricci v. DeStefano: What It Means for Public Employees, by Ronald J. Kramer

Recent Developments

Vol. 26, No. 4, Betty Cox, Perry A. Zirkel

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

School Boards' Adverse Employment Actions Against Superintendents: An Empirical Analysis of the Case Law, by Betty Cox and Perry A. Zirkel

Recent Developments

Vol. 26, No. 3, J. Stuart Garbutt

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Recent and Potentially Forthcoming Developments in Federal Regulation of the Workplace, J. Stuart Garbutt

Recent Developments

Vol. 26, No. 2, Lewis Maltby

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Brave New Workplace: Genetic Discrimination, by Lewis Maltby

Recent Developments

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

All Faculty Scholarship

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

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Vol. 26, No. 1, Colleen F. O'Keefe

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Recent Changes to Special Education Law and the Impact on Collective Bargaining, by Colleen F. O'Keefe

Recent Developments

Vol. 25, No. 4, Paul R. Klenck

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Caught in the Web: On and Off-Duty Use of Computers, by Paul R. Klenck

Recent Developments

Further References, compiled by Yoo-Seong Song

Vol. 25, No. 3, Susan J. Willenborg

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Labor Relations Issues in the Public Sector Electronic Workplace, by Susan J. Willenborg

Recent Developments

Further References, compiled by Yoo-Seong Song

Vol. 25, No. 2, Bruce C. Beal

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Survey of Recent Legislation Affecting Police Officers and Firefighters, by Bruce C. Beal

Recent Developments

Further References, compiled by Yoo-Seong Song

Do Cognitive Biases Affect Adjudication?: A Study Of Labor Arbitrators (With Monica Biernat), Martin H. Malin, Monica Biernat

All Faculty Scholarship

Labor arbitrators were presented with four cases to decide, each involving a challenge to discipline or discharge of an employee resulting from a work-family conflict. Arbitrators were randomly given versions of the cases in which the gender and one other characteristivc of the employee were varied. The results showed little evidence of direct gender bias in decision-making but did reflect bias against single parents and employees with eldercare, as opposed to childcare, responsibilities. Implications for other adjudicators, including judges, jurors and administrative agency officials are discussed.

Revisiting The Meltzer-Howlett Debate On External Law In Labor Arbitration: Is It Time For Courts To Declare Howlett The Winner?, Martin H. Malin

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Vol. 25, No. 1, Consuela A. Pinto

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

Family Responsibilities Discrimination: The Next Frontier in Public Sector Employment Law, by Consuela A. Pinto

Recent Developments

Further References, compiled by Yoo-Seong Song