Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Title Insurance: Protecting Property At What Price?, Stewart E. Sterk

Articles

The real property recording system is designed to protect purchasers and mortgagees against defects in title. Navigating that system is beyond the capacity of most laymen; historically, purchasers hired lawyers and other professionals to identify and eliminate title risks. Institutional lenders, however, sought more protection than a lawyer's opinion could provide, leading to the development of title insurance. Title insurance, unlike most other insurance, is focused not on risk spreading but on risk elimination. By examining title before issuing a policy, a title insurer minimizes the likelihood of a successful claim by an insured whose title turns out to be …

Running Up Against The Civil Rights Act: Does Joe Biden's Promise Of A Female Running Mate Violate Title Vii?, Michael Conklin

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Selling Out, Andrew B. Dawson

Cardozo Law Review

When bankruptcy policy competes with other federal and state regulatory policies, which should take priority? Bankruptcy law, provided it is used to save a struggling business from having to close its doors. Bankruptcy's supremacy, then, can preserve the debtor's going concern value, save jobs, and limit the collateral damage from a business failure. But should this bankruptcy supremacy apply only when the debtor is pursuing a traditional reorganization under chapter 11, or should it also apply when bankruptcy is used to bring about a quick sale of substantially all of the debtor's assets?

This Article addresses this question in the …

Contracting Away Your Career: An Interstate Comparison Of Noncompete Law And A Proposal For Optimal Legislation In New York, Matthew Rametta

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal Exportation: The Case Of European Labor Law And Third Countries, Lior Zemer, Neta Nadiv

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The frequency of change in industry and human mobility has brought new legal issues before labor courts. These changes constantly create a need to rethink and renew national labor law principles. In this process countries search for and import labor law principles from foreign legal systems. This Article focuses on Israeli labor law as a test case. Israeli courts considering labor law matters often turn to foreign legal systems in a manner that arguably influences the courts' interpretation and development of local labor laws. In practice, labor courts in Israel, when faced with a lack of appropriate domestic legislation, model …

Mending Violence Against Workers In The Bangladesh Garment Industry: An Anti-Capitalist Perspective On Fabrications Of "Improving" Labor Conditions, Jenny Lam

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the failure of neoliberal reforms in addressing labor exploitation in Bangladesh's garment industry following the 2013 Rana Plaza Collapse. It critiques initiatives like the Accord and Alliance for their limited scope and lack of enforceability, highlighting how they fail to address systemic issues such as low wages and gender-based violence. The analysis also points to the ineffectiveness of corporate codes of conduct and legal frameworks, emphasizing the need for a more comprehensive, worker-centered approach. The author advocates for community unionism and stronger legal protections, arguing that systemic change is necessary to empower workers and end exploitation.

Lumping, Fairness, And Single People, Michael C. Pollack

Articles

This essay explores the distributional impact that three forms of lumping have on single people without children: seat-assignment and seat-bargaining on public transportation, work-hour allocation, and single-family zoning. The first two involve lumps pursued by individuals outside of any legal regime; the last involves lumping by law. In all three, I submit, we tend to choose to devalue—or perhaps do not even perceive—the costs faced by the single person, and to assign relatively juiced-up value to the costs faced by those with families. The result in these arenas is that both society and law routinely externalize (hidden) costs onto single …

Supervisory Liability And Ashcroft V. Iqbal, Alexander A. Reinert

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employers Should Owe A Duty Of Loyalty To Their Workers, Andrew Melzer, David Tracey

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

An employee’s overarching legal commitment to his or her employer is commonly known as the “duty of loyalty.” This lopsided duty of loyalty exacerbates the inordinate power that employers possess over their workers. We propose that the duty of loyalty owed by workers to their employers be made reciprocal: employers should also owe a general duty of loyalty and care towards their employees.

Easy As Abc: Why The Abc Test Should Be Adopted As The Sole Test Of Employee–Independent Contractor Status, Eric Markovits

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

This Note examines the features and history of the three most commonly used tests for employee classification before advocating that the ABC test be more broadly adopted going forward.

Arbitration Of Worker Contracts: New Prime's Proper Statutory Interpretation Of The 1925 Federal Arbitration Act, Margaret L. Moses

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This article will discuss how, in a future case, if the Court applied the reasoning of its unanimous opinion in New Prime-that the language of the statute should be interpreted consistent with the meaning it had to the Congress that adopted it-no worker would be covered by the FAA. Part I will consider the scope of the Commerce Clause, and the expansion in the Court's understanding of Congress' power under the Clause that occurred post-1925. In Part II, the article will deal with the purpose of the FAA as understood at the time of its adoption, as well as …

The Lawyer As Accomplice: Cannabis, Uber, Airbnb, And The Ethics Of Advising “Disruptive” Businesses, Charles M. Yablon

Articles

This Article examines the legal and ethical problems of corporate lawyers who advise businesses that operate just beyond the edge of legality. These include manufacturers and sellers of cannabis products (a felony under federal law, even if ostensibly permitted by state statutes) as well as a substantial number of startup companies, like Uber and Airbnb, whose “disruptive” business models involve deliberately violating local laws and ordinances, many of which carry criminal penalties. Under the current Model Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer “shall not counsel a client to engage, or assist a client, in conduct that the lawyer knows is …

The Claims And Limits Of Justice Scalia's Textualism: Lessons From His Statutory Standing Decisions, Michael P. Healy

Cardozo Law Review

Two decisions written by Justice Scalia near the end of his life, Lexmark International Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., 572 U.S. 479 (2014), and Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP, 562 U.S. 170 (2011), reshaped the law of statutory standing and provide important insights into the claims and limits of textualism. These decisions have reshaped the law of statutory standing in three ways. They have changed the legal terminology; expanded the range of cases to which the zone-of-interests test applies; and changed the application of the zone-of-interests test when it applies to determine statutory standing. This Article discusses these …

On Constitutional Identity And The Loyalties Of The Constitutional Judge, András Sajó

Cardozo Law Review

The following remarks consider the relation of judicial loyalty and constitutional identity. These two concepts were always of great interest to Arthur Jacobson's scholarship and their combined discussion is not only necessitated by certain constitutional developments in this age's return to nationalist sovereignty but is a token of Arthur's appreciation.

Code Of Silence, Melissa Mortazavi

Cardozo Law Review

To read the literature on professional responsibility is to inhabit a world focused on what is said explicitly about what it means to be a lawyer: the aspirations of the canons, the commands of the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility, the clarifications of court and ethics opinions, and the guidance of the Restatement. However, it often neglects what is not said: spaces where silence reigns. This Article takes a different approach; it listens to the taciturn.

This Article draws insight from when the bar chooses to be silent in the face of widely known violations of the law of lawyering. …

The Sec's Part 205.3(D)(2) And Wadler V. Bio-Rad Labs. Should Be Revisited: The Sec Exceeded Authority In Creating A Reporting Out Provision For In-House Attorneys, Briana Sheridan

Cardozo Law Review

This Note proceeds in three parts. Part I introduces relevant statutory law. Part I discusses federal law, notably Section 307 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the SEC's Part 205.3(d)(2), as well as the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules and conflicting state law. Part II first examines case law involving the preemption of state ethics laws, including Wadler v. Bio-Rad Laboratories, which concluded broadly that Part 205 preempts California law.23 Part II then examines the doctrine of federal preemption, which is followed by a preemption analysis of Part 205.3(d)(2). Part III recommends that Part 205.3(d)(2) should be revisited, as the …

The Ethics Of Non-Lawyer Advocacy: Expectations, Rules, And Complications, John F. Wirenius

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The article examines the ethical challenges and legal complexities surrounding nonattorney advocacy in labor relations, particularly under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and similar state statutes. It highlights the tension between holding non-lawyer union representatives to attorney ethical standards and the need for simpler, practical norms. The analysis emphasizes the importance of balancing due process for pro se parties with maintaining the integrity of advocacy roles, suggesting that resorting to fundamental statutory values and reciprocal duties can provide a baseline for ethical conduct.

Straight Actors In Lgbt Roles: Creative Casting Or Employment Discrimination?, Erica Ruff

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the trend of casting straight actors in LGBT roles, termed "gay face," and explores its implications as a form of employment discrimination. It argues that this practice limits opportunities for LGBT actors and discusses the legal challenges in addressing this issue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which does not explicitly cover sexual orientation. The note highlights the tension between anti-discrimination laws and First Amendment protections for artistic expression, noting that courts often favor the latter.

Exploration Of The Nfl Franchise Tag Functioning As A Non-Compete Clause, David B. Borsack

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Arbitration As The Ideal Method Of Labor Law Dispute Resolution: A Case Study Using 14 Penn Plaza Llc, Et Al. V. Steven Pyett, Et Al., Douglas Shribman

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Law On The State Pension Crisis, Elizabeth S. Goldman, Stewart E. Sterk

Articles

While some state and municipal pension plans have funds sufficient to meet obligations to retirees without imposing onerous obligations on current and future taxpayers, underfunding of plans in other states has reached disastrous proportions, raising the possibility of default on pension obligations, cuts in public services, steep tax increases, or some combination of the three. The substantial differential in pension funding might be attributed to divergent political pressures, different responses to uncertainty about investment returns, or other factors. Our examination of pension funding law in ten states-five with the best-funded plans and five with the worst-funded plans-highlights the role of …

Combating The Actor's Sacrifice: How To Amend Federal Labor Law To Influence The Labor Practices Of Theaters And Incentivize Actors To Fight For Their Rights, Shelley Attadgie

Cardozo Law Review

Part I of this Note will provide a background of the stage theater industry and the current federal and state labor laws and regulations. Section L.A will introduce the basic structure of the acting world, the differences between union and non-union actors, and the conflict surrounding the recent repealing of the Los Angeles 99-seat Theatre Waiver. Section I.B will discuss current minimum wage laws, focusing on the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Part II of this Note will analogize the actor's situation in the line with the relevant statutes, regulations, and case law to determine whether theaters …

Picketing In The New Economy, Hiba Hafiz

Cardozo Law Review

The rise of the contingent and gig economies and of outsourced and subcontracted work has left many workers with insufficient bargaining power to successfully negotiate collective bargaining agreements with their direct employers. This problem is exacerbated by a statutory ban on worker picketing and boycotts of non-employers, or "secondaries," even where those employers collude with direct employers on wage-fixing or the suppression of union activity; have monopsony power over direct employers; or have substantial indirect control over worker wages through contractual arrangements.

This Article is a crucial intervention in modernizing the labor law on worker picketing in the New Economy. …

Love For Sale: Book Review Of Marcia A. Zug, Buying A Bride: An Engaging History Of Mail-Order Matches, Jeanne L. Schroeder

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Take Me Out Of The Ballgame, Take Me Out To The Free Market: An Analysis Of Midterm Contract Renegotiation In Major League Baseball, Aaron Bretter

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note argues that mid-term contract renegotiations in Major League Baseball (MLB) should be permitted under specific legal doctrines, such as efficient breach, changed circumstances, and duress. It advocates for a more dynamic and equitable system where player compensation aligns with current performance, balancing fairness for players and practical considerations for teams. While the theory of efficient breach is intriguing, the doctrine of changed circumstances is posited as the most viable legal remedy for renegotiation, particularly when a player's performance significantly exceeds initial expectations.

Deconstructing The Dao: The Need For Legal Recognition And The Application Of Securities Laws To Decentralized Organizations, Laila Metjahic

Cardozo Law Review

This Note will begin with background information on the construction of a blockchain and its function in decentralized organizations like the DAO, followed by a discussion on smart contracts and their role in decentralized organizations and the DAO. This Note will then analyze the legal status of partnerships and joint ventures. This Note proposes that the U.S. legal system must clarify the legal status of these organizations and as such should classify the DAO as a general partnership. Assuming the DAO is a general partnership, the question arises as to whether shareholders in the DAO have interests that would be …

Rape In Context: Lessons For The United States From The International Criminal Court, Caroline Davidson

Cardozo Law Review

The law of rape is getting a rewrite. Domestically and internationally, major efforts are underway to reform rape laws that have failed to live up to their promises of seeking justice for victims and deterring future sexual violence. The cutting edge of international criminal law on rape eschews inquiries into consent and instead embraces an examination of coercion or a coercive environment. By contrast, in the United States, rape reform discussions typically center on consent. The American Law Institute's proposed overhaul of the Model Penal Code's provision on sexual assault carves out a middle ground and introduces, in addition to …

The Federal Arbitration Act And Independent Contractors, Richard Frankel

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

The misclassification of employees as independent contractors is one of the most serious problems affecting the American workforce. It deprives workers of important employee benefits, civil rights, and wage and hour protections, and deprives the federal and state governments of billions of dollars in tax revenue annually. While workers can seek redress in the courts, businesses are trying to take away that right as well by forcing workers to submit their disputes to binding mandatory arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Section 1 of the FAA, however, creates an exemption for transportation workers, stating that “nothing herein contained shall …

How Pre-Dispute Arbitration Clauses Chill Whistleblowing And End-Run Dodd-Frank Whistleblowing Protections, Noah Weingarten

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This Note proceeds in six parts. First, it examines the mechanics of the SEC whistleblower program, its success, and the importance of whistleblowers. Second, it analyzes whistleblower retaliation protections and contrasts the protections under DoddFrank with those under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("SOX"). Third, it analyzes how the SEC protects whistleblowers under its regulatory powers. Fourth, it analyzes the importance of retaliation claims from the whistleblower's perspective. Fifth, it analyzes how and why companies employ pre-dispute arbitration clauses to get a more favorable forum to entertain retaliation claims and how federal courts have been enforcing these arbitration clauses. Finally, …

Union Co-Ops And The Revival Of Labor Law, Ariana R. Levinson

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This article, as the first to identify and suggest solutions for the numerous labor law issues that must be addressed when establishing a union co-op, contributes to the existing literature on workerownership and cooperative economics. This article proceeds in four sections. The first section provides background about what union co-ops are, why unionization makes sense in the co-op setting, and the initiative to scale up union cooperatives. The second section, drawing on original interview data, provides background about the Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative and Our Harvest, the first union worker-owned co-op that the Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative incubated. The third …