Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

"The Terms And Spirit": Preserving The Purpose Of The Fair Labor Standards Act By Applying The Clear And Convincing Evidence Standard In Flsa Exemption Cases, Bridget Mccourt

Cleveland State Law Review

In 2023, the Fourth Circuit in Carrera v. E.M.D. Sales split from its sister courts by requiring employers to prove by clear and convincing evidence that an employee is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The Supreme Court reversed the Fourth Circuit’s decision, resolving the split by holding that the preponderance of the evidence is the correct standard. This Note argues that the Fourth Circuit, despite failing to provide a justification for its heightened standard, was correct because it preserves the terms and spirit of the FLSA. Congress enacted the FLSA as a remedial statute aimed to alleviate …

Gaps In Our National Security: How The Lack Of Female Leadership Impacts Our Nation’S Success And Safety, Maggie Sullivan

Cleveland State Law Review

Gender inequality in the workplace is an ever-evolving discussion. One aspect of gender inequality that is frequently overlooked is the leadership gap—the lack of representation of women in the top positions of their respective careers. Research demonstrates that the leadership gap is particularly pronounced in the legal field. This Article analyzes the factors within the legal field that perpetuate the leadership gap and examines the unique, confounding qualities of careers in national security to illustrate an exacerbated problem of inequality for women lawyers in national security. The lack of adequate diversity in people working in—and leading—the national-security field has been …

From Models To Mannequins: The Oxymoronic Equation Of International Labor Law Standards In The World Of Fashion, Namrata Bhowmik, Naman Anand

Cleveland State Law Review

Fashion law is an emerging field that addresses the legal issues that arise in the fashion industry. With the rapid growth and globalization of the fashion industry, there is an increasing need for specialized legal guidance in this area. Fashion law encompasses a wide range of legal issues, including intellectual property, contract law, employment law, international trade law, and environmental law.

One of the main drivers behind the need for fashion law is the rise of counterfeiting and intellectual property theft in the fashion industry. With the proliferation of ecommerce and social media, it has become easier than ever for …

Defining Genetic Information Under Gina, Shane Padilla

Cleveland State Law Review

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) was enacted to prevent discrimination based on an employee’s genetic information. Although GINA undoubtedly provides employees protection from unjust genetic discrimination by employers, varying interpretations of what constitutes “genetic information” has raised legal uncertainties in how GINA is applied. Consequently, the genetic information of an employee’s family may be unduly placed at risk as a result of misinterpreting the statutory language and legislative intent of GINA. It is of the utmost importance that the definition of “genetic information” be construed with respect to the Act’s legislative history, which supports a broad interpretation and application …

Employer Liability For Sex Harassment Through The Lens Of Restorative Justice, Emily Rees

Cleveland State Law Review

Title VII cases alleging sex harassment have become almost completely deferential to employers who have anti-harassment policies. In this Note, I discuss legal and sociological influences on this development and propose using restorative justice focused mediation to avoid rendering Title VII entirely ineffective. Mediation should only be compelled as a remedy—after a court finds that harassment occurred, but that the plaintiff cannot prove her employer knew about the harassment. Instead of dismissing these cases—where judges have already found illegal discrimination—some corrective action should be imposed on the employer for its failure to maintain a harassment-free workplace. Focusing mediation on principles …

Municipal Minimum Wage Ordinances In Ohio: A Home Rule Analysis, Paul J. Lysobey

Cleveland State Law Review

In 2016, a grassroots proposal in Cleveland, Ohio sought to raise the minimum wage in the City of Cleveland to fifteen dollars per hour. But before Cleveland residents could vote on the proposal, the Ohio legislature enacted Senate Bill 331, prohibiting Ohio municipalities from setting their own minimum wage rates. However, the Ohio Home Rule Amendment gives municipalities the right to self-governance in certain instances, and there is question as to whether the Ohio legislature’s action is a violation of the right to home rule for Ohio cities. This Note evaluates the constitutionality of Senate Bill 331’s minimum wage provision …

Looking Through The (Mis)Classifieds: Why Taskrabbit Is Better Suited Than Uber And Lyft To Succeed Against A Worker Misclassification Claim, Joseph W. Mchugh

Cleveland State Law Review

In the highly competitive gig-economy, companies are constantly trying to leverage whatever they can to gain a competitive advantage over competitors. One method of doing so is saving on employment costs by classifying workers as independent contractors. There are two ways to accomplish this: (1) structure the business as an internet-based marketplace or platform; or (2) structure the relationship between the business and the worker in a way that ensures the worker remains classified as an independent contractor under either the common law control test or the economic realities test. Both Uber and Lyft have faced accusations of intentionally misclassifying …

You Play Ball Like A Girl: Cultural Implications Of The Contact Sports Exemption And Why It Needs To Be Changed, Michelle Margaret Smith

Cleveland State Law Review

Women in the United States have historically earned significantly less income per year compared to their male counterparts. In 2014, the pay discrepancy was at its lowest point with women earning seventy-nine cents per every dollar men earned. This discrepancy exists even though women now attain college degrees at a higher rate than men and make up 47% of the labor force. In sports, the pay discrepancy is even greater. At the professional level, women earn as little as 1.2% of what their male counterparts earn. This Note addresses how changing the contact sports exemption in Title IX to allow …

Is More Parental Leave Always Better?: An Analysis Of Potential Employee Protections For Leave Offered Outside The Fmla, Natalie Bucciarelli Pedersen

Cleveland State Law Review

In the past few years, many large companies, including Netflix, Amazon and Facebook have implemented expanded—and very generous—parental leave policies. While on the surface these policies seem employee-friendly and even big-hearted, when one explores the potential consequences of taking such leave, the policies are fraught with potential dangers for employees. In a groundbreaking new study, researchers have found that employers view time off or flexible work arrangements made for an employee’s personal reasons as negatively reflecting on an employee’s work commitment. But what happens if a company decides to terminate an employee because they have taken leave and are viewed …

Toiling In Factory And On Farm: An Employer-Friendly Approach To The Compensability Of Donning And Doffing Activities Under The "Flsa", Jacob A. Bruner

Cleveland State Law Review

No realm of employment litigation has been more active in recent years than class action lawsuits under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Although the FLSA was originally enacted to help those who toiled in factories and on farms obtain a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, it continues to haunt unwary employers nearly seventy years later. This Note attempts to resolve those problems through the proposition of a single, uniform, and employer-friendly standard for donning and doffing claims arising under the FLSA. Specifically, this Note argues that courts should construe the “integral and indispensable” test narrowly to …

Loosening The Rust Belt: Why Ohio Should Re-Examine Its Current Standard For Determining The Enforceability Of Covenants Not To Compete Contained In Employment Agreements, Brian D. Mielcusny

Cleveland State Law Review

While the field of non-compete litigation is muddled and unpredictable in Ohio, the state would go a long way in at least considering a shift in thinking. By considering the arguments and alternatives presented above, Ohio could rework its CNC standard in a way that would maximize the potential for employee mobility and economic growth. The shifts taking place in Ohio’s economic climate and the onset of growth in emerging industries such as technology, healthcare, and energy show that Ohio might be on the cusp of unparalleled economic development. The need to continue growth in these sectors and keep pace …

Hands-Tied Hiring: How The Eeoc’S Individualized Assessment Is Taking Discretion Away From Employers’ Use Of Criminal Background Checks, Carrie Valdez

Cleveland State Law Review

This article argues that the 2012 EEOC Guidance should not be given deference by the courts. Specifically, the Guidance’s individualized assessment, which imposes a heightened requirement on employers to justify their background check policies, is problematic in three important ways. First, the individualized assessment places an impractical burden by what it requires and whom it requires to conduct such an assessment. Second, employer liability for negligent hiring may actually increase if employers perform individualized assessments. Finally, the practical effect of the individualized assessment may be decreased employer reliance on criminal background checks, and the result will likely not be a …

Leave As An Accommodation: When Is Enough, Enough?, Stacy A. Hickox, Joseph M. Guzman

Cleveland State Law Review

The right to reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act includes leave that will enable an employee with a disability to return to work rather than being discharged. This right may seem unreasonable for an employer needing employees to be at work to be productive, raising the question of when leave as an accommodation becomes unreasonable or imposes an undue hardship on an employer. In the absence of specific guidance from the Supreme Court, the circuit courts apply a variety of approaches, ranging from individualized analysis to determinations that any leave exceeding some number of weeks is unreasonable. In …

Workplace Privacy And Monitoring: The Quest For Balanced Interests , Ariana R. Levinson

Cleveland State Law Review

We can see in 2001 that 77 percent of employers were engaged in monitoring. This may have increased slightly or decreased slightly, but whatever has happened, we know that this is a significant amount of employers--much greater than a majority--that are engaging in monitoring of their employees. We can also see the great rise in monitoring of computers and electronic files in a ten-year period between 1997 and 2007. Finally, we can see some of the newer technologies. In 2007, twelve percent of the reporting employers were monitoring the blogosphere, eight percent were monitoring GPS vehicle tracking, and ten percent …

Weaning Ohio Employers Off Of Lactation Discrimination: The Need For A Clear Interpretation Of Ohio's Pregnancy Discrimination Act Following Allen V. Totes/Isotoner Corp. Note, Shannon Byrne

Cleveland State Law Review

Part II of this Note will explain the relevant statutory and case law background behind pregnancy and lactation discrimination at both the federal and state levels. Part III.A will explain why the Supreme Court of Ohio's decision [in Allen v. Totes/Isotoner Corp, 123 Ohio St. 3d 21, 2009 Ohio 4231, 915 N.E.2d 622 (2009)] to affirm the appellate court's grant of summary judgment was improper. Part III.B will explain why the Supreme Court of Ohio's analysis of the accommodation issue is incorrect. Part IV.A will describe how this improper decision could open the door to facially discriminatory workplace policies that …

Intended And Unintended Consequences: The 2006 Fair Minimum Wage Amendment Of The Ohio Constitution , Jason R. Bristol, Ashley A. Weaver, Thomas A. Downie

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article first provides a brief overview of federal and Ohio minimum wage law. The Article then examines the text of the 2006 Amendment. The third section delves into the provisions of HB 690 and the differences between HB 690 and the Amendment. The final section explores litigation issues arising from these differences.

Toward A Plain Meaning Approach To Analyzing Title Vii: Employment Discrimination Protection Of Transsexuals, Kevin Schwin

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of this Article is two-fold. First, this Article will discuss whether transsexuals should be protected at all from employment discrimination, and if so, whether protection should be accomplished through legislative or judicial means. Then, the Article will discuss each of the aforementioned approaches and advocate for a logical and consistent manner in which courts should decide cases under Title VII where a transsexual plaintiff alleges discrimination because of sex.

A Primer On The Need To Continue Monitoring Closely The Transfer Of Social Welfare Risk And Liability Of Employee Benefit Plans, James E. Holloway

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article examines why federal legislative policy-makers and judicial decision-makers should ascertain the impact of the transfer of risk and liability on furthering welfare and security interests and preserving organizational discretion under ERISA and public policy. Part I explains why business organizations or employers transfer risk and liability to employees and retirees. This transfer occurs where global business outcomes cause social consequences that are driven directly by business decisions responding to new global competition and less American economic standing. Part II explains the need to assess the substantive issues and public policy concerns underlying legislative acts and judicial interpretations limiting …

Public Sector Employee Bargaining: Contract Negotiations And Case Law, Andrew Douglas

Cleveland State Law Review

Between 1973 and 1980, across Ohio there were 428 public employee labor actions. In the face of such labor unrest, coupled with changing times and changing attitudes, the lawmakers of Ohio began to recognize the desperate need of the state's public employees to be granted the right to bargain collectively with their employers. It is my hope that after reading this Article, based upon an academically defensible presentation, you will draw the conclusion that collective bargaining for employees in the public sector is a good thing and should be protected at all costs in and by the law.

Contractual Waivers Of A Right To Jury Trial - Another Opinion, Brian D. Weber

Cleveland State Law Review

It is well-settled that arbitration in the employment context is favored by the courts, and that there is a federal policy favoring arbitration agreements, in general. However, jury waivers outside of arbitration in the employment context are still a relatively novel idea in some jurisdictions, despite the fact that an arbitration agreement itself inherently prevents the employee from having a jury trial. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as the Ohio Supreme Court, have yet to determine if jury waivers in employment contracts are binding. This paper will assess contractual jury trial waivers in the employment context as …

Reconsidering The Scope And Consequences Of Appellate Review In The Certification Decision Of Dukes V. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , Nicole Hitch

Cleveland State Law Review

This article will explore the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and their application in the granting or denial of certification in an employment discrimination class action. In doing so, this article will examine how the district court applied these rules in the Wal-Mart action, which resulted in the certification of the largest private class action suit in American history. Additionally, this article will consider the consequences of the Ninth Circuit's utilization of permissive and liberal standards and, alternatively, the consequences of incorporation of stricter standards from various other circuit courts and the possible result of denial of certification.

Rethinking America's Approach To Workplace Safety: A Model For Advancing Safety Issues In The Chemical Industry, Gwen Forte

Cleveland State Law Review

In Part II of this note, I analyze the impact of tort litigation, workers' compensation, collective bargaining, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act on workplace safety. I begin by describing how each of these vehicles operated historically and then I provide a contemporary perspective. In this section, I also consider the advantages and disadvantages of using these approaches to prevent and compensate for injuries. In Part III, I propose an alternative approach to workplace safety: employee board representation. In this section, I analyze and critique various methods of employee board representation and ultimately recommend a form of representation in …

Land, Labor And Reparations, Guadalupe T. Luna Northern Illinois University

Cleveland State Law Review

Kim David Chanbonpin and Ronald L. Mize, Jr. bring to LatCrit two legal historical essays that connect property and labor issues to the present. The first draws from the former Mexican land base presently comprising the American Southwest. The second examines a class of "agricultural underdogs" that provided their labor to the nation's food production systems during wartime. Both articles bring real life consequences impacting our communities of color generally but gente of Mexican descent specifically. The authors' treatment of difficult questions however, extends legal engagement that demands compensation for past injuries with consequences into the present. Their assertions of …

Reparations For Mexican Braceros - Lessons Learned From Japanese And African American Attempts At Redress , Ronald L. Mize Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

The U.S.-Mexico Bracero Program, 1942-1964, was designed originally to be a war-time labor relief measure that brought Mexican laborers to the United States to work in the agricultural and railroad industries. Over the past six years, I have conducted field research in Colorado and California with those who were most directly impacted by the Bracero Program - the formerly contracted Mexican workers. During the summer of 2002, my research was submitted as expert testimony on behalf of Braceros in a class action lawsuit associated with the Bracero savings program. The ten percent deducted from workers' paychecks is, from my research, …

Family And Medical Leave Act Reform: Is Paid Leave The Answer, Eric Daniel

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note will discuss the current status of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the drawbacks of having an unpaid federal leave program. It will explore the inability of the current federal program to achieve the fundamental goal of enabling workers to take time off of work to bond with a newborn child, to tend to an ill relative, or to allow time for recuperation of the employee's own serious health condition. In discussing this shortfall, this Note will focus on the impractical expectation that an employee in one of these situations will be able to spend up to …

Extending Weingarten To The Nonunion Setting: A History Of Oscillation, Sarah C. Flannery

Cleveland State Law Review

Passed in response to the nineteenth century hostility towards union activity, the NLRA traditionally was viewed as a pro-union statute. However, as much as the Act contains provisions clearly aimed at protecting union activity, the Act explicitly applies to non-union employees as well as union employees. Nevertheless, many nonunion employers and employees are unaware of the existence of the NLRA despite it being the only law governing the relationship between an employer and its employees as a group in most private sector establishments in this country. This Note analyzes the conflicting history surrounding this issue and asserts that the necessary …

No Pain, No Gain, No Compensation: Expoliting Professional Athletes Through Substandard Medical Care Administered By Team Physician, Nick Dicello

Cleveland State Law Review

This note discusses the role of the team physician and the unique conflicts he or she faces when providing medical care to athletes. In particular, the note describes the pressure team doctors experience from team management, the coaching staff, and the players themselves. Next, the note discusses the types of claims professional athletes have brought against their doctors and team employers and how the terms of collective bargaining agreements (CBA) and workers' compensation laws create obstacles to their recovery. The note will explore the need for a specialized legal standard within the practice of sports medicine and identify the disincentive …

Sexual Harassment In The Workplace: How Arbitrators Decide , Mollie H. Bowers, E. Patrick Mcdermott

Cleveland State Law Review

For thirty years courts and labor arbitrators have grappled with what constitutes sexual harassment and how to remedy such behavior. The Federal judiciary has developed case law on sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, arbitrators addressing this issue under collective bargaining agreements have often treated similar fact patterns differently than jurists. In contrast, labor arbitrators decide culpability first, and then consider the appropriate remedy. In reconciling these separate paths for establishing standards of workplace conduct, the authors will provide a model that explains how arbitrators decide sexual harassment cases and how this model …

Iadimarco V. Runyon And Reverse Discrimination: Gaining Majority Support For Majority Plaintiffs, Maria A. Citeroni

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note will argue that the Supreme Court should resolve the inconsistency within the federal system concerning the appropriate standard of proof in reverse discrimination disputes by adopting the reasoning set forth by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Section II will profile the history and purpose of Title VII, with emphasis on the "burden shifting" framework established by the Supreme Court to analyze claims of racial discrimination in the workplace. Section III will contrast the development of the "background circumstances" test applied by lower federal courts to discrimination claims brought by majority plaintiffs with the Supreme Court's recognition of …

Determining The Immunity Measuring Stick: The Impact Of The Health Care Quality Improvement Act And Antitrust Laws On Immunity Aspects Of Granting Privileges To Physician Assistants, Joseph Mark Saponaro

Cleveland State Law Review

This note examines the antitrust developments that affect the health care industry; the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986; the treatment of peer review process immunity for physicians as it now exists; how non-physician providers are dealt with in the peer review process; and where physician assistants fit into the whole scheme. Part I of this note lays a foundation of antitrust principles, briefly explaining the applicable portions of the Sherman Act. Part I continues by setting forth the approaches, rule of reason versus per se rule, that courts utilize when dealing with antitrust situations. After explaining these governing …