Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Labor Violations In Mexico: Can New Trade Agreements Effectuate Change?, Nicole Downey Moss

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

Child labor and forced labor remain pervasive problems on Mexican farms. Millions of workers on these farms are forced to work and live in inhumane conditions, only to leave the season’s harvest just as poor as they were before. To date, human rights and labor treaties and agreements that Mexico is party to have failed to protect workers. In early 2016, however, negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) concluded and, if ratified, the party-countries claim that the TPP will hold Mexico to higher standards than previously faced because the TPP will link labor rights with trade law. However, this was …

A Faulty Federal Standard: A Call For A Federal Minimum Wage That Is Actually “Fair” Under The Fair Labor Standards Act, Amanda Rose Kapur

University of Miami Business Law Review

When the average American works 40 hours a week on the federal minimum wage and their family unit is still under the poverty line, there is something inherently wrong. In America, one has to work 93 hours a week just to accommodate a basic level of living on minimum wage. Working the standard 40 hours a week should grant the worker the right to live above the poverty line.

Section I of this Comment will discuss the need for minimum wage reform by looking at the living wage gap and the benefits of raised minimum wages. This section will also …

The Changing Needs Of The Workplace: Looking To State Statutory Expansions For Guidance On Fmla Reform, Christina Potter-Bayern

Labor & Employment Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Save Our Ships: How U.S. National Security Interests Affect The Human Rights Of Stranded Seafarers As A Result Of Shipping Bankruptcies, Michelle S. Lee

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Hanjin Shipping Company declared bankruptcy in September 2016. The South Korean shipping giant, owner of dozens of massive shipping vessels, was suddenly engulfed in multiple bankruptcy proceedings all over the world. When a major company such as Hanjin falls, the attention is focused mainly on the money, statistics, and the corporate heads. There is rarely a spotlight on how such a collapse affects the workers. With Hanjin at the forefront of the new wave of shipping bankruptcies, it will be increasingly important to understand the realities of the financial disasters on the lives of the company’s employees. This Note will …

The Eeoc, The Ada, And Workplace Wellness Programs, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Articles

It seems that everybody loves workplace wellness programs. The Chamber of Commerce has firmly endorsed those progarms, as have other business groups. So has President Obama, and even liberal firebrands like former Senator Tom Harkin. And why not? After all, what's not to like about programs that encourage people to adopt healthy habits like exercise, nutritious eating, and quitting smoking? The proponents of these programs speak passionately, and with evident good intentions, about reducing the crushing burden that chronic disease places on individuals, families, communities, and the economy as a whole. What's not to like? Plenty. Workplace wellness programs are …

Amicus Curiae Brief Of Equality Ohio In Support Of Intervenor Urging Reversal, Doron M. Kalir, Kenneth J. Kowalski

Law Faculty Briefs and Court Documents

Title VII’s plain language bars discharge of “any individual”—whether transgender or not—“because of such individual’s . . . sex.” It applies whenever employers take gender into account in making employment decisions. It is undisputed that the employer in this case based his decision to terminate Ms. Stephens solely on sex-based considerations. To be sure, he could have terminated Ms. Stephens for a wide array of reasons—tardiness, failure to perform, disciplinary issues—or for no reason at all. Under those circumstances, such termination—even of a transgender person—would not be “because of such individual’s sex.” But that is not the case here. Here, …

Workers’ Rights As Natural Human Rights, Anne Marie Lofaso

University of Miami Law Review

We live in an increasingly polarized world: one summed up by President Clinton, “we’re all in this together;” the other summed up by then-presidential candidate Trump, “I alone can fix it.” These world views have implications for workers and how the future workplace is ordered. In this Article, I explore the idea that a natural human rights approach to workplace regulations will tend to favor the we’re-all-in-this-together view, whereas the Lochnerian or neo-liberal view tends to favor an individualistic world view.

The Article’s six-step analytical approach starts with a historical analysis of labor law jurisprudence, concluding that U.S. labor laws …

A Return On Investment: How The Breastfeeding Promotion Act Can Change The Make-Up Of The Private Workforce, Krishna Jani

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Speaking Of Workplace Harassment: A First Amendment Push Toward A Status-Blind Statute Regulating "Workplace Bullying", Jessica R. Vartanian

Maine Law Review

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes discrimination in employment unlawful, but only based on certain suspect classes: race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Courts have interpreted the statute to ban workplace harassment in this same limited fashion, refusing to recognizg harassment claims based on sexual orientation or any other unspecified classification.Although Congress may regulate in this selective manner consistent with equal protection, workplace harassment differs from other forms of discrimination proscribed under Title VII in one very important respect—workplace harassment is often achieved through an array of expression traditionally protected under the First Amendment

Fuhrmann V. Staples Office Superstore East, Inc.: A Split In The Law Court As To The Definition Of "Employer" Demonstrates The Need For Legislative Action To Amend The Maine Human Rights Act In Order To Protect Maine Employees, Stephen B. Segal

Maine Law Review

In Fuhrmann v. Staples Office Superstore East, Inc., Jamie Fuhrmann submitted a complaint to the Maine Human Rights Commission (Commission) against her former employer, Staples Office Superstore East, Inc. (Staples), and four of her individual supervisors. After the Commission granted her right to sue, she filed a complaint in court alleging whistleblower retaliation under the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act (WPA) and the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA), as well as sex discrimination under the MHRA. The Superior Court granted Staples’ motion for summary judgment on all counts, and granted the four supervisors’ motions to dismiss on the grounds that individual supervisor …

Is It Safe To Speak Up Now? Evaluating The Expansion Of Whistleblower Protection Act Jurisdiction, Gil Landau

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

Whistleblowers have uncovered billions of dollars of fraud and severe national security threats. Nonetheless, for many years, federal employee whistleblowers faced retaliation and termination. Congress passed the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) in an attempt to protect federal employee whistleblowers. But, the exclusive court for WPA appeals, the Federal Circuit, ignored Congressional intent and limited the WPA’s protections. In 2013, Congress responded by creating a five year experiment, known as “all circuit review,” to determine if WPA claims should also be appealable to the regional circuits. Over the past three years, all circuit review has led to modest changes in WPA …

Heffernan V. City Of Paterson: Watering Down The First Amendment Retaliation Doctrine To Create A Perception Of Protection For Public Employees, Peter J. Artese

Maryland Law Review Online

No abstract provided.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: How Immutable Traits May Become The New Face Of Discrimination As Interpreted In Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n V. Catastrophe Mgmt. Sols., Cortney Bryson

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Workers’ Compensation Controvert Research Guide, Phillip Kuck

Law Library Student-Authored Works

No abstract provided.

Vol. 34, No. 2, Taylor E. Muzzy

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Contents:

LGBT Rights: Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in the Workplace, by Taylor E. Muzzy

Recent Developments

Square Pegs Do Not Fit In Roun Holes: The Case For A Third Worker Classification For The Sharing Economy And Transportation Network Company Drivers, Carl Shaffer

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Finalizing The Grand Compromise In West Virginia Workers' Compensation: Repeal Deliberate Intent, Charles R. Russell

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stop That Revolving Door: Analysis Of The Appropriate Application Of The "Cooling-Off' Period Beyond Senior Government Employees, Cecilia Wang

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The cooling-off period-a period of one or two years in which a former public sector employee is prohibited from representing matters involving or appearing before his former agency of employmentexists as a means of regulating immediate departures from public to private sector law enforcement. While normally only applicable to directors or other senior officers of government, recent legal and policy changes have brought midlevel government employees under the scrutiny of lawmakers. An increase in employment liquidity has forced regulators attempting to preserve the policy's inherent purpose propose to include these midlevel employees in the application of the cooling-off period.

San Manuel'S Second Exception: Identifying Treaty Provisions That Support Tribal Labor Sovereignty, Briana Green

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Inspired by the holding in WinStar World Casino, this Note considers the potential for tribes to make treaty-based arguments when facing the threat of National Labor Relations Board jurisdiction. This Note presents the results of a survey of U.S. government treaties with Native Americans to identify those treaties with language similar to that interpreted by the Board in WinStar World Casino. The survey identified four treaties and four tribes that could make treaty-based arguments like those made in Winstar World Casino: the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Seminole Nation of …

Overtime: Are Public Employees Compensated For Working Extra Hours?, Thomas P. Dematteo

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Groomed For Exploitation! How Applying The Statutory Definition Of Employee To Cover Division Ia College Football Players Disrupts The Student-Athlete Myth, Anne Marie Lofaso

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Significance Of The Systemic Relative Autonomy Of Labour Law, Bruce P. Archibald

Dalhousie Law Journal

The extent to which labour and employment law form an autonomous subsystem within the legal order is a significant matter in labour relations scholarship. Human capability theory helps explain how open legal constructs for structuring personal work relations are emerging in a relatively autonomous manner Similarly concepts of relational rights and relational contract theory assist in understanding the relatively autonomous development of restorative labour market regulation, with both substantive and procedural dimensions. Moreover dramatic changes in freedom of association doctrine under the Charter, which now procedurally protect collective bargaining, the right to strike and the independence of unions from management, …

The Supreme Court’S Application Of 'Ordinary Contract Principles' To The Issue Of The Duration Of Retiree Healthcare Benefits: Perpetuating The Interpretation/Gap-Filling Quagmire, Robert A. Hillman

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The United States Supreme Court purported to apply "ordinary contract principles" in its decision reversing the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in M&G Polymers USA v. Tackett . The Sixth Circuit had held that plaintiffs, retired employees of M&G, were entitled to lifetime healthcare benefits under their union's agreement with M&G. According to the Supreme Court, the Sixth Circuit wrongly relied on a false set of "inferences" established in International Union v. Yard-Man, Inc. to find that "in the absence of extrinsic evidence to the contrary, the provisions of [the collective bargaining agreement] indicated an intent to vest …

The True Price For Your Fake Gucci Bag Is A Life: Why Eliminating Unsafe Labor Practices Is The Right Answer To The Fashioncounterfeit Problem, Angela Terese Timpone

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note argues that the fight against fashion counterfeiting must shift from traditional legal enforcement to addressing the root cause: unsafe labor practices and human rights violations in counterfeit production. It emphasizes that educating consumers about the societal harms of counterfeiting, such as child labor and dangerous working conditions, is a more effective strategy than punitive measures. By aligning anti-counterfeiting efforts with human rights initiatives, the fashion industry can tackle both issues simultaneously.

Law And Legislation In Municipal Bankruptcy, Vincent S.J. Buccola

Cardozo Law Review

Corporate and consumer bankruptcy are defined by two principal features: a compulsory process and an identifiable set of priorities to debtor property. These "rule of law"features reduce borrowing costs ex ante by, among other things, discouraging rent-seeking ex post. Municipal bankruptcy, by contrast, despite apparent similarities, embodies a radically different vision of debt adjustment. Substantive priorities in Chapter 9 are riddled with uncertainty, and the very invocation of bankruptcy is subject to veto by multiple actors. Consequently, this Article contends that familiar models of bankruptcy are inadequate to explain the existing regime of municipal debt adjustment. What Chapter 9 creates …

Recoupment Of Pension Overpayments: Equitable Liens And Meaningful Reform After Montanile, Maria O'Brien, Jeanne Medeiros

Faculty Scholarship

This short paper reviews the current state of the law governing recoupment actions for defined benefit ERISA plans and focuses in particular on actions against retirees who are without fault for the overpayment. The paper argues that the current practices of many plans which focus on recovering overpayments without taking the consequences to the retiree into account are not required by either ERISA or the IRS. The practices which include ceasing all pension payments, huge cuts in payout amounts and unlimited reach back even in cases where the plan fiduciary has clearly breached its duty to participants, cause tremendous harm …

Western Cab Co. V. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 10, (Mar. 16, 2017), Sydney Campau

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

An employer challenged the validity of Nevada’s Minimum Wage Amendment (MWA). The Court held that (1) the MWA is not preempted by the NLRA, (2) the MWA is not preempted by ERISA, and (3) the MWA is not unconstitutionally vague. The Court declined to address factual issues related to the employer’s wage calculations.

P15. Family Status Discrimination: The Never-Ending Story, Christina Iannozzi

Western Research Forum

The idea of work-life balance has received increasing attention from media, government, unions, and academics in recent years. This is due to the significant changes in the nature of the family and of roles within family. An interdisciplinary approach can explain the societal context that has prompted a rise in family status accommodation claims. Most notably, women have entered the paid workforce in unprecedented numbers and demographic shifts have created a growing need for eldercare.

Over the past two decades, divergent approaches to family status discrimination in the employment context have developed in Canada. The central dispute appears to be …

Dinner For Two: Employer Mandate, Meet Erisa; How Dave & Buster’S Response To The Affordable Care Act’S Employer Mandate May Open The Door For Employees To Seek Erisa Relief, Kendall Victoria Dacey

Pepperdine Law Review

When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law in late March, 2010, Dave & Buster’s (D&B) had a choice: it could either comply and offer its full-time employees the minimum health insurance coverage required by the new “employer mandate” or it could ignore the new requirements and incur a penalty. Dissatisfied with either option, D&B made the drastic decision to circumvent the ACA entirely, and reduced its full-time staff below the ACA’s employee threshold so as to avoid triggering any penalty or having to pay increased health care costs. However, by dodging the employer mandate, D&B may have come in …

Transition Support Mechanisms For Communities Facing Full Or Partial Coal Power Plant Retirement In New York, Lisa Anne Hamilton, Radina Valova, Karl R. Rábago

Environmental Law Program Publications @ Haub Law

New York State is undergoing a rapid and unprecedented energy transformation, particularly in the electricity sector. As new resources and technologies emerge to meet the demands of 21st century life, regulators must balance the need for cost effective and equitable participation in wholesale power markets while maintaining reliability on the grid. Furthermore, it is critical that all New Yorkers participate fully in the promise of a revitalized and equitable energy future. Such a transformation requires that the needs of all communities are factored into the polices and regulations that move New York toward the bold goals set forth under its …