Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

The Wnba's 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement: A Slam Dunk For Working Women And Mothers, Josh Lens

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

False Hope: How Kentucky's Unpaid Wage Lien Laws Fail To Protect Our Most Vulnerable Workers, B. Gammon Fain

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Living Property, Joseph William Singer

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court has increasingly defined property rights that are per se exempt from regulation in the absence of compensation, most recently in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid (2021) and Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023). The Court claims that it can identify property rights that are categorically protected from regulation by reference to history, tradition, and precedent. Yet this approach is oddly ahistorical; it is inconsistent with the fact that property law changed dramatically over U.S. history, as well as varying tremendously among the states. It is also inconsistent with the historical context of the Founding era. At that time, …

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

The Roots Of Credit Inequality, Andrea Freeman

Seattle University Law Review

Debt oppression began before the United States became a country. Settlers enslaved Africans and Indigenous people, treating them as property that they could buy and sell for their economic and personal benefit. When enslavement became illegal, new economic systems and laws that included sharecropping, Black Codes, and Jim Crow kept Black people in servitude. Laws that prohibited enslaved people from owning property or selling goods to white people evolved into restrictions on Black people’s occupations and market participation, both formal and informal. When Black entrepreneurs overcame these obstacles and built wealth within Black business enclaves, white people enforced their racist …

“A Plain Denial”: Reclaiming Equal Protection In American Juvenile Law, Addie C. Rolnick, David S. Tanenhaus, Justin Iverson, Danielle L. Silvestri

Seattle University Law Review

Juvenile courts are based on the premise that children are different from adults and should therefore be treated differently. Children may be treated more informally by courts, punished for different purposes, and brought before the court for different behaviors. Since In re Gault, the Supreme Court has been clear that there are limits to how different juvenile courts can be. Juveniles are entitled to many of the same procedural protections as adult criminal defendants, although the Court has preserved some procedural differences where it has determined that their benefit is outweighed by the need to preserve the informality, flexibility, …

Mandating Fluoride: A Constitutional Exercise Of Police Power, Anita Jahangiri

Seattle University Law Review

This Note addresses the ongoing debate over fluoridation: the regulation of fluoride levels in public water systems. Extensive research indicates fluoridation, when regulated at the recommended concentration, is both safe and highly effective in preventing dental caries. Better known as cavities, dental caries is a preventable yet widespread health issue that disproportionately affects low-income populations. Reducing dental health disparities among economic classes is a pressing public health issue. Fluoridation is not merely a policy option, but a critical, proven tool to address such disparities and uphold the collective welfare of Washingtonians. This Note focuses on fluoridation as a public health …

Neurodiversity In The Courtroom: Expanding Jury Service Accessibility Beyond Physical Disability, Samantha L. Mabe

Seattle University Law Review

The Americans with Disabilities Act has required equal access to jury service for decades; however, efforts to accommodate jurors with disabilities have been slow to develop beyond some minor accommodations for physical disabilities. While neurodivergent people frequently struggle to navigate a world catered toward neurotypical people, jury service remains inaccessible for many neurodivergent people who need accommodations to attend trial and engage in jury deliberations. If courts and advocates do not consider how to develop accommodations to secure the service of neurodivergent jurors, they will miss out on the unique skillsets that neurodivergent people can bring to resolving disputes.

Disabled …

Redefining Section 230 Immunity, Lucas Dini

Seattle University Law Review

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has provided broad immunity to online platforms for third-party content which was the foundation for the internet's growth. However, the rise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to produce algorithms to curate content to users of online services has blurred the line between being a passive host of third party content and active editorial control. This Note examines the legal, policy, and constitutional implications of applying Section 230 immunity to platforms that use AI to curate and promote third-party content. This analysis argues that algorithmic promotion of third-party content constitutes a platform's …

Overcrowding The System: Rethinking Juvenile Justice In Washington State, Mckenna White

Seattle University Law Review

The recent crisis at Green Hill School highlights the detrimental consequences of severe overcrowding in Washington State’s Juvenile Rehabilitation system—a problem exacerbated by the implementation of the JR to 25 legislation. This Note argues that the juvenile rehabilitation system, which is currently struggling to manage a wide age range of offenders, necessitates a fundamental rethinking of juvenile justice practices. By examining neurological research indicating continued brain development into the mid-twenties, along with the high prevalence of trauma among justice-involved youth, this Note proposes the creation of a dedicated third system of care within the Department of Children, Youth, and Families …

How Fair Workweek Laws Affect Labor Markets: A New York City Case Study, Joseph Pickens, Aaron Sojourner

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Addressing The Root Of Housing Insecurity: Washington Should Divest From “Crime-Free” Housing Programs, Sarah Cerdena

Seattle University Law Review

Crime-Free Rental Housing Properties (CFRHPs) have proven to be an ineffective and inequitable approach to public safety. Often, tenants in these properties are evicted—at times, extrajudicially—as a result of conduct that does not rise to violations of their lease provisions, much less criminal behavior. By placing extraordinary power in the hands of local law enforcement to carry out these ordinances, CFRHPs predictably pose significant harm to Black and Latinx communities, survivors of domestic violence, disabled tenants, and low-income tenants generally. Recently, the Washington State Supreme Court grappled with the tensions arising between CFRHPs and the enforcement of Washington landlord-tenant law. …

Volume 49 Masthead

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 49 Masthead

Esg Investing Breaches Erisa Fiduciary Duties? A Closer Look At Spence V. American Airlines, Inc., Eric Chin-Ru Chang

Seattle University Law Review

In Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that American Airlines breached its fiduciary duties due to BlackRock’s ESG investing practices. Contrary to some reports suggesting that the ruling prohibits ESG investing under ERISA, a closer look at the ruling shows that the court only targeted American Airlines’ failure to manage conflicts of interest appropriately, rather than the legality of ESG investing itself. In light of the intensifying ESG backlash in the United States, this Article cautions against further restrictive measures on ESG investing. Such measures would exacerbate the widening …

Games Played In The Off-Season: A Teaching Case Study On Major League Baseball Arbitration And Game Theory, Rebekah Ansbro

The COSMA Journal

Each January and February, professional baseball players with three to six years of Major League service time endure a process exclusive to Major League Baseball (MLB): arbitration. Though arbitration itself is not an unfamiliar form of dispute resolution, the structure MLB employs in contract arbitration is unlike any other industry, as it incorporates an all-or-nothing result that does not allow arbitrators to “split the pie” between parties. Because of this, teams and players are not only responsible for preparation of their own arguments and filed salary, but also for anticipation of their opponent’s filed salary. The hurdle of needing to …

Nyc’S “Just Cause” Law Aims To Make It Harder To Fire Fast Food Workers. Does It?, Joseph Pickens, Aaron Sojourner

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

Just Cause Protection Under Manager Discrimination, Joseph Pickens, Aaron Sojourner

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

“Just cause” policies aim to discourage the arbitrary firing of employees. Recent efforts at passing such laws in the U.S. have been motivated by deterring discrimination. This paper presents a framework to study the effects of just cause when managers engage in taste-based discrimination. The framework generates predictions on whether just cause will ease achievement and retention of stable employment by exploiting the timing of separations around a probationary period. Since probationary periods are a typical feature of protections, the approach is generalizable. We test predictions using New York City’s 2021 just cause law for fast-food employees. Using a synthetic …

October 10, 2025 — Letter To Senator Sanders On The Health Care Workforce Expansion Act And Improving Outcomes In Rural And Health Professional Shortage Areas, American Dental Association

Advocacy in Action letters

No abstract provided.

October 8, 2025 — Odc Letter To Cis On H-1b Visa Guidance, American Dental Association, Academy Of General Dentistry, American Academy Of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology, American Academy Of Periodontology, American Association For Dental, Oral, And Craniofacial Research, American Association Of Endodontists, American Association Of Orthodontists, American Dental Education Association, American Society Of Dentist Anesthesiologists, American Student Dental Association, Hispanic Dental Association, American Academy Of Pediatric Dentistry

Advocacy in Action letters

No abstract provided.

October 3, 2025 — Letter To Cms On Recent Guidance For The Rural Health Transformation Program, American Dental Association

Advocacy in Action letters

No abstract provided.

October 2, 2025 — Letter To Cis On H-1b Visa Reforms, American Dental Association

Advocacy in Action letters

No abstract provided.

Uniformity, Loper Bright, And The National Labor Relations Board: Can The Board’S Nonacquiescence Policy Survive In A Post-Chevron World?, Alexander Macdonald

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

As chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, Donald Dotson was nothing if not controversial. Though he headed the Board for five years, he was never shy about criticizing the Board’s practices. He often argued that the Board had skewed its policies toward organized labor and inserted itself in disputes best left to private negotiation. That criticism put him at odds with his fellow Board members and frequently landed him on the wrong side of divided opinions. Even members who shared his core philosophy sometimes shied away from joining his assaults on the Board itself.

So it was on September …

A State Constitutional Challenge To Washington’S Denial Of Minimum Wage To Incarcerated Workers, Cailin Dahlin

Washington Law Review

This Comment challenges as unconstitutional Washington’s exemption of incarcerated individuals from the state Minimum Wage Act. Incarcerated people in Washington, unprotected by minimum wage guarantees, earn low wages in state-run inmate work programs. This statutory carveout is contrary to the rehabilitative purpose of Washington’s prisons because it impedes incarcerated people’s ability to afford necessities, participate in rehabilitative programs, and reintegrate into society. This exemption is unconstitutional under the state’s cruel punishment clause, because it is disproportionately cruel punishment and an excessive fine that incarcerated workers cannot afford. The exemption is also unconstitutional under the state’s privileges and immunities clause, because …

The Stewart Lecture In Labor And Employment Law: Employment And Identity, Matthew T. Bodie

Indiana Law Journal

Work shapes our identities, and our identities shape our work. The tension between personal identity and work identity drives popular culture, as seen in shows like Severance and The Bear, and it frames our conceptions about who we are and what gives our lives meaning. In many respects the law has assumed a clear separation between work lives and personal lives, divvying up control and responsibility over these realms on that basis. But the divide, never absolute, has blurred considerably through technological change, legal developments, and social expectations, resulting in a more pervasive employer presence in both our workspaces …

Religious Conflicts In Disguise: The Limits Of The Law In Tackling Conflicts With Religious Dimensions, Yael Efron

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

In previous publications, we have established the crucial differences between conflicts with religious dimensions (CRDs) and other types of conflicts. We claim that a legal solution to CRDs is rarely sufficient to terminate the conflict and often might lead to further damage to communities and persons, sometimes even harsher than the original dispute. Since not all CRDs are similar, a theorized model of their distinguishing elements—time, intensity, and proximity to core values—assists us in differentiating them. By analyzing the elements of CRDs in accordance with the TIV model, we can more easily determine which conflicts are suitable for legal process …

Dispute Resolution Tradeoffs In Ombuds Office Design, Kristen M. Blankley

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

An organizational ombudsman (or “ombuds,” used as the preferred term in this paper) is a conflict resolution specialist who works as either an employee or contractor within the organization it serves. Unlike mediators or arbitrators, ombuds work only with a designated constituency group (often employees or other stakeholders) to solve a variety of conflicts at the lowest level possible within the organization. Ombuds, while preserving the confidentiality of the information they learn, can report trends to the organization or the public. While ombuds do not have the authority to make formal policy changes or other formal decisions, their work informs …

Legal Protections For Gig Workers: A Comparative Socio-Legal Study Of Indonesia And India, Vidisha Shekhawat, Pranjal Khare

The Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies

The platform economy has transformed the lines of labour in the last few years across both developed and developing countries. In the case of other countries, such as Indonesia and India, where informal employment has been a long-standing characteristic of the labour force, the rise of digital platforms, including Gojek, Grab, Swiggy, and Zomato, has added another layer of complexity to already existing labour issues. These services provide flexibility and earning potential, albeit in exchange for social safety nets and work rights. This paper undertakes a doctrinal and comparative socio-legal study to observe the way the legal jurisdictions of Indonesia …

Disability-Related Misconduct And The Untapped Potential Of The Disparate Impact Theory, Kelly Cahill Timmons

Cardozo Law Review

Disabilities often manifest themselves in behavior that could be characterized as misconduct. Since the early days of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), courts have struggled with how to treat disability-related misconduct in the workplace. In Raytheon Co. v. Hernandez, the Supreme Court indicated that terminating an employee for violating a neutral, generally applicable conduct rule is not disparate treatment because of disability. Instead, the Court suggested that concern about the effect of such a rule on a disabled employee should be addressed under the disparate impact theory of discrimination. In the years that followed, Congress enacted the ADA Amendments …

Minors Or Miners? Analyzing Compensation Of User-Generated Content Under The Fair Labor Standards Act, J. Clayton Eaton

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Roblox is an online platform where users, many of whom are under the age of eighteen, create games, virtual experiences, and digital assets that generate significant revenue for Roblox Corporation, the owner of Roblox. These young content creators are compensated primarily through platform-specific virtual currency, which can be difficult to convert into real-world money due to the high thresholds for conversion and the unfavorable exchange rates. Even though these systems resemble labor relationships, existing legal frameworks and government actions do little to address the creators’ rights to fair compensation. This regulatory gap has allowed platforms like Roblox to operate under …

Examine Supreme Court Decisions That Have Influenced The Gender Salary Gap, Shinhae Hwang

Journal of the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression

Project Mentor(s): Rodrigo Murataya, PhD

Despite significant advancements in gender equality policies and legal frameworks, women consistently earn less than men across various industries and job positions (Blau & Khan, 2017). As of 2023, median weekly wages of full-time women are 83.6 percent of the median weekly wages of men, an increase of just three percentage points since 2004 (BLS 2024). This stalled convergence in the gender gap in wages has led to a large and vibrant research literature that seeks to understand why change has been so slow (England 2010). This paper explores the impact of legislative acts such …