Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

The Attainment Of Pay Equity Between The Sexes By Legal Means: An Economic Analysis, George E. Johnson, Gary R. Solon

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The purpose of this Article is to present an analysis of the gap between men's and women's wages with particular emphasis on the likely effects of various existing and proposed legal remedies. Part I sets out a simple "ideal" statistical model of wage determination. Its purpose is to identify carefully the potential impact of alternative legal remedies such as the Equal Pay Act, Title VII, and proposed policies like comparable worth. This model is ideal in the sense that, although it could be estimated in principle, there is no data set currently available with which it could actually be estimated. …

Thoughts On Comparable Worth Litigation And Organizational Strategies, Nancy Gertner

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

To watch the evolution of Title VIP is to watch the gradual constricting of a law that many had heralded as a tool of social change for women. Its passage represented a statement that the so-called free market had not worked for women. Women were denied access to higher paying and high-status positions. Even when a job was integrated, women's work was undervalued and their wages frequently depressed. With the passage of Title VII came the hope that the law would do what the market could not-break the cycle of discrimination.

Sex discrimination, in contrast with other forms of discrimination, …

Comparable Worth -- The Theory, Its Legal Foundation, And The Feasibility Of Implementation, Carin Ann Clauss

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

County of Washington v. Gunther was decided by the Supreme Court over five years ago. In that case, the Court, resolving a conflict among the circuits, ruled that sex-based wage discrimination claims could proceed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 without regard to the limiting "equal work" standard of the Equal Pay Act. Following this decision, it was generally assumed that the courts would become the major forum for redressing sex-based wage discrimination. The anticipated litigation explosion never took place. Few wage discrimination suits have been filed, and even fewer have been successful. What progress has …

Remedies For Wage Discrimination, Ruth Gerber Blumrosen

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The thesis of this Article is that wage discrimination can be remedied by the federal courts through a process that is both practical and efficient. This can be done, without turning the federal courts into wage control agencies or bankrupting the nation's employers, by treating the problem of wage discrimination in precisely the same manner as other forms of discrimination are treated. Our experience with different types of wage discrimination now permits us to generalize about the types of remedies that are appropriate to correct those typical forms of wage discrimination that have now been fully identified.

Pay Equity--The Minnesota Experience, Nina Rothchild

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The concept of comparable worth is simple: jobs should be paid according to their value, whether the jobs are performed by men or by women. It says that pay should be based on the level of skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions required to do the job. It is hard to believe that such a common sense idea could generate such an emotional reaction.

In this essay I will describe Minnesota's experience with pay equity at the state and local levels. Our experience leads us to believe that the arguments of the opposition are pure conjecture and that the scare …

Introduction, Winn Newman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Symposium helps to explain that "comparable worth" is merely a euphemism for garden variety discrimination that violates express prohibitions of federal antidiscrimination law and severely limits job-related opportunities and benefits for women and minorities. Hopefully, the message of this Symposium will not be lost on reasonable people: that wage discrimination is unlawful and that our energies must now be turned to developing effective means for eliminating it.

Shareholders Versus Managers: The Strain In The Corporate Web, John C. Coffee Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Part I will seek to understand why firms trade in the stock market at a substantial discount from their asset value. It will answer that existing theories of the firm have not given adequate attention to a critical area where shareholders and managers have an inherent conflict, one that the existing structure of the firm does not resolve or mitigate. Despite the significant changes in the internal structure of the corporation over the last half century that have been described by business historians, there remains a deep internal strain between shareholders, on the one hand, and managers and employees, on …

The Structure And Enforcement Of Job Safety Regulation, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

For more than a decade, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been regulating the technology and work practices of employers. This governmental function is relatively new and is quite different from the usual governmental involvement in labor market policies. Some government efforts, such as job training and unemployment compensation, involve no direct impact on workplace operations, except that which may be induced indirectly through the incentives these policies generate. Even the minimum wage law does not directly lead to any governmental intrusion into the nature of the work relationship. In contrast, OSHA regulations specify what safety guards must …

Labor Law In Virginia, Charles V. Laughlin

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Court Enforcement Of Union Fines

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Japan's New Equal Employment Opportunity Law: Real Weapon Or Heirloom Sword?, Yamamoto Kaoru

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employer Postcertification Polls To Determine Union Support, James D. Dasso

Michigan Law Review

This Note evaluates these competing standards in light of the two major policy objectives of the NLRA: industrial stability and employee free choice. It concludes that the courts of appeals properly apply a less stringent standard. Part I considers employer polling in the larger context of the general law of employer interrogation. This section concludes that the Board's standard for postcertification polling deviates significantly from the general law of employer interrogation as well as the more specific rules established for precertification polling. The remainder of this Note demonstrates that the Board's distinctions between pre- and postcertification polling do not justify …

Labor Law—Employment Discrimination—Employer May Be Held Liable For Hostile Work Environment, Frances Scroggins

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Nlra's "Guard Exclusion": An Analysis Of Section 9(B)(3)'S Legislative Intent And Modern-Day Applicability, Eric M. Jensen

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Rights For Canadian Members Of International Unions Under The (U.S.) Labor-Management Reporting And Disclosure Act, Alan Hyde

Washington Law Review

This article addresses the question of whether the short answer makes sense; whether, in other words, Canadian members of international unions based in the United States acquire any rights under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) which they can enforce in the courts of the United States. It concludes that Canadian members of United States-based international unions may sue their internationals in United States courts for violation of the LMRDA.

Labor Costs And Midterm Work Relocation: Unfair Labor Practice Or Breach Of Contract?—International Union, United Automobile Workers V. National Labor Relations Board, 765 F.2d 175 (D.C. Cir. 1985), Bryan E. Lee

Washington Law Review

In International Union, United Automobile Workers v. National Labor Relations Board (UAW v. NLRB), the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that it was not an unfair labor practice under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when an employer threatened to relocate certain operations from a union plant to a nonunion plant in order to coerce the union into making midterm wage concessions. Nor was it an unfair labor practice when the employer then carried out the threat to relocate after the union refused to make the wage concessions. The D.C. Circuit decision affirmed …

Nuclear Whistleblower Protection And The Scope Of Protected Activity Under Section 210 Of The Energy Reorganization Act, Stephen M. Kohn, Thomas Carpenter

Antioch Law Journal

In 1978 Congress amended the Energy Reorganization Act in order to protect whistleblowers - employees who disclose potential violations of nuclear health and safety laws - from retaliation by their employers. 1 Since passage of the nuclear whistleblower protection amendment, the circuit courts of appeals are divided over the issue of what constitutes protected activity.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in 1984 that an employee must contact a "competent organ of government" to be protected. 2 The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and Tenth Circuits have disagreed, and have held that employees who disclose …

Abuse Of Authority: The Office Of The Special Counsel And Whistleblower Protection, Thomas M. Devine, Donald G. Aplin

Antioch Law Journal

The term 'whistleblower' is like 'motherhood,' and we are all for whistleblowing apparently. 1978 remarks of Representative Derwinski during House Markup of Civil Service Reform Act provisions establishing protection for federal whistleblowers. I"[Q] In your statement you say that most managers follow the law ...[a]nd have integrity."[A] That is my firm belief."[Q] And that most whistleblowers are malcontents."[A] That has been my experience."1985 exchange between Representative Schroeder and Special Counsel K. William O'Connor, the official responsible under the Reform Act for protection of whistleblowers. 2Even the clearest congressional intent is no stronger than the commitment of those with the discretion …

Eminent Domain As A Tool To Set Up Employee-Owned Businesses In The Face Of Shutdowns, Keith J. Smith

Antioch Law Journal

In recent years there has been a tremendous increase in the number of worker-owned businesses, with more than 2,000 in existence today.'Studies show that part of the reason for this increase is their success: employee-owned businesses are more productive, 2 create more jobs,3 and grow faster than comparable non-employee owned companies.4 One factor that has contributed to the growth of worker-owned businesses has been plant shutdowns. Today corporations are able to relocate around the world in order to maximize profits.5 As a result, the Northeast and the Midwest alone lost an estimated 900,000 jobs during the 1970s from plant shutdowns.6 …

An Overview Of Federal And State Whistleblower Protections, Stephen M. Kohn, Michael D. Kohn

Antioch Law Journal

The protection of employee whistleblowers is a controversial and developing area within employment discrimination law. There is no comprehensive law which prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who disclose potential corporate or governmental violations of law, or practices which may violate environmental standards or threaten the health and safety of employees and the public. Instead, over the past twenty-five years there has been a steady growth in common law and specific statutory protections for employee whistleblowers. This article is an introduction to the major statutory and common law provisions which concern whistleblower protection. It is not intended to present a …

Poverty Amid Renewed Affluence: The Poor Of New England At Mid-Decade, Andrew M. Sum, Paul E. Harrington, William B. Goedicke, Robert Vinson

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article examines the problem of poverty in New England during the current period of economic prosperity. Major trends in the size and composition of the poor population within the region are analyzed. Striking changes in the relative incidence of poverty have occurred among families in New England. As the economy has moved toward full employment, poverty rates among husband-wife families in the region have fallen sharply. In contrast, female-headed families in New England have not benefited substantially from recent rapid increases in employment opportunities. The result has been a persistent trend toward the feminization of poverty in New England. …

The Slaughter Of The Innocent: Disagreement Regarding The Interpretation Of Section 402(A) "Rolls On"

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Relations Of Employers With Workers' Representatives In The United States, J. Ralph Beaird

Scholarly Works

There is no question but that current policy in the United States comes down heavily on the side of management flexibility in the area of economic decisionmaking. The question is: should that be changed?

Chemical Industry Accidents, Liability, And Community Right To Know, Michael S. Baram

Faculty Scholarship

The Bhopal, India tragedy and other industrial accidents (e.g., Seveso, Flixborough, Mexico City, Institute, WV) have frightened the citizens of developed and undeveloped countries. These accidents, along with numerous hazardous waste problems, have led to a dramatic loss of public confidence in chemical industry management and their safety experts. The occurrence of such accidents also provides vivid evidence of the serious gap between government legislative promises and government performance in the actual control of industrial hazards.'

As a result, persons who believe they have been injured or put at risk by industry are now using tort law to secure private …

Re Canada Post Corp And Canadian Union Of Postal Workers (Arsenault), Innis Christie

Innis Christie Collection

Employee grievance alleging breach of the Collective Agreement between the parties in respect of the Postal Operations Group (Non-Supervisory): Internal Mail Processing and Complementary Postal Services, which expires September 30, 1986, in that the Employer discharged the grievor for excessive absenteeism without just, reasonable and sufficient cause. on behalf of the grievor the Union requested that he be reinstated in his former position without loss of wages, earnings, benefits or rights and that all reports, letters and documents relating to the discharge be removed from his personal file.

Re Canada Post Corp And Canadian Union Of Postal Workers, Innis Christie

Innis Christie Collection

Employee grievance alleging breach of the Collective Agreement between the parties in respect of the Postal Operations Group (Non-Supervisory): Internal Mail Processing and Complementary Postal Services, which expires September 30, 1985, in that the Employer discharged the grievor for excessive absenteeism without just, reasonable and sufficient cause. On behalf of the grievor the Union requested that she be reinstated in her former position without loss of wages, earnings, benefits or rights and that all reports, letters and documents relating to the discharge be removed from her personal file.

The Concept Of Distributive Share In Worker Ownership Schemes, Vincent Gugino

In the Public Interest

No abstract provided.

Sexual Orientation Employment Discrimination: The Freedom Of Private Employers To Discriminate, Holly Hecker

In the Public Interest

No abstract provided.

Clinchfield Coal Co. V. District 28, United Mine Workers: A New Standard For Judicial Review Of Labor Arbitration Awards, Charles L. Woody

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of District 29, United Mine Workers V. Royal Coal Co. On The Sale Of A Coal Facility, Charles L. Woody

West Virginia Law Review

The recent ruling of District 29, United Mine Workers v. Royal Coal Co., by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has a dramatic impact on the issue of health and non-pension benefits for retirees of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW). Previously, the Fourth Circuit had reviewed the issue in District 17, United Mine Workers v. Allied Corp., and ruled that, under certain circumstances, the health benefits for retirees do extend beyond the termination of the wage agreement. Although the Allied decision concerned successorship issues and Royal Coal dealt with a party's obligations during the …