Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Temporarily Unchained: The Drive To Unionize Foreign Seasonal Agricultural Workers In Canada – A Comment On Greenway Farms And Ufcw, Robert Russo

All Faculty Publications

A Case Comment on Greenway Farms and UFCW

Corporations And Human Rights Law: The Emerging Consensus And Its Effects On Women's Employment Rights, Tiana O'Konek

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that the current international human rights framework fails to adequately address corporate human rights abuses, particularly affecting women in the garment industry. This governance gap stems from the statist nature of international law, which overlooks non-state actors like corporations. Women in the garment industry, often confined to informal and precarious work, face systemic discrimination and exclusion from core labor protections, highlighting the need for a more inclusive and enforceable framework.

Protecting The Right To Choose: Regulating Conscience Clauses In The Face Of Moral Obligation, Huseina Sulaimanee

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Avoiding Legal Seduction: Reinvigorating The Labor Movement To Balance Corporate Power, Ann C. Hodges

Law Faculty Publications

This Article begins by briefly describing how legal and political action has come to be a central strategy for labor unions. Next, it analyzes the ways in which the law has failed the labor movement, reviewing various laws that have been enacted to protect employees, often at the behest of unions, and how those laws have been perversely twisted to the detriment of workers. The Article, then, looks at unions and employee movements that have succeeded in the face of unfavorable laws and analyzes the determinants of those union successes. Finally, based on these strategies, the Article provides suggestions about …

A Taxonomy Of Virtual Work, Miriam A. Cherry

Georgia Law Review

Millions of people worldwide entertain themselves or
supplement their incomes-or both-by meeting with
fellow employees as avatars in virtual worlds such as
Second Life, solving complicated problems on websites like
Innocentive, or casually "clicking" to make money for
simple tasks on Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk. Virtual
work has great promise- increasing efficiency by reducing
the time and expense involved in gathering workers who
live great distances apart,and allowing for efficient use of
skills so that the whole is truly greater than the sum of its
parts. At the same time, virtual work presents its own
unique series of challenges, and regulation …

Beyond Collective Bargaining: Modern Unions As Agents Of Social Solidarity, Gillian Lester

Faculty Scholarship

Trade unions in both North American and Europe have long embraced — at least rhetorically, but often manifestly — participation in the civic and political spheres as part of their mission. In recent years, however, unions — especially in America — have come to be seen by many, rightly or wrongly, as pursuing their own ‘special interests’. Unions possess the technology of social mobilization, but have often (and not unreasonably) focused their resources on grassroots organizing and local bargaining strategies. At a time when unions are seeking levers for revitalization, a promising path is for them to use their mobilization …

Eliminating The Need For Caps On Title Vii Damage Awards: The Shield Of Kolstad V. American Dental Association, Michael C. Harper

Faculty Scholarship

After recounting the legislative history of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, this article reconsiders the legislative compromise that allowed in this Act for capped compensatory and punitive damages as remedies for Title VII violations. This reconsideration is made in light of the Court’s decision in Kolstad v. American Dental Association, granting employers protection from a punitive damage remedy if they can demonstrate a good faith effort to comply with the Act. The article argues that this holding obviates the need for damage cap protection of innocent employers. It does so by enabling employers to shield themselves from the threat …

The Challenge Of Temporary Work In Twenty-First Century Labor Markets: Flexibility With Fairness For The Low-Wage Temporary Workforce, Harris Freeman, George Gonos

Faculty Scholarship

As the Commonwealth wrestles with the social and economic aftershocks of the worst economic recession in 80 years, the widespread use of temporary staffing arrangements is a sober reminder that the “standard” employment relationship, a cornerstone of the prosperity of the post-­World War II era, is no longer available to a large segment of the American workforce. “Job ladders” have disintegrated, depriving capable and dedicated workers of predictable promotions. Regular step increases in pay and cost-­of-­living adjustments are in many occupational categories a thing of the past. Simply put, the “good jobs” working people need to support families, pay the …

The First Of Thousands? The Long View Of Local 1330'S Challenge To Management Rights And Plant Closings, Harris Freeman

Faculty Scholarship

This Article introduces and frames a symposium issue of Harvard Law School’s Unbound, Journal of the Legal Left that is devoted to an assessment of Local 1330, United Steel Workers v. U.S. Steel (6th Cir. 1980) on the 30th anniversary of the decision. The Author provides a historical and legal context for the federal courts’ decisions on the Steelworkers’ novel community property and contractual claims brought by the plaintiffs in an effort to prevent U.S. Steel from closing its manufacturing operations Youngtown, Ohio. In this context, the Author discusses the relationship of the plaintiffs’ community property claim to the origins …

Cultivating Justice For The Working Poor: Clinical Representation Of Unemployment Claimants, Colleen F. Shanahan

Faculty Scholarship

The combination of current economic conditions and recent changes in the United States' welfare system makes representation of unemployment insurance claimants by clinic students a timely learning opportunity. While unemployment insurance claimants often share similarities with student attorneys, they are unable to access justice as easily as student attorneys, and as a result, face the risk of severe poverty. Clinical representation of unemployment claimants is a rich opportunity for students to experience making a difference for a client, and to understand the issues of poverty and justice that these clients experience along the way. These cases reveal that larger lessons …

Clarifying Stereotyping, Kerri Lynn Stone

Faculty Publications

This Article addresses the largely undefined, misunderstood-yet-often-resorted-to concept of “stereotyping” as a basis for, or sufficient evidence of, liability for employment discrimination. Since, the concept’s genesis in Supreme Court jurisprudence in 1989, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, plaintiffs have proffered remarks alleged to be tinged with, or indicating the presence of, impermissible stereotypes as evidence of discrimination based on protected-class status – be that sex, race, color, religion, or national origin – in contravention of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Article examines the language in Hopkins and its precise mandates and guidance for lower courts. It …

Investing In Work: Wilkes As An Employment Law Case, Deborah A. Demott

Faculty Scholarship

This Article begins by introducing the doctrine of employment at-will and its contemporary operation, and applying the doctrine to the facts in Wilkes. The point of the exercise is making clear the impact of Wilkes from the standpoint of employment law. The Article next turns to scholarship examining the at-will rule as a default rule and the circumstances under which a default rule may become sticky. Against this background, the Article concludes by reexamining the holding in Wilkes along with subsequent developments in Massachusetts and other jurisdictions. These include the implications of buy-sell and comparable provisions in shareholder agreements. In …

Different Cultures, Different Conflicts: Sex Discrimination Law And The United States And Japan, Reuel E. Schiller

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Family Security Insurance: A New Foundation For Economic Security, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center, Berkeley Center On Health, Economic & Family Security, Uc Berkeley School Of Law

Published Reports

A report released by Georgetown Law's Workplace Flexibility 2010 and the Berkeley Center on Health, Economic & Family Security (Berkeley CHEFS) outlining a blueprint for establishing and financing a new national insurance program to provide wage replacement for time off for health and caregiving needs. The report describes the need among working Americans for time off from work to address personal illness, to care for a new child, or to care for a loved one with a serious illness. It argues that the need for time off is no longer an issue for individual families or select industries, but a …

Antidiscrimination Rights Of Contingent Workers In The United States, Hyun Joo Kang

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits an employer's discriminatory employment practices against an employee on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. Most contingent workers in the United States are faced with discriminatory employment practices, such as low wages and low or no benefits, and they are disproportionately women and minorities. Title VII is the focal point, but Title VII has not functioned as a remedy for contingent workers. This dissertation examines why contingent workers suffer discrimination, despite Title VII, and suggests possible solutions.

In the United States, the distinctive interpretation of laws …

Defiling The Retaliation Doctrine: Kasten V. Saint-Gobain And The Anti-Retaliation Provision Of The Fair Labor Standards Act, Madeline Engel

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The anti-retaliation provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act makes it unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an employee who has "filed any complaint" under the FLSA. In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., the Seventh Circuit declared its position in a growing circuit split as to whether an employee can "file" a verbal complaint of an alleged FLSA violation. Kasten answered the question in the negative, holding that verbal complaints are not protected activity under the Act. This note analyzes relevant Supreme Court precedent and the evolution of the circuit split, as well as principles of statutory …

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Ii

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in the state statutory and common law that affect labor and employment relations of Georgia employers. Accordingly, it surveys published decisions interpreting Georgia law from June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010. This Article also includes highlights of certain revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.).

Reply Brief For Petitioner. Thompson V. North American Stainless, Lp, 562 U.S. 170 (2011) (No. 09-291), 2010 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs Lexis 2135, Eric Schnapper, David O'Brien Suetholz, Lisa S. Blatt, Anthony Franze

Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Judicial Amendments Treating Citizen And Immigrant Workers Equally . . . Badly: Labor Rights Without Effective Remedies, Anne M. Lofaso

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Protecting Economic Stability: The Washington Supreme Court Breathes New Life In The Public-Policy Exception To At-Will Employment For Domestic Violence Victims, Margaret C. Hobday

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

No abstract provided.