LEL Section Business

Contract Employee Protected for Complaints About Discrimination by Other Employer The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has found that an employer (a high
school) violated an employee’s rights when it demanded that he be fired by his employer (a private contractor that supplied workers to the high school). The employee had complained about religious discrimination by the high school. The high school responded by telling the contractor to fire him. The court of appeals concluded that both the high school and the contractor could potentially be deemed his employers and liable for violations of Title VII. Flowers v. Columbia College Chicago, Case No.04-2899, (7th Cir. Feb. 8, 2005)

Psychological Testing Not Fourth Amendment Search
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held that the Fourth Amendment does not protect public employees from psychological testing by their employer. (Tthe U.S. Constitution only applies to public employers and employees and not private employers.) In reaching this decision, the court of appeals said that not everything that is an invasion of privacy is also a search. The court said that, if it did so, a government prosecutor could not question a witness without getting a search warrant. Instead, psychological tests are more like lie detector tests, and therefore raise Fifth Amendment concerns. Greenawalt v. Indiana Dep't of Corr., Case No.04-1997 (7th Cir. Feb. 14, 2005).

Unconscionable Terms in a Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreement
The Washington State Supreme Court has recently decided whether certain terms in a pre-dispute arbitration agreement are unconscionable. The court upheld most of the provisions. It first found that the employee’s lack of bargaining power did not make the agreement as a whole unconscionable, because she had 15 days to ask questions and consider its terms, and the agreement was only one page. The court upheld several other provisions, as well as the agreement as a whole, because it found the parties had agreed the court could sever any unconscionable terms.
The court found two provisions were unconscionable and severed them. It found that a provision that required that all proceedings connected with the arbitration were to be confidential was unconscionable. It held that this benefitted only employers and harmed employees’ ability to prove patterns of discrimination, to take advantage of findings in past arbitrations, and to have confidence in the fairness of the process. The court also found that requiring the employee but not the employer to waive punitive damages was unconscionable because it gave the employer greater remedies than the employee. Zuver v. Airtouch Communications Inc., Case No.74156-5 (WA Dec. 23, 2004)

Web Links

Sharon A. DeVaney and Sophia T. Chiremba, Comparing the Retirement Savings of the Baby Boomers and Other Cohorts (Jan. 24, 2005) http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20050114ar01p1.htm

Recent Labor and Employment Law Publications

Anthony Alfieri, Color/Identity/Justice: Chicano Trials, 53 Duke L.J. 1569 (2004)

Joel Allen, Melissa Hensley & Scott Sherman, Split Decisions: The Lack of Consensus on Disparate Impact Claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 63 (2004)

Victoria Anderson, Book Note – Reviewing Marjorie A. Stockford, The Bellwomen: The Story of the Landmark AT& T Sex Discrimination Case, 7 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 173 (2004)

William Araiza, The Section 5 Power after Tennessee v. Lane, 32 Pepp. L. Rev. 39 (2004)

Michael Bagley, Daniel Kniffen & Katherine Dixon, Workers' Compensation, 56 Mercer L. Rev. 479 (2004)

Virginia Berlando, Comment: Employment Discrimination Claimants Are Not Required to Exhibit Direct Evidence of Discrimination, 6 Duq. Bus. L.J. 267 (2004)

Mark Berger, Arbitration and Arbitrability: Toward an Expectation Model, 56 Baylor L. Rev. 753 (2004)

David Bernstein & Ilya Somin, Judicial Power and Civil Rights Reconsidered, 114 Yale L.J. 591 (2004)

Thomas Carbonneau, Arbitral Law-Making, 25 Mich. J. Int'l L. 1183 (2004)

Michael Cavadel, Comment: Burke v. Kodak and the SPD Circuit Split, 7 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 139 (2004)

Ronald Chen & Jon Hanson, The Illusion of Law: The Legitimating Schemas of Modern Policy and Corporate Law, 103 Mich. L. Rev. 1 (2004)

Leonard Court & Courtney Warmington, The Workplace Privacy Myth: Why Electronic Monitoring Is Here to Stay, 29 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 15 (2004)

David Cruz, Making up Women: Casinos, Cosmetics, and Title VII, 5 Nev. L.J. 240 (2004)

Ira David, Note. Privacy Concerns Regarding the Monitoring of Instant Messaging in the Workplace: Is it Big Brother or Just Business? 5 Nev. L.J. 319 (2004)

Michele D'avolio, Child Labor and Cultural Relativism: From 19th Century America to 21st Century Nepal, 16 Pace Int'l L. Rev. 109 (2004)

Paul Finkelman, Civil Rights in Historical Context: in Defense of Brown, 118 Harv. L. Rev. 973 (2005)

Richard Michael Fischl, A Woman's World: What If Care Work Were Socialized and Police & Fire Protection Left to Individual Families? 52 Buff. L. Rev. 659 (2004)

Bruce Fisher & Francois Lenglart, Employee Reductions in Force: A Comparative Study of French and U.S. Legal Protections for Employees Downsized out of Their Jobs: A Suggested Alternative to Workforce Reductions, 26 Loy. L.A. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 181 (2003)

Bethany Gilliland, Comment: Employment Law: The Sixth Circuit Clarifies and Qualifies the Proper Analysis of ADEA Cases, 34 U. Mem. L. Rev. 975 (2004)

James Ginsburg, Comment: Analyzing the Disparate Impact Theory of Recovery under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 6 Duq. Bus. L.J. 35 (2003)

Michael Green, Finding Lawyers for Employees in Discrimination Disputes as a Critical Prescription for Unions to Embrace Racial Justice, 7 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 55 (2004)

Jared Gross, In Search of Wiley: Struggling to Bind Successor Corporations to Their Predecessor's Collective Bargaining Agreement, 29 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 113 (2004)

Melvin Haas, William Clifton & Jonathan Martin, Labor and Employment, 56 Mercer L. Rev. 291 (2004)

Jill Hasday, Mitigation and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 103 Mich. L. Rev. 217 (2004)

Bill Ong Hing, Rebellious Lawyering, Settlement, and Reconciliation: Soko Bukai v. YWCA, 5 Nev. L.J. 172 (2004)

Nan Hunter, Federal Courts, State Courts and Civil Rights: Judicial Power and Politics, 92 Geo. L.J. 941 (2004)

Judith Johnson, Rehabilitate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act: Resuscitate the "Reasonable Factors Other than Age" Defense and the Disparate Impact Theory, 55 Hastings L.J. 1399 (2004)

Elizabeth Karels, Comment: Make Employers Accountable for Workplace Safety! How the Dirty Little Secret of Workers' Compensation Puts Employees at Risk and Why Criminal Prosecution and Civil Action Will Save Lives and Money, 26 Hamline J. Pub. L. & Pol'y 111 (2004)

Mara Kent, "Forced" Vs. Compulsory Arbitration of Civil Rights Claims, 23 Law & Ineq. 95 (2005)

Carolle Kim, Note: Failing to Follow the Spirit of Erisa. (Kolling v. American Power Conversion Corp., 347 F.3d 11, 1st Cir. 2003.) 58 Tax Law. 333 -345 (2004)

King, Allan G. and Student Jeremy W. Hawpe. Grutz v. Grutter: Lessons for Pursuing Diversity in the Workplace. 29 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 41 -61 (2004)

Klaas, Kara M. Note: Left in the Dark: Sarbanes-oxley and Corporate Abuse of 401(k) Plan Blackout Periods. 29 J. Corp. L. 801 -817 (2004)

Kovacic-fleischer, Candace Saari. Comparing Remedies for School Desegregation and Employment Discrimination: Can Employers Now Help Schools? 41 San Diego L. Rev. 1695 -1709 (2004)

Kramer, Ronald J. Wright or Wrong: Can Employers and Unions Waive an Employee's Right to a Judicial Forum for Statutory Claims? 36 Urb. Law. 825 -836 (2004)

Lee, David W. Three Steps Forward in the Continuing Search for the Parameters of the Public Policy Exception to the At-will Employment Doctrine in Oklahoma: Wilburn v. Mid-south Health Development, Inc., Barker v. State Insurance Fund, and Crain v. National American Insurance Co. 29 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 95 -111 (2004)

Leff, Jason. Recent Development. Rage Against the Machine: How the Nlrb Used Section 8(e) of the National Labor Relations Act to Kill the Virtual Orchestra. 6 N.c. J.L. & Tech. 107 -137 (2004)

Lemons, Bryan R. Public Privacy: Warrantless Workplace Searches of Public Employees. 7 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 1 -33 (2004)

Leonard, James. Bilingualism and Equality: TitleVII Claims for Language Discrimination in the Workplace. 38 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 57 -140 (2004)

Lewis, Darryll M. Halcomb and James R. Jones. Culture Shock in the Workplace: The Legal Treatment of Cultural Behavior under TitleVII. 29 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 139 -163 (2004)

Mead, John. Binding Arbitration as a Political Tool to Remove the Agricultural -labor Exemption in the National Labor Relations Act. 21 T.m. Cooley L. Rev. 185 -213 (2004)

Merten, Jenna. Raising a Red Card: Why Freddy Adu Should Not Be Allowed to Play Professional Soccer. 15 Marq. Sports L. Rev. 205 -225 (2004)

Mills, James P. Comment: The Use of Hiring Preferences by Alaska Native Corporations, 28 Seattle U. L. Rev. 403 -534 (2005)

Moran, Rachel F. How Second-wave Feminism Forgot the Single Woman. 33 Hofstra L. Rev. 223 -298 (2004)

Pitell, Lisa R. CaseNote: Workers' Compensation Claimants Are Prohibited from Stacking Concurrent Total Disability Awards in Pennsylvania., 6 Duq. Bus. L.J. 119 -136 (2003)

O'brien, Christine Neylon and Jonathan J. Darrow. CaseNote: The Question Remains after Raytheon Co. v. Hernandez: Whether No-rehire Rules Disparately Impact Alcoholics and Former Drug Abusers.7 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 157 -172 (2004)

Repka, Lucas. Comment: A Hostile Work Environment Claim Resulting in a Constructive Discharge of an Employee under TitleVII Is a Non-tangible Employment Action. 6 Duq. Bus. L.J. 87 -107 (2003)

Rojas, Hugo. Labor Law and Genetic Discrimination in Chile. 16 Fla. J. Int'l L. 561 -578 (2004)

Rowan, Regan C. Comment: Solving the Bluish Collar Problem: An Analysis of the Dol's Modernization of the Exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act. 7 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 119 -138 (2004)

Saco, Joshua D. Note: When Employers Get "Something for Nothing": The Need to Impose a Limited Obligation to Disclose in Employment Reference Situations, 38 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 123 (2004)

Leila Nadya Sadat, Do All Arabs Really Look Alike? Prejudice and the U.S "War" on Terror, 50 Wayne L. Rev. 69 (2004)

John Sanchez, 2004 Survey of Florida Public Employment Law, 29 Nova L. Rev. 15 (2004)

Thomas Schultz, Does Online Dispute Resolution Need Governmental Intervention? The Case for Architectures of Control and Trust, 6 N.C. J.L. & Tech. 71 (2004)

Gregory Sidak & Hal Singer, Uberregulation Without Economics: The World Trade Organization's Decision in the U.S-Mexico Arbitration on Telecommunications Services, 57 Fed. Comm. L.J. 1 (2004)

Autumn Smith, Comment: You Can't Judge Me: Mental Capacity Challenges to Arbitration Provisions, 56 Baylor L. Rev. 1051 (2004)

Michael Stein, Same Struggle, Different Difference: ADA Accommodations as Antidiscrimination, 153 U. Pa. L. Rev. 579 (2004)

James Sterba, Completing Thomas Sowell's Study of Affirmative Action and Then Drawing Different Conclusions, 57 Stan. L. Rev. 657 (2004)

Charles Sullivan, Circling Back to the Obvious: The Convergence of Traditional and Reverse Discrimination in Title VII Proof, 46 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1031 (2004)

Symposium: Corporate Ethics and Governance in the Health Care Marketplace, 3 Seattle J. for Soc. Just. 205 (2004)

Symposium on Contemporary Urban Challenges: Urban Equity: Considerations of Race and the Road Towards Equitable Allocation of Municipal Services,
31 Fordham Urb. L.J. 1183 (2004)

Symposium: Association of American Law Schools: Private Parties as Defendants in Civil Rights Litigation, 26 Cardozo L. Rev. 1 (2004)

Symposium: Pursuing Equal Justice in the West 5 Nev. L.J. 1 (2004)

Symposium: Diversity or Cacophony? New Sources of Norms in International Law, 25 Mich. J. Int'l L. 845 (2004)

Symposium: Employment and Labor Law, 29 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 15 (2004)

Symposium: The Jurisprudence of Slavery Reparations. 84 B.U. L. Rev. 1135 (2004)

Lorie Taylor, Comment: Age Discrimination Against Senior Law Firm Partners: When Law Firms Treat Partners as Employees, 6 Duq. Bus. L.J. 227 (2004)

Randall Thomas, The Increasing Role of Empirical Research in Corporate Law Scholarship, 92 Geo. L.J. 981 (2004)

Terrence Welch, A Primer on Texas Public Employment Law, 56 Baylor L. Rev. 981 (2004)

Thomas Trelogan, Steven Mazurana & Paul Hodapp, The European Free Trade Association Court and Positive Action, 28 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 25 (2004)

Thomas Trelogan, Steven Mazurana & Paul Hodapp, Can't We Enlarge the Blanket and the Bed? A Comparative Analysis of Positive/Affirmative Action in the European Court of Justice and the United States Supreme Court, 28 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 39 (2004)

Steven Willborn, Workers in Troubled Firms: When Are (Should) They Be Protected? 7 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 35 (2004)

Jack Wilson, "No-class-action Arbitration Clauses," State-Law Unconscionability, and the Federal Arbitration Act: A Case for Federal Judicial Restraint and Congressional Action. 23 QLR 737 (2004)

Workers' Compensation, 55 S.C. L. Rev. 695 (2004)

Edward Zelinsky, The Defined Contribution Paradigm, 114 Yale L.J. 451 (2004)