Workplace issues have become one of the fastest-growing areas of state and federal law. Employment-related lawsuits filed in federal court have tripled in volume in the past decade, and now account for a tenth of all civil cases. Many state courts have experienced a similar burgeoning of their employment law caseloads. This course examines this dynamic and rapidly evolving area of legal practice by considering the diverse array of laws and institutions that regulate the employment relationship. It covers such topics as anti-discrimination law, protections against dismissal without cause, wage and hour restrictions, the Family and Medical Leave Act, occupational safety and health, and mandatory arbitration of employment disputes. Although the class looks at selected portions of traditional labor law (i.e., the body of law concerning union behavior), the primary focus of the course is on laws affecting employees in non-unionized settings.
The course material does not overlap substantially with either Employment Discrimination or Labor Law.