Employment Law

• Semester: Spring 2022
• Course ID: 394F
• Credit Hours: 3
• Unique: 29140

Description

Same as LAW 361J, Employment Law.

This course explores the law surrounding the relationship between employers and individual employees, focusing primarily on the following areas: (1) Distinctions between “employees” and other types of workers, and why they matter; (2) The "general rule" of employment-at-will and the ways it can be modified; (3) Some statutory and common law exceptions to at-will employment, such as whistle-blowing, public policy and tort theories; (4) Employee privacy & drug testing issues; (5) The additional rights and responsibilities of government employees (e.g., free speech & due process rights, limitations on political rights); (6) A general overview of the laws protecting employees from discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics (e.g., race, national origin, sex, sexual harassment, age, disability), and their enforcement schemes; (7) A general overview of the Fair Labor Standards Act and its minimum wage & overtime premium protections; (8) A general overview of the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the duties of employers/employees thereunder; and (9) A look at the duties an employee can owe the employer, such as those involving trade secrets and obligations not to compete. Please note that Employment Law is different from Labor Law; the latter generally governs the relationship between employers and labor unions representing their employees, dealing with topics such as collective bargaining, strikes, labor contract enforcement, and similar topics.