Introduction to Employment Law

[This site is currently under construction, and new content is coming soon.]

Welcome to Introduction to Employment Law. This page was originally designed as a companion to the college course The Employment Relationship: Law and Policy (LER201) at Penn State. The course is broken into four parts, and each part has its own page:

Part I - Government Limitations and their Development

Part II - Workplace Protections and the Employment Relationship

Part III - Discrimination
Part IV - Benefits and Safety Nets

Syllabus: Spring 2015 | Fall 2014 (Note: The specific subjects are organized on this site based on the Spring 2015 syllabus).

Part I - Government Limitations and their Development

Part I differs from the remainder of the course in that we will focus primarily on case law, decisions from the United States Supreme Court and lower courts as well. We’ll discover that many of the employment laws we take for granted today were once deemed unconstitutional. These limitations have weakened, but have not entirely disappeared. We will conclude this part by analyzing modern economic liberty cases.

Liberty of Contract and Early Restrictions on State Employment Laws

• Slides
• Case Law Excerpts
• Excerpts from Lochner v. New York, Adkins c. Children's Hosp., and Meyer v. Nebraska
• Full decisions CaseText 
• Lochner v. New York
• Adkins v. Children's Hosp.
• Meyer v. Nebraska

Constitution's Interstate Commerce Clause as an Early Restriction on State Employment Laws

The Supreme Court Lowers the Bar on Liberty of Contract and the Commerce Clause

Does the Interstate Commerce Clause Still Mean Anything?

Modern Economic Liberty Cases

• Slides
• Case law on CaseText
• Powers v. Harris
• Craigmiles v. Giles
• Clayton v. Steinagel

Part II - Workplace Protections and the Employment Relationship

Introduction
In Part II, we will focus on protections afforded to current employees, and the employment relationship generally. We will address who exactly counts as an “employee” and how that differs from an “independent contractor.” Part II includes analysis of the National Labor Relations Act and its protection of union and non-union activity. We will also discuss wage and hour law, privacy protections (or lack thereof), and workplace safety and health regulations.

"At Will" Employment and Exceptions

• Slides
• Case Law
• Weaver v. Harpster | Blog entry
• Luteran v. Loral Fairchild Corp.

"Employees" and "Employers"

• Slides

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

• Slides

National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)

• Slides: Part I | Part II
• Video: NLRA and Social Media
• Examples:
• The NLRA Protects *that* Facebook Post!?
• Facebook Posts too Insubordinate, Lose NLRA Protection

Privacy

• Slides: Part I | Part II (coming soon)
• Examples:
• The Case Against Requiring Social Network Passwords | Pietrylo v. Hillstone Rest. Group on CaseText

Occupation Safety and Health Act

Coming soon!

Part III - Discrimination

Introduction
In Part III we will focus exclusively on anti-discrimination laws. We will identify the protected classes and the protections they receive. Discrimination laws provide many “do nots” – as in, do not discriminate, do not retaliate, do not enforce policies that have a disparate impact on protected classes, etc. However, we will also discuss certain affirmative duties employers have to accommodate employees, specifically disability and religious accommodation.

Introduction to Discrimination and Disparate Treatment


Disparate Impact and Retaliation


Hiring Issues


Sexual Harassment Introduction


Harassment Liability


Preventing Sexual Harassment

- Sample Sexual Harassment Policy and Complaint/Investigation Procedure from SHRM

Disability Accommodation


Religious Accommodation

Part IV - Benefits and Safety Nets

Introduction
In Part IV, we will focus on “safety nets” for employees, and the law covering the benefits. Employers often take on responsibility for their employees’ retirement. We will start by examining health issues, including FMLA, health insurance, and COBRA. We will then look at retirement plans and contrast defined benefit with defined contribution plans. Finally, states usually create legal frameworks for compensating employees who injure themselves at work (workers’ compensation) or who lose their jobs despite not engaging in any willful misconduct (unemployment compensation).

Family and Medical Leave Act

•  Slides

Health Insurance

• Slides
• Case Law: NFIB v. Sebelius ("Obamacare") - Individual Mandate Excerpts | Medicaid Expansion Excerpts | Full text on CaseText

Retirement Benefits

• Slides

Workers' Compensation

• Slides

Unemployment Compensation

• Slides
• Case Law: Zuraski v. UCBR (full text)