Elective Course
Employment Discrimination
This course examines legal regulation of employment relationships. Two main themes predominate. The first is the issue of job security. Specifically, what rights and protections (if any) do employees have to retain their jobs? Both formal and informal methods by which employees obtain employment protection are evaluated. These include: individual express and implied employment contracts; tort claims, good faith obligations and statutory limitations on the employer's right to discharge without cause; collective bargaining agreements; and, for public sector employees, civil service rules. The second part of the course focuses on the terms and conditions of employment. In other words, what are the rules governing conditions under which employees work? Here the issues of employee free speech and privacy, employee duties and promises, and the regulation of compensation are considered. Finally, the course explores the future of employment law in a global economy, and efforts to legislate protections for all employees that correspond to work life in the new century.
Prerequisite: None