LAW6745 CRN 13219Employment Law

Examines a variety of laws, regulations and legal theories governing the workplace and the employment relationship. In particular we will look at the at-will doctrine and its exceptions, rules affecting the establishment of the employment relationship and rules affecting the termination of the employment relationship. To the extent time permits, we will also explore other topics such as, the laws prohibiting discrimination, the wage and hour laws, employee handbooks and policies, alternative dispute resolution (in particular the developing law governing mandatory arbitration agreements), non-competition and trade secret issues as they relate to employees, worker's compensation, health and safety (including workplace violence), and the affect of technology on the employment relationship. While this course will not devote extensive time to the labor-management relations laws that are covered in the separate Labor Law class, we will touch on the affects of collective bargaining agreements when pertinent. More often than not, both federal and state laws will govern a particular aspect of the employment relationship and state laws addressing a particular issue will differ. Therefore, when exploring the above topics, we will also address the affects of the interplay of these laws.