Labor and Employment Law

Seminar – 2 units. This course will study local government laws and practices that seek to regulate the lives of immigrants living within their jurisdiction. These areas include housing, labor and employment, driving and professional licenses, health, public benefits, and even immigration crimes and enforcement. We will study the range of laws and their differences across jurisdictions as well the factors that may explain why these laws yield both positive or negative results for immigrants in different localities.

Practicum - 2 hours. Students will develop a theoretical and practical understanding of the labor movement, and the ways in which lawyers support and interact with the movement. Students will be placed in labor organizations, labor-related law firms, and non-profits where they will gain experience with different aspects of labor organizing, labor campaigns, and collective bargaining.

Discussion - 3 or 4 hours. Examination of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and section 1981.

Final Assessment: Exam
Grading Mode: Letter Grading
Graduation Requirements: Satisfies the Bias, Antiracism and Cultural-Competency requirement.

All King Hall externships have two components. Students perform substantive legal work at a field placement, and under the supervision of a faculty advisor, complete professional development assignments. See the Externship website for more information. Students gain practical experience in employment relations, including employment discrimination and public sector labor law.

Discussion - 3 hours. This course will cover legal issues and policies pertaining to foreign nationals seeking to migrate permanently or temporarily to the United States, including the regulation of their admission and removal or deportation. This course will examine critically how and why the rights of foreign nationals who are in U.S. territory differ from the rights of citizens. These topics will be covered from various perspectives, including constitutional law, human rights, ethics and morality, and history.

Law 235 Administrative Law is recommended.

Discussion - 3 hours. Survey of the legislative, administrative, and judicial regulation of labor relations under federal law. The course focuses on the historical development of labor law, the scope of national legislation, union organization and recognition, the legality of strikes, picketing, and the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements.

Final Assessment: Other (Short Writing Assignments)
Grading Mode:  Letter Grading

Discussion - 3 hours. This course will examine the legal and social regulation of sexual orientation and gender identity.  The course will analyze various legal principles, including statutory, constitutional, and public policy doctrines, which might be used to limit the ability of government and other institutions to disadvantage people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Discussion - 3 hours.  This course provides an overview of employment law, labor law and employment discrimination law and aims to serve as a foundation for understanding the law and policy (statutory and common law) that surround the employer-employee relationship.   Rather than focusing on the various statutes that govern workplace relationships, this course is organized topically around the areas that tend to create tensions between employer and employee interests.   The course will focus on the interests of the parties as much or more than their legal rights as

Seminar - 2 hours. Discrimination in the workplace has taken center stage in the country's legal and political arena. Despite extraordinary progress for women and minorities since the first state and federal anti-discrimination laws were enacted, we have recently seen an uptick in litigation, lawmaking, and government agency enforcement designed to address today's more subtle and nuanced forms of discrimination, including implicit bias.