Employment Law

Catalog description

This course provides a survey of the common law and statutory principles relating to modern employment. Among the topics we will cover: the nature of the employment relationship, the at-will rule and its limitations, layoffs and unemployment insurance, employee mobility issues (e.g., covenants not-to-compete), employee privacy, family leave, worker safety, and wage and hour law. This course is intended to provide an overview and survey of the field and there is some overlap with topics traditionally covered in Employment Discrimination and Labor Law courses. While we will touch on some issues ordinarily covered in those course, we will not do so in the depth they are given when taught in distinct 3 or 4 credit courses. During the semester, I hope to be able to provide those students who are interested with the opportunity to represent a claimant in an unemployment administrative hearing under my supervision. Assisting a claimant in an unemployment insurance case provides students with the opportunity to learn about employment law in a very practical way.