In today’s political and economic climate, broad and easy agreement with the basic premise of labor law – to stimulate the economy by putting more money into the pockets of working people – is not likely. Bad economic times are generally not good for labor organization and labor standards. There is, of course, still an important for labor and employment and good practices to help resolve employment disputes. New York University’s venerable and prestigious Center for Labor and Employment Law has always been dedicated to the underlying principles of labor law as expressed in the National Labor Relations Act seventy-five years ago, despite recent economic challenges unforeseen at that time. The Center’s 2010 conference (the 63rd in this highly influential series) was built around a stocktaking of the current condition of labor law in the United States, focusing on the continuities and disparities that characterize practice in the field today. This volume contains papers presented at that meeting, all here updated to reflect recent developments. Extending beyond the NLRA itself, contributors discuss the effects of later legislation such as the Wagner and Taft-Hartley Acts of 1947, agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and proliferating connections between labor relations law and intellectual property law. Experts from both the practicing bar and academia – eighteen in all – call on their unique strengths to address such issues as the following: new applications of the § 10(j) injunction; remedies for unlawful discharges in organizing campaigns; confidentiality agreements; “legitimate employer interests”; reasonableness standard for enforcement of covenants not to compete; criminal prosecutions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; the role of statistical evidence in systemic discrimination cases; certification for class actions; cultivating a “plan/prevent/protect” culture of compliance; and employee representation election regulation. The contributors emphasize the ways in which labor law and policy can be part of the great conversation about how to restore prosperity, encourage business, and create good jobs. Dedicated to ensuring a realistic and fair national labor policy for the future, this important publication offers definitive current scholarship toward that goal. As such, it will be of inestimable value to practitioners, government officials, academics, and others interested in developments in U.S. employment and labor relations law and practice.
