Government 218 - Workplace Law in Capitalist America
Workplace Law/Capitalist Amer
Spring
2023
02
4.00
Harris Freeman
TU TH 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM
Smith College
GOV-218-02-202303
Seelye 110
hfreeman@smith.edu
A critical introduction to government regulation of employment and to legal theories of freedom and justice in the workplace. Topics include: 1) the development of laws granting workers the right to form labor unions and to collectively bargain, culminating with discussion of the current debate on labor rights in the ‘gig’ economy and the upsurge of union organizing at Amazon, Starbucks and major tech companies; 2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and other anti-discrimination laws designed to protect women, persons of color, the disabled and LGBTQ individuals in the workplace as well as the rights of immigrant workers; 3) privacy at work, including how law impacts the use of social media like Facebook and Twitter in the employment context, and 4) other selected legal issues facing marginalized, low-wage workers. Enrollment limited to 30.