Government Workers, Unions and the Law (2) (LEL150) Government Workers, Unions and the Law Workshop (2) (LEL 151)

Professor Arthur Leonard, Margaret Leibowitz

Public employment (city, state and federal) is a dynamic and growing area of practice, involving important constitutional, political and public policy issues.  The legal rights and responsibilities of government workers, unions and employers are the focus of this seminar.  Private and public sector models of labor and employment law are analyzed and compared for differences in constitutional protections under the First and Fourth Amendments, union representation and collective bargaining rights, due process entitlements and procedures under civil service and teacher tenure laws, and conflict resolution processes utilizing ADR methods of mediation, fact-finding and arbitration.

Students may register concurrently for a two-credit field placement working at least 12 (twelve) hours per week for a governmental employer, a union representing public employees, or a neutral agency administering and enforcing a collective bargaining or employment statute in public employment.  Workshop participants must meet weekly with a supervising faculty member and externship mentor, attend the seminar, and produce a paper or other written assignemnts for the seminar. 

Altough not a pre-requesite, Labor Relations Law is strongly recommended.