Lawyers in the field of l
abor and employment law deal with the relations between workers and their employers. Labor lawyers represent either union workers or management and deal with issues such as unfair labor practice charges under the National Labor Relations Act, collective bargaining negotiations, union organizing, and arbitration of union and employee grievances. Attorneys in this practice area may also advise labor or management on other workplace issues, such as affirmative action policies, issues concerning wages and work hours, preparation of employee handbooks, employee policies, covenants not to compete, employee terminations and severance arrangements.
An outgrowth of labor law is employment law. Employment lawyers represent plaintiffs and employers on a wide variety of issues that are not covered by union contracts. They may represent or defend clients on issues such as employment discrimination based on race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, or other types of civil rights violations. Employment lawyers may also represent clients who are sued for breach of employment contracts, breach of covenants not to compete, wrongful discharge, invasion of employee right to privacy, and sexual harrassment.
Core/Foundation Courses
These are the entry level courses that -- at a minimum -- employers expect a student interested in this specialty to have .
- Administrative Law
- Equal Employment Law
- Labor Relations Law
Recommended Courses
Students interested in this practice area should consider including one or more of the following courses as electives.
- Advanced Legal Writing
- Labor Relations Law II
- Negotiations/Mediation
- Oral Communications
- Protective Labor Laws
- Public Sector Labor Relations Law
- Sex Based Discrimination
- Trial Advocacy
Enrichment Courses
These courses deepen or broaden the skills and substantive information that a lawyer in this field needs and also provide advanced courses for students interested in a specialty within this area of practice.
- Collective Bargaining: The Negotiation Process
- Collective Bargaining: The Arbitration Process
- ERISA
- Health Law and Administration
- Insurance Law
- NLRB Seminar
