Labor and Employment Rights in the United States: Down a Different Rabbit Hole
19 Pages Posted: 17 Nov 2020 Last revised: 22 Jan 2023
Date Written: November 12, 2020
Abstract
This essay is a response to Professor Hugh Collins of the University of Oxford, in his remarks and paper discussing the protection given to labor rights as human rights under the European Convention of Human Rights and explaining how those results have been reached through a succession of “rabbit holes.” This essay explores how the United States Supreme Court has taken us through a succession of different “rabbit holes” in order to reduce labor and employment rights. This essay focuses on three areas: labor rights, particularly the right to engage in collective bargaining and other forms of concerted action; the right to privacy in the workplace; and protections against workplace discrimination. With respect to those areas, this essay raises the fundamental question of whether the United States Supreme Court is willing to recognize the human rights of workers to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.
Keywords: labor law, discrimination, privacy, comparative law
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation