Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Wal-Mart Settles; Secunda in Wall Street Journal

Post author:Michael M. O'Hear
Post published:December 24, 2008
Post category:Labor & Employment Law

Our own Paul Secunda was quoted in the Wall Street Journal today on Wal-Mart’s huge settlement of wage claims in sixty-three lawsuits. Here is a taste:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. agreed Tuesday to pay up to $640 million to settle 63 suits alleging it routinely underpaid employees around the country, ending years of embarrassing legal battles over its treatment of workers. . . .

Paul M. Secunda, an associate professor at Marquette University Law School, suggested Wal-Mart wanted to settle the lawsuits not just to avoid potentially more costly defeats in the courtroom, but to resolve issues that might be used to argue for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The legislation, expected to be considered by Congress next year, is fiercely opposed by Wal-Mart because the company worries it will make it easier for workers to unionize.

“This is part of their overall strategy to get their labor house in order, and compared to what unionization might cost them, I think they probably realized it was a small price to pay,” Mr. Secunda said.

The full article is available here.

Time for a Baseball Salary Cap?

Post author:Matthew J. Parlow
Post published:December 23, 2008
Post category:Sports & Law

Today, sources say that the New York Yankees signed free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira to a whopping eight-year contract totaling $180 million. Teixeira is arguably the best non-pitcher free agent on the market (one could make an argument for Manny Ramirez, but it seems the market has focused more on Teixeira first). This signing comes on the heels of the Yankees signing CC Sabathia to a seven-year contract worth $161 million and A.J. Burnett to a five-year contract worth $82.5 million. Sabathia was hands-down the elite free agent pitcher, and Burnett was considered the second- or third-best free agent pitcher (depending on whether you ranked Derek Lowe above or below Burnett). That’s an extraordinary $423.5 million on three guys, all in the last month. And the Yankees got all three of them — three of the top five free agents on the market.

Now, just because the Yankees are spending money like drunken sailors does not mean they will win. Indeed, even with these signings, it appears that the Yankees may wind up with a smaller payroll than last year (when they failed to make the playoffs), when it stood at $222.2 million. In fact, the Yankees’ payroll may wind up south of $200 million. But this situation still strikes me as problematic for the longevity of Major League Baseball (MLB), especially in small- or mid-size markets.

It leads to a debate which may be worth revisiting: That is, should MLB adopt a salary cap?

OKCU Law Under Fire for Alleged Gender Discrimination and Harassment

Post author:Paul M. Secunda
Post published:December 23, 2008
Post category:Labor & Employment Law

Not exactly the place you would expect to see issues of alleged gender discrimination and harassment in the workplace, but, of course, no employer is immune.

From NewsOK from earlier this week:

Four Oklahoma City University law professors submitted a confidential memo to the OCU attorney in October 2007 detailing alleged discrimination and harassment incidents.

It outlines allegations of sexual harassment, pay disparity and insensitivity.

The female professors also complained the OCU law school has no regular civil rights course, criminal law classes don’t cover rape, and the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade is only covered sporadically in constitutional law.

The memo was sparked by two incidents: the alleged sexual harassment of two female professors at Dean Lawrence Hellman’s home in July 2007 and the all-male panel chosen for a Constitution Day program in September 2007.