2014 Supreme Court Employment Law Commentary

Abstract

This article, which is an annual review of the Supreme Court's work in the employment area, examines in detail every decision of the Court's 2013-2014 term relating to employment and labor law, with commentary on each case and additional information about the Court's work during that term and the upcoming one. Detailed examination of the 2013 Term's employment decisions, of course, can be much more revealing than a simple box score of wins and losses for employers and employees. The author therefore uses the latest term's cases as a lens for examining broader aspects of the Court's jurisprudence, such as the continued vitality of our framework of employment regulation. What this closer look discloses is a deeply divided Court that belies a unanimity hailed by many observers as a new development this term. The article concludes that the Roberts Court's signature continues to be written by a bare, but energetic, majority bent on deregulation of the employment relationship.