Work and the Constitution

This seminar focuses on how the Constitution shapes work law and working conditions. We will discuss a range of contexts in which either employees or employers have invoked the Constitution, evaluate, and critique how courts have dealt with those claims, and discuss whether it is possible (or desirable) to envision a new constitutional law of work. Topics will include 13th Amendment limits on work, constitutional protections for labor organizing, public-sector workers, First Amendment rights, and the intersection of work and religious exercise, among others. Students will write and present an original research paper on a topic related to work and the Constitution.