Juris Doctor - Labor and Employment Law in Boulder United States | University of Colorado Boulder

Originally dominated by the employment-at-will doctrine that granted workers minimal protections against dismissal or unfair treatment, labor and employment law has evolved into one of the most significant areas of federal legal practice. The unionization and wage regulations established in the 1930s paved the way for anti-discrimination legislation addressing race, gender, and age in the 1960s. Subsequent decades brought expansions into new protections including disability accommodations, family medical leave, genetic bias prohibitions, and whistleblower safeguards. Currently, employment-related disputes represent a growing portion of federal civil cases, emerging as the most prevalent case type. Kevin M. Clermont & Stewart J. Schwab, How Employment Discrimination Plaintiffs Fare in Federal Court, 1 J. Empirical Leg. Stud. 429, 429 (2004). Discrimination cases alone account for approximately 10% of all federal lawsuits.