In June, the State Bar of Georgia recognized two Emory Law professors for professionalism, distinguished practice, and service to others. Associate Dean A. James Elliott 63C 66L received the 2020 Chief Justice Thomas O. Marshall Professionalism Award. Professor of Law Emeritus Charles A. Shanor was honored with the 2019 Marshall-Tuttle Award.
Charles Shanor will retire this month after 41 years of teaching. In addition to his role as a beloved professor, he also established institutions that will endure at Emory Law well beyond his tenure. In 2013, Shanor created the Emory Law Volunteer Clinic for Veterans with Director Emeritus Lane Dennard and two student leaders; he currently serves as co-director.
A federal judge has struck down part of a Georgia law aimed at allowing employees to end their union memberships at any time. It's a victory for union supporters in a region that tends to be friendlier to employers. Emory Law Professor Charles Shanor said the National Labor Relations Act has allowed unions to negotiate for periods of time in which members can't just stop paying their dues, usually for up to a year. "What Georgia's saying is: no, the person can turn around and take it back the next day. Well that removes the ability of the union to fiscally plan for operations over, let's say, the next one year period," he said.
Ira Pittman, a 62-year-old choir director, says he was given the choice to either retire or be fired after church members at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church discovered he was gay. Pittman had worked there for more than 20 years, according to a WABE story. The church decision isn't illegal, says Emory Law Professor Charles Shanor. "Georgia has no law which bars discrimination by private employers," he said. Shanor is former general counsel for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Pittman has filed a complaint with the federal agency.
Every other Monday beginning Feb. 22, a portion of the Starbucks near the new Ponce City Market in Atlanta will become a law office for veterans. The Emory Law Volunteer Clinic for Veterans will offer Military Mondays, free legal advice to veterans looking for representation on everything from service-related disability claims to pension issues.
A study by the National Employment Labor Project estimates nearly one in three workers in the U.S. is misclassified. That can mean a loss of pay and benefits for employees. That's what a number of truckers in Georgia contend is happening to them. While the U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division recently released a "letter of guidance" in an effort to clarify who is an employee and who is an independent contractor, the federal guidance is still indefinite, Professor Charles Shanor tells WABE.
The Volunteer Clinic for Veterans has received the Law Group Excellence in Award to Justice award from the Pro Bono Section of the State Bar of Georgia.
Members of the Emory Law faculty provide their analyses of the Supreme Court's 2014 term decisions.
How should businesses adjust their employment policies to be sure they are in compliance with the law?
On June 24, 2013, the Supreme Court handed down two 5-4 decisions in employment discrimination cases.
Edward Snowden, whose disclosures have triggered broad debate over the balance between privacy and national security, has left Hong Kong and is in Moscow, apparently headed to Ecuador.
The revelations this week that the federal government has been scooping up records of telephone calls inside the United States for seven years, and secretly collecting information from Internet companies on foreigners overseas for nearly six years, have elicited predictable outrage from liberals and civil libertarians.
Don't blame Russia for lack of intelligence sharing in Boston bombing suspect.
Chinese judges participated in a new partnership between Emory Law, City University of Hong Kong, and Supreme People's Court.