JLPP

January 29, 2021 0

Privilege, Progress, and Paid Family Leave

(Source) The United States has an embarrassing—and for many families, financially, physically, and emotionally devastating—paid family leave problem. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States ranks last in government-mandated paid leave for new parents. Among forty-one nations, the U.S. fails to mandate paid leave for new parents. Individual states have failed to pick up the slack. Currently, California, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Washington, and Washington, D.C. are the only states which provide paid family leave to eligible workers. Washington and Washington D.C.’s programs began just last year. Two more states—Connecticut, and Oregon—have programs slated to begin in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Colorado voted this past November on Proposition 118 to determine whether the state would implement its own paid family and medical leave program. Even though Colorado’s Proposition 118 passed, only nine states (plus the District of Columbia) have made meaningful steps toward a paid family leave mandate. The need for government-mandated leave becomes evident with a quick look at private sector leave statistics. In 2019, 18% of private sector employees had access to paid family leave through their employer and 42% of private sector employees had access to fully or partly [read more]

January 25, 2021 0

Feeling Crunched: Labor Conditions in the Video Game Industry

(Source) As we react to another spike in the coronavirus pandemic, many people are wondering how our work lives will change in the distant future of a post-COVID-19 world. One hope is that employers will be more understanding of a work-life balance and reevaluate the eight-hour workday. However, we know that burnout is a real threat that not only impacts productivity levels, but also can lead to a decline in physical and mental health. One industry that is thriving during the pandemic has been grappling with a work culture of burnout and overworked employees for a while now: the video game industry. Americans spent $10.86 billion on video gaming in the first quarter of 2020, the highest total in U.S. history. While people have been using video games to socialize and to experience nature in health-safe ways, the video game industry has been struggling with many of the same logistical hurdles in production as other industries, leading to conditions that feel familiar to many a video game developer: crunch. Crunch, also called “crunch time” or “crunch mode,” was first coined to describe intense periods where software programmers would work extra hours for extended periods of time to meet deadlines or [read more]

January 18, 2021 0

Exporting Miranda: How Fifth Amendment Protections Fall Flat in Overseas Interrogations

(Source) In the past twenty years, American law enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have increased their presence abroad. This increased presence is due in part to terrorist attacks against American targets and narcotics trafficking that affects U.S. citizens. Law enforcement’s role overseas is to investigate violations of American criminal laws committed by non-U.S. citizens. An integral component of the investigation process includes interrogating suspects. In the United States, any interrogated suspect is constitutionally protected by the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. However, does this same right apply to non-citizens abroad? Per circuit courts’ understanding, the Fifth Amendment still applies in offshore interrogations. What is less clear is how this right must be given effect when interrogating non-citizens. Miranda v. Arizona and its Framework Domestically, the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination protects suspects during pretrial investigations. In the landmark case Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court held that prosecutors may not use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, stemming from the custodial interrogation of a detainee, unless the prosecution demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards. These safeguards ensure the privilege against self-incrimination. Miranda, therefore, mandates that before engaging a suspect in custodial interrogation, law enforcement officials must inform the suspect [read more]

January 17, 2021 0

Kamala Harris Should Let John Roberts Off The Hook

(Sources) The Constitution provides that when the President of the United States is tried in the Senate, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, rather than the Vice President, presides over the President’s trial. This time last year, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, fulfilled his constitutional duty by presiding over Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial. The otherwise reserved Roberts made his uneventful political debut in the Senate, assuming a role he likely despised given the extent to which he has avoided entangling himself in the partisanship which has dominated his time on the Court. This time, however, Mr. Roberts may be off the hook. While some have already assumed that John Roberts will preside over Trump’s second trial, this conclusion is doubtful, and Mitch McConnell’s most recent memo on the upcoming trial flags this area of confusion. John Roberts, however, should not need to scurry from the Capitol steps over to the Senate chamber immediately after inaugurating Joe Biden on January 20th. While the Constitution designates the Chief Justice, rather than the Vice President, as the presiding officer when the President is tried, it says nothing about the trial of a former president. This makes sense [read more]

January 15, 2021 0

Work or Child Care: What Employers Can Do to Alleviate Burdens on Working Mothers

(Source) Facebook and Twitter have announced that they will allow their employees to work from home indefinitely, and other companies are considering adopting a similar policy. Remote work can benefit both employees and employers as employees no longer have to commute and employers can cut costs in rent. However, remote work can also be a source of issues. For example, it can exacerbate what is already an unequal distribution of domestic work on women. Prior to the stay-at-home orders in response to COVID-19, women consistently spent more hours on housework and child care than men. In addition, when women have children, they are less likely to be hired for jobs and likely to be paid less than their male colleagues. This is referred to as the motherhood penalty and exists not because mothers become less productive but because employers expect to them to be. The impact of COVID-19 on the distribution of domestic work isn’t clear, although one survey found that the distribution of housework and child care has not become more equitable as a result of stay-at-home orders. Additionally, McKinsey & Company released a report documenting the effects of COVID-19 on working women and found that one in four [read more]

November 23, 2020 0

Fashion (Law) Forward: An Interview with Professor Susan Scafidi

(Source) Fashion (Law) Forward: An Interview with Professor Susan Scafidi This podcast transcript has been edited for concision and clarity. Christina Lee Hello, my name is Christina Lee, and today I am happy to have you on The Issue Spotter Podcast. Today, our Online Associate Jamie Smith will be interviewing Professor Susan Scafidi, and we are super excited to welcome both of them to the podcast. So, thank you so much and looking forward to hearing this. Jamie Smith Thanks, Christina. And hello, Professor Scafidi, thank you so much for joining me today. I’m so glad we can finally meet each other. For those who don’t know you, I’d like to give a brief introduction before we get into what I’m sure will be a scintillating discussion. Professor Susan Scafidi is the founder and academic director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School. As the first professor to offer a course on fashion law, Professor Scafidi is an internationally recognized expert in the field. A frequent commentator on fashion and fashion law, Professor Scafidi has been featured in publications from The New York Times to Women’s Wear Daily and NPR. Professor Scafidi’s advocacy work ranges from support [read more]

November 20, 2020 0

Virtual Recruitment: The U.S. Military’s Campaign into Twitch and Esports

(Source) Twitch.tv is a live-streaming platform that has exploded in popularity over the last several years. The platform, focusing primarily on broadcasting live video game content, attracts the curious eyes of over seventeen million visitors each day, and has been cementing itself as the de facto “king” of live video game streaming over the last half decade. In 2020 thus far, viewers have spent over 950 billion minutes watching content on Twitch. Of its immense viewing congregation, fourteen percent are between the ages of thirteen and seventeen, making Twitch a particularly valuable resource for those looking to market to Gen Z. Coincidentally, after missing recruitment goals in 2018, the Army turned to Twitch in advertising and recruiting efforts aimed at teens. As part of its Gen-Z-centered campaign, the Army has been leveraging esports to reach the substantial centennial population on Twitch. To their credit, this campaign has certainly borne fruit; the Army’s push to use esports in recruiting has generated over 13,000 recruiting leads so far this year. This success has caught the eye of several prominent U.S. military branches, including the Air Force and Navy, who have also begun to establish a presence on Twitch and in esports. [read more]

November 16, 2020 0

An Overdue Overturning: The Insular Cases and the Need for Heightened Judicial Review for Puerto Rico

(Source) In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which left the entirety of Puerto Rico without power, President Donald Trump visited the island. Towards the end of his trip, President Trump began tossing paper towels into a crowd — as if he were a rock star tossing T-shirts to a concert crowd. This conduct, while disrespectful, perhaps serves as an allegory of the United States’ treatment of Puerto Rico throughout the island’s history. Despite being U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans are treated as second-class citizens who are not afforded most of the fundamental rights of mainland Americans. Most notably, Puerto Ricans are not allowed to vote in U.S. elections. This second-class treatment is the result of Puerto Rico’s territorial status as an “unincorporated territory.” The constitutional backbone of this arrangement was cemented by the Supreme Court in the Insular Cases of the early 1900s. These cases, which justified the United States’ colonial expansion and unilateral control over its territories, are still held as good law today. In light of the disparate treatment Puerto Ricans receive and the racist context in which the Insular Cases were written, it is time for American jurisprudence and the Supreme Court to overturn these cases and [read more]

November 13, 2020 0

Stopping the Spread: How California and Neighboring States Can Better Fight Wildfires

(Source) The title of the piece has been changed to acknowledge that the author has not directly experienced California wildfires. The Journal does not purport to intimately understand the struggles Californians face and we extend our condolences to those who have lost so much in these tragedies. We have all seen the headlines running about the raging forest fires in California and neighboring states. This past summer, dozens of extremely large forest fires ignited across the state of California, ruining rural and suburban communities, damaging and killing wildlife, and covering cities across the U.S. in a smoggy haze. Forest fires are common to California and neighboring states, and fire season always poses a challenge to the state, but over the past ten years, the fires have been larger and more destructive than ever before. From 2001 to 2010, California saw 7.03 million acreage of their land destroyed by fires; from 2011 to 2020, the number increased to 10.3 million acres. Yet, 2020 has topped every year with the largest and most destructive forest fires in California’s history: around 3.2 million acres of land being destroyed (as of September). And, to give a sense, San Francisco is “only” 30,000 acres. Coinciding [read more]

November 9, 2020 0

Increased Tuition for an Inferior Product: The University’s Guide to Not Caring

(Source) Imagine you decided to go to the dealership to buy yourself a brand-new car. After carefully researching the model and make of car and shopping around for a good deal, you finally decide to make the purchase. When the car gets delivered, you are excited to take it out for a drive, only to realize that the dealer has sent you a Vespa (an electric scooter). You complain to the dealer and they tell you to “make the best” out of a bad situation. You might think this is ridiculous, but it is in fact the experience of almost every university-enrolled student during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a poorly-kept secret that tuition rates in the United States have risen at an alarming pace. In 1963, the average cost of attending college was $9,918 (adjusted for inflation), while in 2017, the average cost was $23,091. This precipitous increase has led students to borrow alarmingly high amounts and at increasing rates, resulting in a cumulative student loan debt teetering over $1.5 trillion. Today, students are leaving universities crippled by student loans and, in many cases, unable to pay them back. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 10.8% of [read more]