Continental Parlor 1 Hilton San Francisco and Towers Ballroom Level
Section on Labor Relations and Employment Law Cynthia E. Nance, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Chair
Contingent Workers: Lesson 5
Moderator:
Peggie Smith, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Speakers:
Leone Bicchieri, Poultry Justice Project Coordinator, National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, Chicago, Illinois Hae Jung Cho, Project Director, Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, Los Angeles, California Stephen K. Strong, Esquire, Bendich, Stobaugh & Strong, P.C., Seattle, Washington
A common thread binds the different worlds of the high-tech information economy and the transient service sectors: Contingent Workers. The Department of Labor (DOL) defines contingent workers as those who do not have an implicit or explicit contract for ongoing employment. According to this definition, the DOL estimates that there are approximately 5.6 million contingent workers in the United States. Although many continent workers are found in low paid jobs in the service sector, they have become common in high tech, highly skilled industries as well. So far, there has been little interaction between scholars and those who represent the contingent worker segment of the work place. This program looks at the legal implications of the increased reliance of many employers on contingent labor by examining the plight of workers across economic spectrum from those who are brought to the U.S. illegally as forced labor to contract workers in the computer industry. In addition to sharing their experiences working with contingent workers, each panelist will describe research agendas that would be beneficial to their work.