Legislation

About: Legislation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 62664 publications have been published within this topic receiving 585188 citations. The topic is also known as: law & act.

The Dance of Legislation

Abstract: Foreword to the 2001 EditionForeword to the Original EditionPreface1) First Stirrings2) Beginner's Lessons3) Getting Serious4) A Fresh Start5) S.4106: Born or Stillborn?6) A Senate Hearing7) Decision in the Senate8) Loose Ends9) Interlude10) Doctors in the House11) A War of Nerves12) A New Year's ResolutionEpiloguePostscript to the 2001 EditionList of AbbreviationsIndex

Environmental Education for the 21st Century: Where Do We Go Now?.

Abstract: In 1990, Congress passed the National Environmental Education Act, thereby charging the United States Environmental Protection Agency with providing national leadership to increase environmental literacy. Since the first appropriation in 1992, almost $100M has been spent to increase the public's awareness of environmental issues; nevertheless, the author believes that the Act is outdated and was not written to provide for systemic change. With the recently increased attention to global warming and climate change, many in the environmental education field believe that environmental education is a critical tool for engaging the public and that opportunities exist to increase resources. The author suggests that now may be the time to consider new environmental education legislation that is more systemic in nature and that provides substantive increases in funding for national-level grants, educator training, and research initiatives. The author also suggests broadening the scope of strategic-level conversati...

Policy Watch: The Family and Medical Leave Act

Abstract: President Clinton's first legislative action upon taking office in February 1993 was to sign the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The act is designed to "support families in their efforts to strike a workable balance between the competing demands of the workplace and the home" (Commission on Family and Medical Leave, 1996, p. xii). Most notably, the FMLA is the first federal law requiring some U.S. employers to offer maternity leave to women with qualifying employment histories. Prior to its enactment, the United States was virtually the only industrialized country that did not guarantee job-protected parental leave (Kamerman, 1991). During the recent presidential campaign, President Clinton proposed expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act by guaranteeing workers' rights to up to 24 hours per year off work to participate in their children's school activities or to accompany relatives to medical appointments or related professional services. Individuals would also have the option to earn flex-time for overtime work of up to 80 hours per year, to be used for any purpose including family leave. These extensions were strongly opposed by Senator Dole, as was the original FMLA by President Bush during his term of office. This article summarizes provisions of the FMLA, considers its possible effects on labor markets and examines resulting changes in the ability of workers to take leave. I conclude that the actual provisions of the act are quite modest and have neither yielded large benefits to workers nor imposed significant costs on employers. One reason for this is that relatively few workers gained significant new rights to time off work as a result of the law. These conclusions should be viewed as tentative given the brief period the FMLA has been in effect and the dearth of previous research on related legislation.

Modern Slavery in Supply Chains:A Secondary Data Analysis of Detection, Remediation, and Disclosure

Abstract: Purpose: To examine how organisations report on the detection and remediation of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains; and to understand their approaches to disclosing information in response to modern slavery legislation. Methodology: An analysis of secondary data based on the statements released in response to the 2015 UK Modern Slavery Act by 101 firms in the clothing and textiles sector. Findings: Many firms use the same practices to detect and remediate modern slavery as for other social issues. But the hidden, criminal nature of modern slavery and the involvement of third party labour agencies mean practices need to either be tailored or other more innovative approaches developed, including in collaboration with traditional and non-traditional actors. Although five broad types of disclosure are identified, there is substantial heterogeneity in the statements. It is posited however that firms will converge on a more homogenous set of responses over time. Research limitations: The study is limited to one industry, responses to UK legislation, and the information disclosed by focal firms only. Future research could expand the focus to include other industries, country contexts, and stakeholders. Practical implications: Managers must consider how their own firm’s behaviour contributes to the modern slavery threat, regulate both their stock and non-stock supply chains, and ensure modern slavery is elevated from the procurement function to the boardroom. In making disclosures, managers may trade-off the potential competitive gains of transparency against the threat of information leakage and reputational risk should their statements be falsified. They should also consider what signals their statements send back up the chain to (sub-)suppliers. Findings also have potential policy implications. Originality: The study expands our understanding of: (i) modern slavery from a supply chain perspective, e.g. identifying the importance of standard setting and risk avoidance; and, (ii) supply chain information disclosure in response to legislative demands. This is the first academic paper to examine the statements produced by organisations in response to the UK Modern Slavery Act.

Legislation and Maintenance of Public Order and Civil Life by Occupying Powers

Abstract: Article 43 of the 1907 Hague Regulations is a key provision of the law of belligerent occupation. This essay examines how it has been understood by states and scholars, how it was developed by the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and whether and how it was respected by the US and the UK during their recent occupation of Iraq. Under Article 43, an occupying power must restore and maintain public order and civil life, including public welfare, in an occupied territory. Local legislation and institutions based upon such legislation must be respected by an occupying power and by any local authorities acting under the global control of the occupying power. This general prohibition to change the local legislation also applies to post-conflict reconstruction efforts, including constitutional reforms, and changes of economic and social policies. The author examines the exceptions to the prohibition and assesses whether the widespread legislative activities by the occupying powers in Iraq fall under these exceptions. He then analyses the question of whether the law of military occupation ceased to apply in Iraq on 30 June 2004. It is also suggested that Article 43 applies to some peace operations and provides a useful framework even for those peace operations to which it does not formally apply.