Publication Date
2-2024
Abstract
Robust retaliation protections are an essential component of any effective enforcement regime. Recognizing this, Congress has included a provision prohibiting retaliation in nearly every workplace statute passed in the past century. In statutes more than a century old, like the Civil Rights Act of 1866, where Congress neglected to include an explicit anti-retaliation provision in the statutory language, the Supreme Court has found an implied proscription against retributory behavior. Anti-retaliation protections are undoubtedly integral to effective enforcement. However, they have an equally important counterpart that is often overlooked in compliance discussions-interference protections.
Several workplace statutes contain interference provisions-statutory language that makes it unlawful for employers to interfere with the substantive rights created by the statute. However, interference clauses are much less common than retaliation clauses. Compared to retaliation clauses, interference clauses appear to be a stronger mechanism for enforcing the regulatory scheme Congress has created for labor and employment laws. They enjoy broader judicial interpretation and have an analytical framework that makes it easier for employees to successfully prove employer misconduct given the information asymmetries that exist between companies and their employees.
This Article explores the origins of interference theory and investigates the presence of interference clauses in some statutes and their absence in others. It argues that, like they have interpreted retaliation proscriptions, the courts should interpret workplace statutes as containing implied interference prohibitions, as protections against interference with workplace rights is an essential component of compliance with any regulatory intervention. The Article further argues that Congress can broaden protections for employees, strengthen enforcement, and better support the goal of the statutory regimes by expressly including interference clauses in all workplace statutes.
Recommended Citation
Daiquiri J. Steele, Integrating Interference Theory, 104 B.U. L. Rev. 185 (2024).