中美劳动者保护立法的模式比较及思考

美国与我国的法律制度都强调保障劳动者的权利,限制雇主滥用其支配地位.但是两者侧重点有所不同,美国在实行雇佣自由的同时强调禁止雇佣歧视;而我国则强调提高解雇保护以稳定劳动关系.相比之下,美国的法律制度更有利于劳动关系和谐.我国今后立法可以借鉴美国当前法律制度,在加强反歧视立法的同时放宽解雇保护.     

我国反就业歧视法制建设初探

就业歧视是对公民平等就业权的严重侵害.就业歧视现象在我国的广泛存在已经成为不争的事实,但反就业歧视目前在我国尚欠缺完善的立法规制.本文指出明确就业歧视的法律界定,立足立法现状,完善我国反就业歧视法律制度是禁止就业歧视的关键所在.     

英国反就业歧视制度及实践研究

英国习惯法并不禁止歧视行为,但随着英国加入各种国际组织及国内平权运动的高涨,在20世纪70年代后,英国对于禁止性别、残疾、年龄等制定了大量的法律。当前英国反就业歧视的法律渊源主要包括:欧盟立法和专门性法律。这些法律中就有关就业歧视的违法行为进行了详尽和周密的规定,包括直接歧视、间接歧视、骚扰和受害等四种歧视形态,禁止在雇佣关系中各个阶段的任何歧视。为了有效地防止就业歧视,英国依据《平等法》成立了人权与平等机会委员会。平等机会委员会在应对英国社会中相对突出的就业歧视问题扮演了重要角色。     

论我国反就业歧视法律制度的完善

当前,我国就业平等的观念相当匮乏,现实生活中的就业歧视现象比比皆是：性别歧视、户籍歧视、健康歧视、身高歧视、相貌歧视……民众的生存之道是谋生,而谋生的手段就是就业。关注就业就是关注民生,禁止就业歧视就是维护民众的生存之道。我国建立和完善反就业歧视法律制度,符合我国人民大众的根本利益,符合世界有关反就业歧视的趋势。本文通过比较和借鉴荷兰、加拿大、日本等国家及我国香港地区反就业歧视的经验,分析我国反就业歧视现行立法和实施过程中存在的问题,就我国反就业歧视法律制度的完善提出相应的对策和建议。     

论“基因歧视”现象引发的法学课题——“基因歧视”法律问题专题研究之一

以"人类基因组计划"为标志的基因科技正在迅猛发展,"基因检测"技术也已投入临床应用.但基因科技的负面社会影响也随之产生欧美等国在保险市场、就业市场等领域,出现了保险公司和雇主要求投保人或申请人提供基因信息,并对那些具有基因缺陷、有可能在未来患上疾病的投保人或申请人提高保费、拒绝承保或不予录用的现象,被称之为"基因歧视".虽然"基因歧视"现象引起了世界各国的广泛关注、相应的立法不断出现,但与"基因歧视"有关的一系列基本理论问题尚未得到研究和解决.本文提出应当对"基因歧视"的概念、法律应当禁止的"基因歧视"的范围、构成"歧视"的行为性质、立法的基本策略和方法等课题进行研究,以期为立法提供理论指引.     

我国反就业歧视法律规控研究

就业歧视现象在我国普遍存在,而反就业歧视法制相当落后。就业歧视的本质特征是没有正当理由的差别对待,法律禁止就业歧视的主要目的是保障平等就业权并实现社会正义。在市场化就业背景下,反就业歧视必须正确处理用工自主权与平等就业权这对“轴心”权利的相互关系。我国应当以正面赋予劳动者平等就业权作为反就业歧视的权利基础,以准确界定就业歧视作为反就业歧视的中心任务,从立法、执法和司法三个层面逐步建立健全我国反就业歧视的法律规控体系。     

英国反就业歧视法与我国立法之完善

当前我国存在许多就业歧视现象,应通过立法禁止就业歧视并为受害人提供救济。英国建立了较为完善的反就业歧视制度。我国应借鉴英国立法,在《劳动法》和《就业促进法》之外,制定单独的《反就业歧视法》,规定禁止歧视的事由、保护范围、各种歧视的方式和判断标准、被告的抗辩事由、举证责任的分配和受害人的救济等内容,以保护劳动者的平等就业权和公民的平等权。     

我国就业中年龄歧视的实证研究——以1995～2005年上海和成都两市30万份招聘广告为例

就业中的年龄不属被劳动法禁止的歧视种类。据对1995年我国《劳动法》施行到2005年这11年期间30万份报刊广告招聘条件的统计,用人单位录用劳动者主要集中在35岁以下,40岁以上普遍受到用人单位的差别排斥。年龄歧视成为劳动法规定的平等就业与现实差距最大的一个现象。用人单位对劳动者实行不合理的年龄差别,严重限制、剥夺并影响到劳动者平等就业权利的实现。消除这个普遍的、严重的歧视种类:一方面可以在制定劳动就业促进法中增加禁止年龄歧视的种类,另一方面可以考虑在制定反歧视法中明确把年龄歧视作为法律禁止的歧视类型。     

美国反就业歧视法规则及其对我国的启示

美国拥有较完善的反就业歧视法律和制度,其中有不少值得思考借鉴之处。本文从禁止歧视的形态、禁止歧视的理由、救济方式、许可、法律机构等各个角度简要介绍美国的反就业歧视法规则并探讨对我国的启示。我国社会对就业歧视现象已发展到不容忽视的地步,借鉴美国的有关法律规则,结合我国的国情,我们应该尽早制定出中国的比较完善的反就业歧视法。     

劳动权的平等保护及禁止就业歧视的法律思考

目前我国社会就业歧视现象愈演愈烈,劳动权作为公民的基本权利之一,其内在包含的就业平等权要求禁止就业歧视,因此禁止就业歧视是劳动权的题中之义。本文将以劳动权的平等保护为出发点,界定就业歧视的概念和主要表现形式,论述禁止就业歧视的必要性。我国禁止就业歧视的相关立法存在不足,应从立法、执法、司法三方面完善禁止就业歧视、维护劳动者的就业平等权的法律保障。     

State legislative approaches to regulating the use of genetic information

As genetic testing becomes more prevalent and the uses for genetic information multiply, we are likely to witness more demand for comprehensive state legislation on the order of the Oregon law regulating the procedures for obtaining and using genetic information. In addition, the United States Senate has expressed an interest in the subject. The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee reportedly agreed on August 2, 1995 to include in a health insurance reform bill (S. 1028) language prohibiting health plans from using genetic information when determining eligibility, continuation, enrollment, or contribution requirements. 4 BNA's Health Law Rep. at 1218 (Aug. 10, 1995). Insurance companies continue to maintain that genetic test results are simply another factor that should rightfully be used during underwriting, much as age, medical history, and physical examinations are routinely used today. Right to privacy advocates argue that genetic testing provides employers and insurance companies with too much information and offers a great potential for discrimination. As more states wrestle with this issue, these competing interests are likely to be debated in public forums throughout the country.     

Legal Intermediaries: How Insurance Companies Construct the Meaning of Compliance with Antidiscrimination Laws

Existing empirical research suggests that human resource officials, managers, and in‐house counsel influence the meaning of antidiscrimination law by communicating an altered ideology of what civil rights laws mean that is colored with managerial values. This article explores how insurance companies play a critical and, as yet, unrecognized role in mediating the meaning of antidiscrimination law through Employment Practice Liability Insurance (EPLI). My analysis draws from, links, and contributes to two literatures that examine organizational behavior in different ways: new institutional organizational sociology studies of how organizations respond to legal regulation and sociolegal insurance scholars' research on how institutions govern through risk. Through participant observation at EPLI conferences, interviews, and content analysis of insurance loss prevention manuals, my study bridges these two literatures and highlights how the insurance field uses a risk‐based logic to construct the threat of employment law and influence the form of compliance from employers. Faced with uncertain legal risk concerning potential discrimination violations, insurance institutions elevate the risk and threat in the legal environment and offer EPLI and a series of risk‐management services that build discretion into legal rules and mediate the nature of civil rights compliance. My data suggest that insurance risk‐management services may sometimes be compatible with civil rights goals of improving equality, due process, and fair governance in workplace settings, but at other times may simply make discrimination claims against employers more defensible.     

Genetic discrimination: the use of genetically based diagnostic and prognostic tests by employers and insurers

Genetic discrimination is detrimental to public health programs, as well as to society generally. Advances in genetic testing and screening, accelerated and prompted by the Human Genome Initiative, increase society's ability to detect and monitor chromosomal differences. These technologies and their resulting genomic data will enhance medical science, but may also encourage discrimination. Although few employers or insurers currently utilize genetic screening, testing or data, rising employee benefit costs and market forces create powerful incentives for usage. Current municipal, state and federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), may not sufficiently protect employees and insureds from genetic discrimination. While municipal and state protections should not be overlooked, the ADA's sweeping scope may currently provide the most comprehensive safeguard. Federal laws banning discrimination on the basis of race or sex might also successfully redress some forms of genetic discrimination. Genetic technologies' advent necessitates efforts to rectify state and federal statutory coverage gaps, strictly regulate employers and produce comprehensive guidelines regarding its use.     

Are insurance companies liable under the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Federal courts have split on the question of the applicability of the Americans with Disabilities Act to insurance coverage decisions that insurance companies make on the basis of disability; they have similarly split on other issues pertaining to the scope of that Act's application. In deciding whether to read the Act as prohibiting discrimination in insurance decisions that are often crucial in the lives of people with disabilities, courts have faced two problems. First, where it prohibits discrimination in the equal enjoyment of the goods and services of places of public accommodation, the Act's area of concern may be limited to the ability of people with disabilities to gain physical access to facilities; or that area may extend to all forms of disability-based discrimination in the provision of goods and services. This Comment argues that the language and legislative history of the Act are consistent only with the latter view. Second, the provision limiting the Act's applicability to insurance may create an exemption for all insurance decisions; or it may protect only the ability of an insurance company to make an insurance decision to the disadvantage of an insured with a disability where actuarial data support the decision. This comment argues that the ambiguous language of the limiting provision should be resolved in favor of the latter view. Legislative history and the broader background of the history of insurance discrimination law support this resolution. Consequently, the Act should be interpreted as prohibiting disability-based discrimination by insurance companies in selling insurance policies and as defining discrimination as making disability-based insurance decisions without the support of actuarial data. By accepting this interpretation, courts can help stop the pattern of judicial narrowing of the Act's application through inappropriately restrictive statutory construction.     

平等保护请求权研究

平等保护请求权是一种公法上的请求权 ,是公民在遭受公权力的不公平对待后请求公法救济的基本权利 ,平等保护机制正是以此为基础而建立的。我国尚未承认公民广泛的平等保护请求权 ,因而受限于狭隘的行政诉讼范围 ,以致大量的公权力“歧视现象”无法通过法律途径加以解决 ,公民权利无法获得法律的平等保护。面对制度缺漏与问题叠出的困境 ,我国应以公民的平等保护请求权为基础 ,以立法机关的违宪审查与司法机关的行政诉讼制度为主要载体 ,建构符合我国法律体制的平等保护机制     

Genetic Information and the Challenge to Privacy

Genetic screening and testing techniques provide a new and powerful diagnostic tool for the acquisition of predictive information. The potential value of such diagnostic techniques cannot be overstated. Genetic diagnostic tests pave the way for the development of gene therapy techniques which may provide remedies for diseases previously considered untreatable. There are clearly tremendous opportunities for improving the quality of life of those who suffer from genetic disorders as well as opportunities for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to swell their profits. A complex of pressures and tensions is currently developing around the use of genetic technology for therapeutic purposes in human beings. This paper considers only one element of this complex and dynamic situation, that of the regulatory climate surrounding the use of genetic screening in Europe. If, as many pharmaceutical companies concede, the key to the development of successful gene therapy products is the freedom to use genotyping and genetic screening without significant legal restriction, then the regulatory climate has a crucial significance for the future of this technology. It emerges, however, that there are other interests at stake apart from just those of the patients and the pharmaceutical companies. Insurance companies and employers are also highly interested in the acquisition and use of genetic information. There are arguments both for and against permitting such entities to use or request genetic testing and screening which shall be traversed in the body of the paper. However, the interest of insurance companies and employers in genetic information has stimulated a countercurrent of public pressure for restrictions on the use that can be made of genetic diagnostic information. In a number of countries, this pressure has generated enough concern to stimulate legislatures to seek to enact laws that curtail the use and acquisition of genetic information. This pattern has clearly emerged in the United States and there are strong indications that similar trends are developing in Europe. This article catalogues and critiques the laws and regulations currently affecting genetic screening and testing in Europe.     

Equal employment opportunity and female employment in police agencies

One of the most significant developments in public personnel administration in the past decade has been imposition of the equal employment opportunity mandate. Of special importance to the traditionally male police profession is the requirement that all aspects of public service be open to women. This article discusses the application of equal employment opportunity law to women in policing. It outlines the two major theories of discrimination and then illustrates forms of discrimination against women in law enforcement agencies which have received judicial attention.     

Implications of genetic testing: discrimination in life insurance and future directions

This article examines the possibility of genetic discrimination in life insurance and discusses the inability of current Australian legislation to deal adequately with genetic test result information. Genetic information has certain features that distinguish it from other medical information and thus a specialist legislative package is required to regulate its use. This article outlines how current practices in the life insurance industry are inconsistent with notions of human rights. Several legislative options are suggested and examined. Given the negative and damaging impact that adverse selection is likely to have on the life insurance industry should the use of all genetic test results be prohibited, an approach which modifies the current regime is recommended. This includes a comprehensive review scheme and the introduction of additional insurance products tailored to individuals suffering from various genetic illnesses or predispositions to future disease.     

论遗嘱自由之限制:立法干预的正当性及其路径

从平衡遗嘱人意愿与其近亲属利益、否定歧视妇女的传统、维护社会公序良俗、保护社会公平等考虑,均有必要找到遗嘱自由的"恰当底线"。在域外继承法中,无论大陆法或英美法传统的国家和地区,普遍采取措施对遗嘱自由进行一定限制。我国现行《继承法》却对遗嘱处分无所限制,仅必留份除外。该种过度信赖遗嘱人自治的立法,与财产继承法自身承担的职责不符。改革开放以来,遗产分配争议明显增多,与现行遗嘱继承立法不足有直接关系。我国遗嘱继承立法宜借鉴域外继承法经验,对遗嘱处分实施适当的限制,引入结婚导致婚前所立遗嘱无效、特留份制,限制遗嘱处分婚姻居所等,以保护被继承人近亲属的应得继承份额。