Charlotte Garden
Co-Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Associate Professor of Law
Curriculum VitaeBiography
Charlotte Garden is an expert in labor & employment law. She is an Associate Professor (with tenure) at the Seattle University School of Law, where she teaches Labor Law, Employment Law, Constitutional Law, Appellate Litigation, and Legislation & Regulation. She occasionally teaches in the Civil Rights Amicus Clinic and is the Litigation Director at the School's Korematsu Center for Law & Equality. Since 2017, she has been the Law School’s Co-Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Development.
Professor Garden’s scholarship focuses on the intersection of work/labor/technology and the Constitution. Her articles have appeared in the Emory Law Journal, Boston University Law Review, George Washington Law Review, Fordham Law Review, William & Mary Law Review, the University of Chicago Legal Forum, and the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. She is a co-author of two leading labor & employment law casebooks: Modern Labor Law in the Private and Public Sectors, with Seth Harris, Anne Marie Lofaso, Joe Slater, and Dick Griffin, Jr.; and Employment Law Cases and Materials, with Mark Rothstein, Lance Liebman, Kimberly Yuracko, and Paul Secunda. In 2019, Cambridge University Press will publish her edited volume, The Cambridge Handbook of U.S. Labor Law (co-edited with Rick Bales).
In addition to her teaching and scholarship, Professor Garden’s external service includes serving as Chair-Elect of the Executive Committee of the AALS Section on Labor Relations and Employment Law, and co-chairing a working group of the Clean Slate Project at Harvard Law School’s Labor & Worklife Program. She is a co-editor of the Work Law section for the online legal journal JOTWELL, a Senior Contributor to OnLabor, and a Contributor to Take Care. She regularly authors amicus briefs in cases affecting unions and workers, including in Janus v. AFSCME, Chamber of Commerce v. City of Seattle, Vergara v. California, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, and Harris v. Quinn.
Professor Garden regularly writes opinion and analysis pieces for practitioners and non-academic audiences. She regularly publishes case previews and argument/opinion analysis for SCOTUSblog, and her opinion pieces have appeared in outlets such as The Atlantic, NBCThink, and the blog of the American Constitution Society. Her legal analysis is regularly featured in the mainstream media, on platforms such as the New York Times, NPR, Bloomberg, the Washington Post, The Nation, and Politico.
Prior to joining Seattle University, Professor Garden was a teaching fellow in the Appellate Litigation Clinic at Georgetown University Law Center, where she also received her LL.M. Professor Garden then clerked for Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is graduate of NYU School of Law and McGill University.
Publications
Avoidance Creep (in progress)
Speech Inequality – IND. L.J. – (in progress)
The Seattle Solution: Collective Bargaining by For-Hire Drivers & Prospects for Pro-Labor Federalism, HARV. L. & POL'Y REV. (2018)
Disrupting Work Law: Disrupting Work Law: Arbitration in the Gig Economy , 2017 CHI. L. FORUM (2018).
The Deregulatory First Amendment at Work, 51 HARV. C.R.-C.L. L. REV. 323 (2016).
Religious Employers & Labor Law: Bargaining in Good Faith?, 95 B.U. L. REV. 109 (2016)
Toward Politically Stable NLRB Lawmaking: Rulemaking vs. Adjudication, 64 EMORY L.J. 1467 (2015).
Meta Rights, 83 FORDHAM L. REV. 855 (2014)
Selected for peer review in JOTWELL, available at
http://worklaw.jotwell.com/putting-union-security-clause-first-amendment-law-in-a-broader-context-charlotte-gardens-meta-rights/
Citizens United & the First Amendment of Labor Law,43 STETSON L. REV. 571 (2014).
Unions & Campaign Finance Litigation, 14 NEVADA L.J. 364 (2014).
"So Closely Intertwined": Labor Interests and Racial Solidarity, 81 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1135 (2013) (with Nancy Leong).
Union Made: Labor's Litigation for Social Change, 88 TULANE L. REV. 193 (2013).
Teaching for America: Unions and Academic Freedom, 43 U. TOL. L. REV. 563 (2012).
Citizens, United and Citizens United: The Future of Labor Speech Rights?, 53 WM. & MARY L. REV. 1 (2011). Selected for peer review in JOTWELL, available at
http://worklaw.jotwell.com/2012/04/.
Labor Values are First Amendment Values: Why Union Comprehensive Campaigns are Protected Speech,
79 FORDHAM L. REV. 2617 (2011).
Cited in Cox et al., LABOR LAW, 572 (15th ed. 2011).
Recent Activity
In the News
Scabby the Rat Is Under Attack—And Needs Our HelpMay 16, 2019 | In These Times
Professor Charlotte Garden says the U.S. Supreme Court has reliably protected activities like picketing.
Labor Law Safeguards for Worker Lawsuits Imperiled at NLRBMay 14, 2019 | Bloomberg Law
Professor Charlotte Garden explains how the National Labor Relations Act protects workers from employer retaliation.
Uber and the doublespeak at the heart of Silicon ValleyMay 10, 2019 | Fast Company
Professor Charlotte Garden says federal labor law isn't affected by how states classify drivers.
Uber's Arbitration Addiction Could Be Death by 60,000 CutsMay 08, 2019 | Bloomberg
Professor Charlotte Garden says Uber might cry uncle on negotiating with individual drivers.
Uber, Lyft Driver Strike Could Set Off Misclassification MinefieldMay 08, 2019 | Law.com
Professor Charlotte Garden says employees are allowed to strike, but not independent contractors.
Bonney Lake Walmart's robot zips along in tech revolution that's raising big questions for workersMay 06, 2019 | The Seattle Times
Professor Charlotte Garden says unions are even more vital as robots transform jobs done by humans.
Opinion analysis: The meaning of consent to class arbitrationApril 25, 2019 | SCOTUSblog
Professor Charlotte Garden analyzes the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lamps Plus v. Varela.
Seattle Labor Unions Then and NowMarch 26, 2019 | Seattle Met
Professor Charlotte Garden offers observations on the current state of labor organizing in Seattle.
Franchisers Ask EEOC for Anti-Harassment Guidance Post #MeTooMarch 22, 2019 | Bloomberg
Professor Charlotte Garden says franchisers want to avoid joint employer liability when dealing with franchisees’ anti-harassment policies.
Dozens of Class Actions Build on Supreme Court's 'Janus' Union RulingMarch 14, 2019 | The National Law Journal
Refunds of dues would be an existential threat to unions, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
Uber to Pay $20 Million to Settle Driver Classification SuitMarch 12, 2019 | Bloomberg
Professor Charlotte Garden says the settlement is reasonable but doesn't resolve driver status.
Someone's Going to Get Killed Charging Those E-ScootersMarch 12, 2019 | VICE
Professor Charlotte Garden says workers need companies to create better working conditions.
Google Will Stop Making Employees Waive Class Action RightsFebruary 21, 2019 | Bloomberg
Professor Charlotte Garden says the company's move is a "major step forward."
Amazon Workers Are Denouncing Unions by Using Suspiciously Similar Tweets, but It's Apparently Not CoordinatedFebruary 06, 2019 | Slate
Professor Charlotte Garden says recruiting anti-union Twitter ambassadors would violate labor law.
America's Teachers Are FuriousJanuary 22, 2019 | The Atlantic
Professor Charlotte Garden says the L.A. teachers' strike could be a pivotal moment in modern labor activism.
Death to Scabby: Trump Labor Counsel Wants Protest Icon DeflatedJanuary 22, 2019 | Bloomberg
Scabby the giant inflatable rat has a venerable history in the labor movement, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
McDonald's Franchisees See Strength in Numbers; Some See a UnionDecember 04, 2018 | Bloomberg Law
Franchise operators want to organize but oppose workers' ability to do the same thing, Professor Charlotte Garden says.
Anecdotal Evidence for 'Joint Employment' Rule May Not Be EnoughNovember 15, 2018 | Bloomberg
Professor Charlotte Garden expects dueling analyses as employers and workers debate the rule.
Opinion analysis: Federal age-discrimination law applies to all public employeesNovember 06, 2018 | SCOTUSblog
Professor Charlotte Garden analyzes an age discrimination ruling, the first decision of the Supreme Court's 2018-19 session.
Argument analysis: The familiar divide in arbitration cases re-emergesOctober 30, 2018 | SCOTUSblog
Professor Charlotte Garden analyzes oral arguments in a case heard at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Washington Supreme Court Rules That Charter Schools Are ConstitutionalOctober 25, 2018 | KNKX
Professor Charlotte Garden comments on the collective bargaining rights of charter school employees.
Arbitration Day at Supreme Court: Will 'Super Statute' Prevail?October 25, 2018 | Bloomberg
Professor Charlotte Garden previews two arbitration cases pending at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Argument preview: How should courts decide if parties to an arbitration contract may aggregate their claims?October 22, 2018 | SCOTUSblog
Professor Charlotte Garden previews an arbitration case at the Supreme Court this term.
9 law experts on what Brett Kavanaugh means for the future of AmericaOctober 09, 2018 | KUOW
Professors Andrew Siegel, Charlotte Garden, and others weigh in on what Justice Brett Kavanaugh means for the Supreme Court.
Argument analysis: "A strange statute that was written in a strange way"October 02, 2018 | SCOTUSblog
Professor Charlotte Garden analyzes oral arguments in an age discrimination case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Joint Employment Test's Bark May Be Worse Than Its BiteOctober 02, 2018 | Bloomberg
Franchise businesses have the most to lose, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
Uber Drivers Suing for Better Pay Lose Critical Court RulingSeptember 25, 2018 | Bloomberg
A changing legal landscape means the case is far from over, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
Four Reasons Brett Kavanaugh Is Scary That Go Way Beyond AbortionSeptember 10, 2018 | VICE
SCOTUS nominee sees the law through employers' eyes, not employees' eyes, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
Judge Kavanaugh on work lawAugust 16, 2018 | SCOTUSblog
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh tends to defer to employers in his work-law rulings, writes Professor Charlotte Garden.
Inconsistent Views on Waiving Rights in EmploymentJuly 26, 2018 | The Regulatory Review
Professor Charlotte Garden says individual arbitration clauses are harmful to workers.
Black Cities in Red States Win Key Victory in Minimum Wage FightJuly 25, 2018 | Bloomberg Quint
Professor Charlotte Garden says it's difficult to prove that a legislature acted with racial animus.
10 Questions Judge Kavanaugh Should AnswerJuly 11, 2018 | The Nation
Professor Charlotte Garden offers a theoretical question for Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing.
For 60 Years, This Powerful Conservative Group Has Worked to Crush LaborJuly 05, 2018 | The Nation
Professor Charlotte Garden speculates that exclusive representation could be the next casualty in the war against unions.
After Janus, the country's largest public-sector union takes stock of its movementJuly 05, 2018 | The Intercept
Professor Charlotte Garden speculates on other targets the "right to work" organizations might go after.
California judge rules against class-action status in Twitter gender bias caseJuly 03, 2018 | The Seattle Times
This ruling is not the end of the case, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
The Deregulatory First Amendment Strikes BackJuly 03, 2018 | Shall Take Care
Professor Charlotte Garden kicks off a roundtable discussion with analysis of recent court rulings.
Twitter Beats Back Group-Bias Lawsuit by Female EngineerJuly 03, 2018 | Bloomberg
The case could continue without class-action status, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
How A New Supreme Court Justice May Affect Cases Filed By Washington's Attorney GeneralJuly 02, 2018 | KNKX
Professor Charlotte Garden says the new high court is more likely to lean right and support Trump.
Union-hating billionaires bankrolled caseJuly 02, 2018 | New York Teacher
Janus case is the "latest salvo" in long fight against unions, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
Belabored Podcast #154: After Janus, with Charlotte GardenJune 29, 2018 | Dissent
Professor Charlotte Garden anticipates fallout from the Supreme Courts union fees decision.
Life after JanusJune 28, 2018 | Politico
No workers will pay union fees unless they want to, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
This Supreme Court made it easier for conservatives to win First Amendment claims, but harder for liberalsJune 28, 2018 | NBC News Think
Recent rulings protect some speakers and forms of speech over others, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
How the Supreme Court's Latest Ruling Could Decimate Public Sector UnionsJune 27, 2018 | Mother Jones
Professor Charlotte Garden says anti-union groups have been litigating toward this goal since the 1950s.
Judge blocks effort to expand Microsoft gender-bias case to thousands of womenJune 25, 2018 | The Seattle Times
Plaintiffs will likely appeal class action ruling, says Professor Charlotte Garden.
What the Supreme Court decision means for workers — especially if you work at a private companyMay 22, 2018 | Mic
Professor Charlotte Garden says many worker claims are too small to fight in court individually.