ABSTRACT
Wh at does the law have to do with work/life scholarship and activism? This chapter examines existing laws related to work and family conftict, discusses the legal issues that have arisen in the courts as a result of workers suing their employers, and details the underlying process of stereotyping that can turn employer actions against workers with family or caregiver confticts into litigable (and increasingly, winnable) court cases. We conclude with a discussion of how new and existing labor laws hurt or help ease work/family confticts, and how litigation and public policy-making can be used in conjunction with the business case to make American workplaces more family-friendly.
