“Economic Reality” – A Perpetual State of Confusion

by Lance H. Delrie

Introduction

Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938 to combat “labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers.”[1] The Act established minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor standards that affect full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments.[2] The FLSA also established an enforcement arm—the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor (DOL).[3] Courts have long viewed the FLSA as congressional action to “protect the rights of those who toil [and] who sacrifice a full measure of their freedom and talents to the use and profit of others.”[4] On January 10, 2024, the DOL issued a final rule titled “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” (Current Independent Contractor Rule) that governs the classification of workers as employees or independent contractors under the FLSA. [5] This rule became effective on March 11, 2024 and replaced its 2021 predecessor.[6] Continue reading

Junior Associates Selected for Publication in Volume 85 Announced!

The Louisiana Law Review Volume 84 Board of Editors is proud to announce the Junior Associates selected for publication in Volume 85. The decision process was extremely difficult this year because of the number of well-written student pieces.

Ashton Austin – From Property Rights to Human Rights: Combating Forced Partition in Louisiana with the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act

 

Kris Bromley – From Likes to Rights: A Call to Protect and Compensate Child Stars of Monetized Social Media Accounts with the Louisiana Child Performer Trust Act

 

Patrick Calhoun – Judicial Jackpots: Investing in Lawsuits and Regulation of Litigation Finance

 

Graham Core – Louisiana, the Potential Safe-Haven for Creators of Artificial Intelligence: Louisiana’s Response to Thaler v. Perlmutter

 

Kaleb Delatte – Part Time One Percenters: The Constitutionality of Louisiana’s Justice of the Peace Fee System

 

Aidan Doughty – The Bermuda Triangle of Workplace Injuries: Analyzing Personal Injury Remedies for Offshore Wind Energy Workers on the Outer Continental Shelf

 

Jack Ducote ­– Stop the Cap: A Constitutional Examination of the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act’s Cap on Damages

 

Madelyn Graves – Risky Business: Should Louisiana Adopt a Jurisdictional Consent Statute After Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.?

 

Blaine Jacob ­– The Business of Baseball: MiLB’s Decision to Unionize Reintroduces the Need to Eliminate Baseball’s Historic Antitrust Exemption

 

Nathan Jagot ­– The Calm After the Storm: The Louisiana Electric Utility Storm Recovery Securitization Act and Its Effect on Future Storm Recovery

 

Gabriella Leccese – Can Commentary Command Courtroom Clout?: The Court’s Deference to Commentary to the United States Sentencing Guidelines in a Post-Kisor World

 

Caleb O’Connell – Exorcising the Devil’s Proof: Evaluating Louisiana’s Latest Revisions on Real Actions

 

Tara Roussel – Give SCOTUS’s Code of Conduct Teeth: Reviving Impeachment to Enforce the United States Supreme Court’s Code of Conduct

 

Sarah Szwak – A “Person”al Call to Congress: An Examination of Governmental Immunity in the Fair Credit Reporting Act

 

Susannah Theus – U.S. Copyright Law is Fashionably Late to Regulating IP Compliance in the Fashion Industry

 

Will Wood – School Walls or Church Halls? Navigating Religion in Louisiana’s Classrooms

Louisiana Law Review Volume 85 Board Announced!

The Louisiana Law Review Volume 84 Board of Editors is proud to announce the Junior Associates selected to serve on the Volume 85 Board of Editors. The Volume 84 Board received excellent candidates for the Volume 85 Board, and we thank everyone who applied. Serving on the Louisiana Law Review Board of Editors is an incredible honor, and we wish the best of luck to the Volume 85 Board!

 

Editor-in-Chief

Tara Roussel

 

Managing Editor

Aidan Doughty

 

Articles Editors

Kaleb Delatte

Morgan Pilcher

 

Production Editors

Kenli Conyers

Gabriella Leccese

 

Online Editor

Ashton Austin

 

Executive Senior Editor

Susannah Theus

 

Senior Editors

Grace Bordelon

Graham Core

Blaine Jacob

Nathan Jagot

Thomas Mackie

Volume 84, Issue 2

Articles

Morg-[th]an one testament? Louisiana law requires a true duplicate to probate

by Matthew P. Clark

Louisiana law imposes strict formalities on the creation of a last will and testament, which often results in litigation over whether the testator sufficiently complied with Louisiana law when making his or her testament. There are two types of testaments in Louisiana—olographic and notarial.[1] Generally, an olographic testament is one that is entirely written, dated, and signed in the testator’s handwriting.[2] For a notarial testament, the testator must be able to read and physically sign his or her name; the testament must be written, dated, and signed at the end of the testament and on each other separate page in the presence of a notary and two competent witnesses; the testator must declare that the instrument is his testament; and the testament must contain a proper attestation clause acknowledging that the form requirements have been met.[3] If the formalities for an olographic or notarial testament are not met, the testament is absolutely null, meaning it can have no effect.[4] Continue reading