http://hdl.handle.net/11320/22 2026-09-25T15:49:24Z 2026-09-25T15:49:24Z Szymanski, Charles http://hdl.handle.net/11320/21022 2026-09-15T08:31:59Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Tytuł: The Renaissance of the Right to Strike in the United States Inside and Outside of Traditional Labour Law Autorzy: Szymanski, Charles Abstrakt: The epithets on the grave of the American labour movement have long been written. Yet hope springs eternal. Recent developments, such as the Covid pandemic and the role of artificial intelligence in disrupting traditional work models, have prompted suggestions that labour unions may yet become reinvigorated and have a role in safeguarding worker rights in the face of these changes. This article examines these prospects, particularly through the lens of the strike and other forms of collective action. While traditional union activity – notwithstanding raised hopes – remains hamstrung by regressive US labour law and low prospects for legislative change, collective action in the wider sense does have potential to boost worker rights. Such action includes both lawful and unlawful strikes and protests in key sectors, by union and non-union employees, and even non-employees, such as independent contractors. The subject of these actions may even go beyond traditional employment concerns and include human rights. Potential obstacles under traditional labour law and antitrust law are not insurmountable.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Witoszko, Wioletta Ziółkowska, Krystyna http://hdl.handle.net/11320/21016 2026-09-15T07:21:30Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Tytuł: The Employment Status of a Person Performing Work through a Digital Platform Autorzy: Witoszko, Wioletta; Ziółkowska, Krystyna Abstrakt: Performing work through a digital platform is most often done on the basis of self-employment or a civil law contract. Doubts arise when there are elements characteristic of an employment relationship in work through a digital platform. Directive (EU) 2024/2831 introduces a mechanism for presuming an employment relationship on the basis of facts related to the actual performance of work, including how the work is performed and the degree of control and management exercised by the digital platform. The classification of the legal relationship does not depend on the name of the contract concluded between the parties but on the actual performance of the work. The platform has the right to challenge the legal presumption and show that the work is not related to an employment relationship.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Korycińska-Rządca, Paulina http://hdl.handle.net/11320/21009 2026-09-14T11:49:23Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Tytuł: Balancing Interests in Trade Secrets Protection under EU Law: A Human Rights and Freedoms Perspective Autorzy: Korycińska-Rządca, Paulina Abstrakt: This article examines the challenges in balancing employers’ and employees’ conflicting interests regarding trade secrets protection under EU Directive 2016/943. It analyses provisions of the Directive that may be relevant for such a balancing exercise and highlights the challenges associated with their application, particularly the problem of subjectivity. The study identifies key human rights and freedoms relevant in this context, including the right to privacy, freedom to conduct a business and freedom to choose an occupation. It explores EU Member States’ obligations to consider these rights when protecting trade secrets. The article proposes using a perspective on human rights and freedoms to facilitate the balancing exercise. To minimize subjectivity, it suggests the application of a structured balancing test for human rights conflicts as proposed by Smet. The article argues that this approach could support a judicious balance between employees’ and employers’ competing interests in cases of trade secrets protection.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Sakowska, Katarzyna Zapolska, Karolina http://hdl.handle.net/11320/21005 2026-09-14T10:46:32Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Tytuł: No-Poach Agreements and Wage-Fixing Practices: When Labour Market Collusion Becomes an Antitrust Issue Autorzy: Sakowska, Katarzyna; Zapolska, Karolina Abstrakt: This article analyses the growing role of labour markets in competition policy, arguing that collusion between employers – particularly no-poach agreements and wage-fixing practices – should be assessed with the same severity as classic cartels. Using a doctrinal and comparative approach, it presents the legal frameworks and enforcement trends in the United States, the European Union, and Poland. The text conceptualizes hiring as a market transaction in which employers act as buyers of labour and employees as its suppliers, and shows how no-poach and wage-fixing agreements distort mobility, reduce wages, and weaken workers’ bargaining power. It then discusses the convergences and divergences across jurisdictions: US authorities increasingly pursue criminal proceedings against ‘naked’ restraints; EU policy and case law tend to classify wage-fixing and many no-poach agreements as restrictions ‘by object’ (Article 101 TFEU); Polish practice adopts an effects-based approach. The article also addresses the issue of so-called ancillary restraints in the context of collaborations (e.g. franchising, joint ventures) and indicates when – if at all – recruitment bans may be considered objectively necessary and proportionate.

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