University of Minnesota, B.A.
University of Minnesota, J.D.
Professor Stephen Befort is a national authority on labor and employment law. He teaches courses in labor law, employment law, employment discrimination, public employment, comparative labor and employment, and disability in the workplace. Professor Befort served as Director of the Law School's Clinic program from 1982 to 2003 and as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2000 to 2004.
He was the Julius E. Davis Professor of Law for 1993-94 and was appointed to the Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty, & Bennett Professorship in Law in 2003. Professor Befort has authored six books and more than 60 articles, book chapters, and published papers on labor and employment subjects.
Professor Befort received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated, magna cum laude, from the Law School. After receiving his law degree in 1974, Professor Befort became a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. As a member of the Solicitor General's Office specializing in labor law, he was legal counsel to the Public Employment Relations Board and to the Bureau of Mediation Services. In 1979, he became the Principal Assistant Ramsey County Attorney and served as chief legal counsel to the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners. He has appeared as counsel of record in numerous court proceedings, including 20 cases before the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Professor Befort joined the University of Minnesota Law School faculty in 1982. He was honored with the Stanley V. Kinyon Teaching and Counseling Award in both 1993 and 2008 and with the Fesler Research Fellowship in 1997. In 2008, he also received the Minnesota Justice Foundation Outstanding Service Award in the Law Professor category. In addition to teaching at the Law School, Professor Befort frequently lectures on labor and employment law issues. He also serves as a labor arbitrator on both federal and state rosters and has issued more than 180 written decisions.
He was elected to the National Academy of Arbitrators in 2004 and currently serves as a co-editor of the Academy's annually published Proceedings. Professor Befort is past Chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section and serves as a member of the MSBA Legal Assistance to the Disadvantaged Committee. In 2002, he was elected to serve as Secretary of the American Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Section. He is currently a member of the executive board for the International Society of Labor Law and Social Security and a member of the Labor Law Group.
Invisible Hands, Invisible Objectives: Bringing Workplace Law and Public Policy into Focus (forthcoming Stanford University Press 2009) (with John W. Budd).
Arbitration 2007: Workplace Justice in a Changing Environment: The Sixtieth Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Arbitrators (BNA 2008) (with Patrick Halter, eds).
Arbitration 2006: Taking Stock in a New Century: Proceedings of the Fifty-Ninth Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Arbitrators (BNA 2007) (with Paul Gerhart, eds).
Arbitration 2005: The Evolving World of Work: Proceedings of the Fifty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Arbitrators (BNA 2006) (with Paul Gerhart, eds.).
Employment Law and Practice (2nd ed. West Group 2003) & Supp. 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009.
Employment Law and Practice (West Publishing 1995) (with Karen Schanfield) & Supps. 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 (with Richard Gillman).
Articles
Pre-employment Screening and Investigation: Navigating Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Proceedings of New York University Annual Conference of Labor (forthcoming 2009).
Within the Grasp of the Cat's Paw: Delineating the Scope of Subordinate Bias Liability Under Federal Anti-Discrimination Statutes, 60 S.C. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2009) (with Alison Olig).
How and Why Labor Arbitrators Decide Discipline and Discharge Cases: An Empirical Examination, Proceedings of the Sixtieth Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Arbitrators (BNA 2008) (with Laura Cooper and Mario Bognanno).
The Perfect Storm of Retirement Insecurity: Fixing the Three-Legged Stool of Social Security, Pensions, and Personal Savings, 91 Minn. L. Rev. 938 (2007).
The Regulatory Void of Contingent Work, 10 Emp. Rts. & Emp. Pol'y J. (2006).
When Quitting is Fitting: The Need for a Reformulated Sexual Harassment/Constructive Discharge Standard in the Wake of Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders, 66 Ohio St. L. J. (2006) (with Sarah J. Gorajski).
The Story of Sutton v. United Airlines, Inc.: Narrowing the Reach of the Americans with Disabilities Act, in Employment Discrimination Stories 329 (Foundation Press 2006).
A Reprise of a Classic: Gorman & Finkin's Basic Text on Labor Law: Unionization and Collective Bargaining, 7 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 1031 (2005).
Accommodation at Work: Lessons from the Americans with Disabilities Act and Possibilities for Alleviating the American Worker Time Crunch, 12 Cornell J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 615 (2005).
The Labor and Employment Law Decisions of the Supreme Court's 2003-04 Term, 21 Lab. Law. 177 (2004).
Employment Discrimination Remedies and Tax Gross Ups, 90 Iowa L. Rev. 67 (2004) (with Gregg Polsky), reprinted in Digest of Tax Articles 1 (July 2005).
A New Voice for the Workplace: A Proposal for an American Works Councils Act, 69 Mo. L. Rev. 607 (2004).
At the Cutting Edge of Labor Law Preemption: A Critique of Chamber of Commerce v. Lockyer, 20 Lab. Law. 107 (2004) (with Bryan Smith).
Reasonable Accommodation and Reassignment Under the Americans with Disabilities Act: Answers, Questions, and Suggested Solutions After U.S. Airways, Inc. v. Barnett, 45 Ariz. L. Rev. 931 (2003).
Revisiting the Black Hole of Workplace Regulation: A Historical and Comparative Perspective of Contingent Work, 24 Berkeley J. Emp. & Lab. L. 153 (2003).
The Most Difficult ADA Reasonable Accommodation Issues: Reassignment and Leave of Absence, 37 Wake Forest L. Rev. 439 (2002).
Labor and Employment Law at the Millennium: A Historical Review and Critical Assessment, 43 Boston Col. L. Rev. 351 (2002).
Employment Agreements Requiring the Arbitration of Statutory Claims, ADR Institute § 9 (Minnesota CLE 2001)
The Most Difficult Reasonable Accommodation Issues Under the Americans with Disabilities Act: Reassignment and Leaves, I Employment Law Handbook § 25 (Minnesota CLE 2001)
Reassignment Under the Americans with Disabilities Act: Reasonable Accommodation, Affirmative Action, or Both?, 57 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1 (2001) (with Tracey Holmes Donesky).
ADA Presents an Unpredictable Landscape, Minn. Law. April 24, 2000, at 14.
The Sounds of Silence: The Libertarian Ethos of ERISA Preemption, 52 U. Fla. L. Rev. 1 (2000) (with Christopher J. Kopka).
Mental Illness and Long-term Disability Plans Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 2 U. Penn. J. of Labor & Employment Law 287 (1999).
The ADA in Turmoil: Judicial Dissonance, Supreme Court Response, and the Future of Disability Discrimination Law, 78 Oregon L. Rev. 27 (1999) (with Holly Lindquist Thomas).
Demystifying Federal Labor and Employment Law Preemption, 12 The Labor Lawyer 429 (1998).
Pre-employment Screening and Investigation: Navigating Between a Rock and a Hard Place, 14 HOFSTRA LAB. L.J. 365 (1997), reprinted in 47 Defense L. J. 467 (1998).
Beyond the Rhetoric of the NAFTA Treaty Debate: A Comparative Analysis of Labor and Employment Law in Mexico and the United States, 17 Comp. Labor L.J. 269 (1996) (with Virginia Cornett).
The Role of Legal Education in Instilling an Ethos of Public Service Among Law Students: Towards a Collaboration Between the Profession and the Academy on Professional Values, 13 Law & Inequality 1 (1994) (with Eric Janus).
Employee Handbooks and the Legal Effect of Disclaimers, 13 Indus. Rel. L.J. 601 (1992).
Musings on a Clinic Report: A Selective Agenda for Clinical Legal Education in the 1990's, 75 Minn. L. Rev. 619 (1991).
BFOQ Revisited: Johnson Controls Halts the Expansion of the Defense to Intentional Sex Discrimination, 52 Ohio State L.J. 5 (1991).
Labor Law and the Double-Breasted Employer: A Critique of the Single Employer and Alter Ego Doctrines and a Proposed Reformulation, 1987 Wis. L. Rev. 67.
Public Sector Bargaining: Fiscal Crisis and Unilateral Change, 69 Minn. L. Rev. 1221 (1985).
Other Professional Publications
Advanced Supreme Court Update: Labor and Employment Decisions of the 2007-08 Term, Labor and Employment Law Institute § 1 (Minnesota CLE 2008).
Public Sector Update 2006-07, Public Sector Labor and Employment Law § 3 (Minnesota CLE 2008).
The Family and Medical Leave Act: A Statutory and Case Law Overview, Labor Law and Labor Arbitration 2007 (Labor Arbitration Institute 2007).
New Employment Cases You Need to Know About, Public Sector Labor and Employment Law § 2 (Minnesota CLE 2006).
The Americans with Disabilities Act: The Most Troublesome Issues, Labor Law and Labor Arbitration 2006 (Labor Arbitration Institute 2006).
Advanced Supreme Court Update, Labor and Employment Law Institute 2005 § 1 (Minnesota CLE 2005).
Public Sector Update 2004-05, Public Sector Labor and Employment Law § 4 (Minnesota CLE 2005).
The Labor and Employment Law Decisions of the Supreme Court's 2003-04 Term, 22 GP Solo 40 (ABA September 2005).
What has Changed in Federal Discrimination Law?, II 2005 Employment Law Handbook § 23 (Minnesota CLE 2005).
Advanced Supreme Court Update, Labor and Employment Law Institute 2004 § 2 (Minnesota CLE 2004).
Supreme Court to Decide Contingent Fee Tax Issue, Labor and Employment Law (ABA Newsletter, Summer 2004) (with Gregg Polsky).
Public Sector Update 2003-04, 2004 Employment Law Handbook § 10 (Minnesota CLE 2004).
The Americans with Disabilities Act: The Most Troublesome Issues, Labor Law and Labor Arbitration 2004 ch. 18 (Labor Arbitration Institute 2004).
A Glimpse at the Supreme Court's Docket: Court Looks at ADEA and ADA Cases, Labor and Employment Law (ABA Newsletter, Winter 2004).
Advanced Supreme Court Update, Labor and Employment Law Institute 2003 § 4 (Minnesota CLE).
Public Sector Update 2002-03, I Employment Law Handbook 2003 sec. 13A (Minnesota CLE).
Mental Illness and Long-Term Disability Plans Under the Americans Disabilities Act, I Employment Law Handbook 2002 § 33 (Minnesota CLE 2002)
Employment Agreements Requiring the Arbitration of Statutory Claims, ADR Institute § 9 ((Minnesota CLE 2001)
The Most Difficult ADA Reasonable Accommodation Issues: Reassignment and Leaves, I Employment Law Handbook § 25 (Minnesota CLE 2001)
Is Anyone Still Disabled Under the ADA? A Review of Appellate Court Decisions Following the Sutton Trilogy, II Employment Law Handbook ch. 8 (Minnesota CLE 2000), reprinted in Labor Law and Labor Arbitration 2000 ch. VII (Labor Arbitration Institute 2000).
Cutting-Edge Issues Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Labor Law and Labor Arbitration 1999 ch. V (Labor Arbitration Institute 1999).
Public Sector Immunity and Review by Certiorari, Public Sector Labor and Employment Law Section 4 (Minnesota Institute of Legal Education 1998).
Current Issues in Labor Arbitration: The Labor Contract and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 23rd Annual Labor and Employment Law Institute ch. XIII (Minnesota CLE 1996).
Employee Screening and Investigations, Public Sector Labor/Employment Law Section VI (Minnesota Institute of Legal Education 1995).
Why Disclaimers in Handbooks Don't Always Protect Employers from Liability, I Employment Law Handbook ch. VII (Minnesota CLE 1993).
Employee Discharges in the Public Sector, 2 Employment Law Handbook ch. 12 (Minnesota CLE 1991) (with Gregg M. Corwin), reprinted in 26th Annual Criminal Justice Institute (Minnesota CLE 1991).
The Expanding BFOQ Defense to Intentional Sex Discrimination, 17th Annual Labor and Employment Law Institute ch. V (Minnesota CLE 1990) (with Sara Klise).
Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards: The Expanding Public Policy Exception to Arbitral Finality, 14th Annual Labor and Employment Law Section Institute ch. VII (Minnesota CLE 1987).
AIDS in the Workplace, Public Sector Labor Law ch. III (Minnesota Institute of Legal Education 1987).
Arbitration: External Law and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, The Arbitration of Labor Cases 1 (Advanced Legal Education 1985).
Plant Closings and Relocations: The Duty to Bargain and Related Matters, Labor and Employment Law 1985 203 (Minnesota CLE 1985).
Unilateral Change and the Duty to Bargain, Labor Relations in a Changing Economy 33 (Advanced Legal Education 1983).
Author of sixteen other professional education articles relating to labor and employment law topics.
Employment Law
Labor Law
Employment Discrimination
Disability in the Workplace
Comparative Labor and Employment Law
Public Employment
Advanced Topics in Labor & Employment Law
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Professor Befort received two notable honors in 2008 – the Law School's Teacher of the Year award and the Minnesota Justice Foundation's Outstanding Service Award in the Law Professor category. In addition, Professor Befort has published or completed work on the following writing projects: a book entitled Arbitration 2007: Workplace Justice for a Changing Environment: Proceedings of the Sixtieth Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Arbitrators (BNA 2008) (with Patrick Halter, eds), a 2008-09 supplement to his book Employment Law and Practice (West), an article entitled "Within the Grasp of the Cat's Paw: Delineating the Scope of Subordinate Bias Liability Under Federal Anti-Discrimination Statutes" to be published in the South Carolina Law Review, an article entitled "Pre-employment Screening and Investigation: Navigating Between a Rock and a Hard Place" to be published in the Proceedings of New York University Annual Conference on Labor, and a professional education article entitled "Advanced Supreme Court Update: Labor and Employment Decisions of the 2007-08 Term" for Minnesota Continuing Legal Education. Professor Befort currently is serving as a consultant to a committee of the Minnesota State Bar Association that is establishing standards for a specialist certification in labor and employment law.
