Research | Queen’s University Canada

Centre for Law in the Contemporary Workplace

Centre for Law in the Contemporary Workplace

Founded in 2010, and the first of its kind in Canada, the Centre for Law in the Contemporary Workplace (CLCW) conducts and fosters interdisciplinary research on emerging issues in workplace law. Specifically, it focuses on the implications for the law of the great changes – social, economic, cultural, technological, and demographic – that are shaping the contemporary workplace, both here in Canada and globally.  

To understand these frequently complex issues, the Centre is working to develop a strong interdisciplinary and diverse network of researchers at Queen’s, and elsewhere, who can look at these issues from a diverse range of perspectives, combined with an open and innovative spirit of inquiry.

To that end, the Centre conducts conferences and workshops relating to law in the workplace, such as 2018’s look at the legal protections for migrant workers, and 2017’s examination of accommodation and inclusion of workers with family care responsibilities. As part of this program of outreach, the Centre also publishes selections of papers from these conferences, as well as works based on the academic work of the Centre’s researchers.

  • Partnerships
  • Student Opportunities

Through its conferences and workshops, as well as research collaborations, the Centre encourages the exchange of knowledge and expertise among scholars, practitioners, and policymakers here and throughout the world. The Centre’s visiting speakers series helps to disseminate innovative scholarship in the field, and furthers research collaboration.  

The Centre also hosts co-sponsored events with the U.S-based Comparative Labour Law and Policy Journal, a leader in the field, and the Centre de recherche inter-universitaire sur la mondialisation et le travail (CRIMT), an international partnership of research centres based at the Université de Montréal. The Centre is a partner on a seven-year SSHRC-funded project led by CRIMT entitled “Institutional Innovations for Better Work,” focused on changes in public and private workplace governance affecting the quality of work in today’s global economy.  

The Centre’s advisory board, drawing on practitioners and individuals active on tribunals and civil servants, helps ensure the continuing relevance of the Centre’s research interests. For example, promoting membership in the Labour Law Research Network, a global network of similar centres that hosts a leading international labour law conference on a bi-annual basis.

The Centre seeks to train the next generation of leading workplace law practitioners, teachers, and scholars. To that end, it supports a high quality, research-intensive program of graduate studies. The Centre also offers Queen’s JD students opportunities for broad and deep engagement with workplace law.