Thomas Jefferson School of Law Professor Susan Bisom-Rapp will be traveling again to Paris for the second Grey Zone Project colloquium from January 16-18. The Grey Zone Project, or ZOGRIS as it is known in France, is an international research project of more than 30 academics on the ZORGIS research team, which is funded by the French National Research Agency (Agence Nationale Recherche), a research funding organization established in 2005 by the French government.
Kicked off in 2011, the three-year comparative study aims to explore the rise of insecure forms of employment -- independent contracting, temporary employment, leased working, short-term contracts, self-employed freelancers and the like -- in a number of countries including, Brazil, the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and Peru.
“We are exploring the so-called “Gray Zone” of employment – employment that deviates from the traditional norm (e.g. temporary work, part-time work, independent contracting, leased work, etc.) -- and its ramifications,” explained Professor Bisom-Rapp.
Of particular interest is the way these new employment relationships potentially increase inequality between groups of workers, and whether labor and employment laws must be amended to account for and cover those whose work deviates from full-time, long-term employment with a single employer.
The ultimate outcome of the research project will be the publication of at least one book compiling the work of the team.
