Reference no: EM132906414
1. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA) has been amended/modified by subsequent laws to include such protections as AGE, PREGNANCY and DISABILITY.
2. The CRA applies to governmental and large employers more so than to small employers. The protections of the CRA are not mandatory upon employers who employ less than a certain number of employees (usually 25 - 50) who do not engage in business with the government.
3. Harris Forklift established the "hostile (abusive) work environment" standard regarding sexual harassment.
4. Disparate Impact discrimination in employment results from action of the employer ‘impacting' workers in an illegal manner although the rule being enforced does not, on its face, discriminate. E.g., a rule requiring shaving beards is religiously and racially neutral but discriminates against certain religious groups who do not shave and against African-American men who disproportionately have skin irritation from shaving
5. Disparate Treatment discrimination in employment is generally easier to identify than Disparate Impact Discrimination. Disparate Treatment discrimination is indicated by actions taken by the employer which violate law. E.g., employers refusing to promote women.
6. Sole Proprietorships expose the owner to unlimited liability for the business and for the employees' actions
7. A Sole Proprietor can purchase insurance for accidents and mishaps of the business - but insurance will not protect the proprietor from breach of contract issues.
8. A Partnership is similar to a Sole Proprietorship regarding unlimited liability issues, but in addition, a partner is exposed to liability for the actions of the partner(s).
9. Corporations are governed by Boards of Directors - who are usually elected by the shareholders. Board members are not employees of the corporation, generally.
10. Limited Liability Companies share the same Liability protection as corporations and LLCs are owned by MEMBERS not shareholder/stockholders.
11. Contracts, generally, are enforceable only when in written form
12. Written form allows greater evidence of the contract and its terms
13. A contract is a legally enforceable agreement
14. Contracts for the sale of real estate must be in writing to be enforceable.
15. Contracts of greater than one-year duration must be in writing to be enforceable
16. Contracts of large amounts of money (usually greater than 1500 dollars) do not need to be in written form to be enforceable.
17. The Employment at Will doctrine exists where written contracts are not present.
18. An employee can have a written contract that supersedes the Employment at Will doctrine.
19. Union contracts do not supersede the Employment at Will doctrine.
20. Employment at Will doctrine does not allow the firing of an employee for any reason.
21. Employment at Will allows the employee to quit for any reason at any time, but the employee must give a ‘twoweeknotice.'
22. A Constructive Dismissal of an employee occurs where the employee is subject to intolerable conditions.
23. A Constructive Dismissal allows the employee to receive Unemployment Compensation or other compensation.
24. Insurance is intended for anticipated and relatively predictable occurrences. An example of an insurable event is a predictable home repair to a furnace or air conditioning system.
25. Insurance should be differentiated from benefits or coverage for regular and anticipated costs.
26. Intellectual Property is an asset that results from an individual's (or entity's) efforts and is an intangible asset.
27. Copyrights are intellectual property and, generally, must be formally filed to perfect ownership of the intangible asset.
28. Copyrights, under modern law, are the property of the owner/maker for the lifetime of the maker plus a number ofyears (usually 70 years).
29. Patents are intellectual property and, generally, are inventions with exclusive ownership granted for a limited time-thereupon the invention becomes publicly available.
30. Trademarks are recognizable signs, designs or expressions which differentiate an owned product or service.