Exam 2 Study Guide

Question 1

Employment at Will

Answer 1

Legal doctrine that states that either the employer or employee can terminate the relationship at any time

Question 2

Exceptions to employee at will

Answer 2

Public Policy, Implied Contracts, Application of federal law such as those governing discrimination

Question 3

Equal Pay Act (1963)

Answer 3

Employeer cannot pay different salaries to men and women doing the same job that requires the same skill, effort, responsibility, and under similar working conditions

Question 4

Equal Pay Act Defense

Answer 4

Seniority, superior qualifications, more experience, more merit/greater quality of production, revenue producing marketplace

Question 5

Title VII (7) 1964

Answer 5

Employeer cannot hire, fire, suspend, or discipline based on race, national origin, gender, and religion. This applies to government agencies, federal government employees, labor unions, and employers with more than 15 employees (SEXUAL ORIENTATION IS NOT PROTECTED UNDER THIS)

Question 6

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

Answer 6

Prohibits discrimination for firing/hiring employees based on age, that are 40 years or older. This applies to businesses with 20 or more employees and whose potential employee was applied and qualified, over 40, and reject in circumstances that implied discrimination

Question 7

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) - Defense

Answer 7

Business necessity-defense to claims of unintentional discrimination asserting that a legit hiring practice is a certain necessity, even if it has discriminator effect

Question 8

ADA (1990)

Answer 8

If your potential employee is disabled, you cannot discriminate based on disability AND you have to make a reasonable accommodation for the disabled. Also cannot discriminate based on a perceived disability (Had Cancer previously)

Question 9

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Answer 9

Federal law that requires organizations to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to attend to family health issues or a newborn child. More than 50 employees

Question 10

Worker’s Compensation

Answer 10

Injured in the course of employment, you are paid a benefit so you do not have to sue for negligence

Question 11

Occupational Safety and Health Act: Two fold Process

Answer 11

1. To require employers to meet certain specific, federally mandated safety standards
2. To impose a general duty on employers to keep their workplace safe

Question 12

Economic Reality Test

Answer 12

4 Part Test used to look at employment

• Proposed employer’s right to control or dictate the activities of the proposed employee (coaches)
• Proposed employer’s right to discipline/fire the proposed employee
• Payment of “wages” and particularly the extent to which the proposed employee is dependent on the payment of wages or other benefits for his daily living expenses
• Whether the task performed by the proposed employees was an integral part of the proposed employer’s business

Question 13

Constitutional Law: Application

Answer 13

• Constitutional law involves the application of the federal and state and local government and whether their actions violate one or more terms of the U.S. Constitution
• Purely private entities are generally not subject to constitutional claims
• State ation must be shown to pro

Question 14

Constitutional Law: State Action

Answer 14

• Except for the Thirteenth Amendment’s prohibition on slavery, the U.S. constitution requires state action (otherwise known as government action)
• State actors are those who act in furtherance of their positions as employees of governmental agencies
• Examples: public school teachers, police officers, IRS employees, county government employees, staff at the DMV, athletic directors at state-run universities

Question 15

Constitutional Law: State Actors

Answer 15

• Bound by constitutional laws
• Those that act in furtherance of their positions as employees to govertment agencies.
• State actions must be shown to proceed with a claim
• High school athletic associations are usually state actors

Question 16

When Private entities are state actors

Answer 16

• The law is less clear when private actors are involved

- Sometimes private parties can become state actors through their actions

Question 17

Theories of private actors

Answer 17

Nexus/entanglement examines whether the state’s involvement or entanglement with a private actor’s conduct is sufficient to transform the private conduct into state actions and thus subject to constitutional review

Question 18

Public Function Theory

Answer 18

A court can find state action in the activities of a private party if that party undertakes functions or assumes powers that the govertment ordinarily performs or exercieses

Question 19

Private actors/state actors application

Answer 19

• NCAA not a state actor: NCAA v. Tarkanian
• High school athletic associations typically are state actor
• Professional sport leagues and teams: Not state actors

Question 20

Due Proccess

Answer 20

• 5th Amendment
• A guarantee that an individual cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without a fair process or hearing
• Guaranteed by the US and State Constitutions
• Applies to acts of federal govertment
• 14th Amendment - extends due process to the states

Question 21

Types of Due process

Answer 21

• Substantive

- Procedural

Question 22

Types of Due process: Substantive

Answer 22

Concerns the actual rule/regulation in question – see if the rule is unfair/arbitrary, does it violate life, liberty and property
- courts do not like to be involved/interfere with the rule making function of the govertment without a good cause

Question 23

Types of Due process: Procdural

Answer 23

procedures used to enforce a rule/regulation. The goal is to ensure fair treatment
- Difference between the two types is the person alleging violations of procedural are not challenging the rules content. Just the way it is applied.

Question 24

Minimum Due Process

Answer 24

Statement of specific violation, notice of sanctions that will be imposed, or an opportunity for accused to commit minor offense

Question 25

Maximum Due Process

Answer 25

More extreme cases, written notice of hearing, written statement of the charges, provision of adversarial hearing, written or taped record of proceeding, the right to appeal.

Question 26

14th Amendment

Answer 26

Grants equal protection under the law

Question 27

Equal protections clause

Answer 27

no state may deny its citizens equal protection under the law

• (Arbitrary) Classifications ex: Blonde Hair
• (Law Applied differently to different groups is not allowed) ex: Married students can’t compete in athletics

Question 28

1st Amendment

Answer 28

Major elements that typically apply to sport include: religion, public-school based prayer, freedom of expression, and freedom of association

Question 29

Establishment Clause

Answer 29

prohibits government from establishing a state-sponsored religion, promote religion, or favor religion over non-religion
-prayers before a game/cheerleader putting biblical verses on a banner for a game

Question 30

Free exercise clause

Answer 30

Prohibits govertment from restricting a person’s right to exercise his/her relgious beliefs

Question 31

Political Speech

Answer 31

Strong protection for political speech unless it causes imminent lawless action (Strict Scrutiny)
-Strict Scrutiny: no room for error, the most vigorous action must be necessary, no other way to accomplish objectives.

Question 32

5th Amendment

Answer 32

Applies due process to the federal govertment and the courts

Question 33

4th Amendment

Answer 33

Right to privacy, right to search and seizure

Question 34

Trademark

Answer 34

Any word, name, symbol, or device that an organization can use to identify and distinguish its service from the service of another organization and to indicate the course of the service
-ex: for Michigan, some would include:the block M, Hail to the victors, leaders and best, Michigan difference

Question 35

Trademark Act of 1946

Answer 35

governs the law of trademarks and their registration and provides causes of action that protect trademark rights from infingment

Question 36

Dilution

Answer 36

The lessening of the capacity of a famous mark to identify and distinguish goods or services

Question 37

Blurring

Answer 37

a party uses or modifies a mark, resulting in the weakening of the original mark to identify goods

Question 38

Tarnishment

Answer 38

the mark is used in association with unwholesome or shoddy goods and services
- Ex: copying the NFL style jersey and the public thinking the team was associated with the NFL

Question 39

Trademark infringement

Answer 39

When someone who is not a trademark owner engages in some unauthorized use of a trademark that is likely to cause consumers to be confused or deceived about who really owns the trademark mistake