Search

This article is a summary discussion of the main issues faced by faculty at private, often church-sponsored, universities who sought to be represented by a union in collective bargaining with their employers. The discussion begins by tracing the origins of the rule that faculty at private universities are managers and not employees under the aegis of the National Relations Act in the Supreme Court case of Yeshiva University. The summary then follows developments over the years up to the most recent decision of the National Labor Relations Board that sanctioned the efforts of adjunct professors at Elon University to seek union representation. In examining these two book-end cases, the article discusses issues relating to the effect of the religion clauses of the First Amendment in the context of the National Labor Relations Board's shifting views on the topic. Last, the authors discuss unionization in the context of church-sponsored colleges and universities. Is it now time for the Supreme Court to review its seminal decision in Yeshiva University and for church-sponsored colleges and universities to rethink their positions as well?

Part I of the paper discusses the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA, its requirements, and various protections for persons who suffer from a recognized disability which impacts their ability to work under certain circumstances and conditions. The context of this study is American higher education. Part II will discuss the obligation of an employer to offer a "reasonable accommodation" of the nature sought by an employee which would permit the employee to continue teaching while otherwise meeting all of the obligations imposed on faculty members under appropriate university policies. Specifically, the research question considered in Part II relates to whether "commuting" is a covered activity under the ADA which would trigger the responsibility of providing the employee with a reasonable accommodation, allowing an employee to teach in the employee's preferred combination of online and hybrid modalities.

This article is a discussion of the role of the University Counsel (sometimes called the General Counsel) as "adviser, officer, administrator, and agent" in the university setting. The article discusses the nature of the "fiduciary duty" in university governance and describes several of the substantive areas of the law with which the University Counsel must become familiar: faculty employment and tenure discussions; share governance; sponsored research; student rights; and the many issues relating to college athletics.

This case study provides the background for a discussion of the bankruptcy of a composite non-profit corporation under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, and the possible alternatives available to bankruptcy. Topics considered include: reorganizations, the selection of a bankruptcy trustee or an examiner, duties of a non-profit board, the automatic stay, aspects of the creation and confirmation of the bankruptcy plan, priority of creditors, termination of employment contracts for tenured and non-tenured faculty and those faculty represented by a union, at-will employment, and Title IX implications for any bankruptcy filing. The case study then turns to a discussion of options and perspectives available in the case that bankruptcy under Chapter 11 is not seen as a viable or practical alternative. Could the real target of restructuring and cost cutting be academic tenure?

Consider this scenario: One of your former students working in the medical devices field for over twenty years has been approached by a medical device manufacturer in Poland who wishes to market its medical devices in the European Union and eventually expand into the United States. You learn that the Polish government is especially interested in pursuing this opportunity as part of its larger outward foreign direct investment strategy. Your student is being considered as the CEO of prospective U.S. operations. Part I is a study of the various issues that will confront the potential Polish exporter in meeting European Union standards which will guarantee compliance with EU Regulation (EU) 2017/745 on medical devices (MDR). Part II discusses U.S. regulations concerning the importation of medical devices into the United States and the advertising & labeling of such devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the last of a series of teaching notes in the area of contract law and topics in the legal environment of business, designed to assist instructors- particularly "newly minted" professor- in preparing materials for use in their classrooms. This article summarizes the elements of a valid contract based on references to the classic cases decided in various jurisdictions in contract law, as well as citations to recently decided cases provided for further research and study and may serve as a template or overview of the important topics making up a business law or legal environment of business course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explains the various remedies and categories of damages that are available to an aggrieved buyer or seller in the case of a breach of contract under the Uniform Commercial Code. Sections of the Code will be cited, as well as relevant cases, and detailed explanations will be provided as well for each Code Section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the fourth in a series of Teaching Notes on topics in a traditional Legal Environment of Business course. The article discusses warranties from the perspectives of both the Uniform Commercial Code and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The article describes the three major consumer warranties (the express warranty, the warranty of merchantability, and the warranty of fitness), and offers explanatory comments on each. In addition, the article discusses warranty limitations and disclaimers. The article concludes with an in-depth look at both the dispute settlement mechanism under Magnuson-Moss and the nature of damages that can be awarded in cases of a breach of warranty provisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before the Greenman decision in 1963, a plaintiff in a products liability case had to rely on the theories of negligence, breach of warranty, or misrepresentation or fraud for recovery. These theories were not specific to products cases and presented plaintiffs with certain formidable "obstacles." Because of the many issues raised in applying these theories, courts began to search for a more rational theory for determining liability which would move away from judging the conduct of an actor and instead would focus on the product itself. In Part 6 of the Series on Teaching Notes, the authors focus on the theory of strict liability in tort as the now preferred method of compensating parties for injuries caused by a defective product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Teaching Note, the authors conclude their series in the study of the common law causes of action that were available to a plaintiff in cases of misrepresentation and fraud. In Part I of this article, Civil Fraud, the authors describe the prima facie elements of proof, as well as the exceptions that were recognized relating to opinions, commendations, the "duty to speak," and statements relating to a matter of law, citing several of the major cases important in understanding each issue. In Part II of the article, Securities Fraud, the authors provide a discussion of securities fraud, with examples taken from prominent "real-world" cases which students may readily recognize from their studies in finance, accounting, business ethics, or other business-related courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirty years after its founding, the WTO is experiencing unprecedented turmoil and uncertainty, as the United States has raised questions relating to its national sovereignty and expressed serious doubts about the effectiveness of multilateralism. Perhaps more importantly, United States representatives have questioned the fairness of Appellate procedures that appear to run counter to the interests of the United States. A recent dispute between Hong Kong and the United States over the question of the "branding" of goods emanating from the customs territory of Hong Kong has served as a "crisis point" or proxy to the larger dispute between the United States and China relating to needed reforms in the organization. How this dispute is resolved may go a long way in determining both the future of multilateralism and the participation of the United States in the World Trade Organization itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the development of regulatory rulings and memoranda with respect to the impact of New Media on the employer-employee relationship since the seminal Quon decision in 2010. It explores employer obligations and employee rights that expand from the Fourth Amendment privacy application to a broader perspective encompassing First Amendment privacy, speech and assembly protections in different workplace contexts.

This Article discusses the context of common law and statutory materials dealing with minors who participate in the entertainment and sports fields. The Article describes the changes undertaken as a result of several notorious cases involving prominent child actors, and how the California legislature dealt with issues ranging from set asides of income, approval of contracts by a competent court of jurisdiction, recognition of the legitimate interests of all parties to the contract, to principles under which a minor would be precluded from disaffirming a contract. The Article then applies and extends the principles developed in entertainment contracts to minors who participate in professional athletics and offers concrete suggestions for perfecting a balance in interests by focusing on assuring the minor with representation by "qualified counsel experienced with entertainment industry law and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will examine migrating traditional Legal Studies courses to hybrid and online courses, the challenges, the differences inherent in the delivery of course content, steps taken to learn best practices in these new learning environments, the various technologies implemented, outcomes experienced, student attitudes toward technology integration, and lessons learned. Our conclusions are that students benefit from these learning environments; students experiment and practice their technology skills while honing critical thinking and communication skills necessary for success in today's global social, legal and business environments. Instructors also benefit by increasing their technology skills and staying current with new course delivery methods. Recommendations, based upon our extensive experience teaching in traditional, hybrid and online environments, are made for Legal Studies instructors to enhance their own courses while making the leap from a traditional course delivery to a hybrid mode and then to a full online course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of the Commerce Clause and the 14th amendment of the deregulation of the economy in the U.S. It chronicles the strengthening of the federal government's power to regulate interstate commerce, allowing the Congress could legislate economic and business activities. It also examines the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment that secures citizens and their properties under the due process of law and equal protection regulation.