Business law principles and applications

Business Law

Discuss the doctrine of promissory estopple and how it might apply in a business setting. Provide an example.

Promissory estoppel is the doctrine by which a technically non-contractual promise may be made legally enforceable to avoid an injustice, because one party has relied on the promise of the other party in a way that would make it unfair for the courts not to enforce the original agreement. For example, "promissory estoppel is used to enforce charitable gift pledges where the charity relies on them" (Wick, 2007). Technically, in a contract something of value must be exchanged, but if a business promises to make a charitable donation to an organization and then reneges upon the problem in a way that will cause undue harm to the charity, the doctrine might be enforced.

The person who has been harmed must have "reasonably relied on the promise and will suffer a loss if the promise is broken" ("Estopple," 2007. Nolo.com). "For example, Forrest tells Antonio to go ahead and buy a boat without a motor, because he will sell Antonio an old boat motor at a very reasonable price. If Antonio relies on Forrest's promise and buys the motorless boat, Forrest cannot then deny his promise to sell Antonio the motor at the agreed-upon price" ("Estopple," 2007, Nolo.com). Another example might be a contractor who promises to install new gutters on a home. The homeowner purchases the new gutters, but the handyman never comes back, having found more lucrative jobs. The handyman point out nothing of value was exchanged, as he never requested payment for his services, but the homeowner has still suffered hardship, namely the cost of the now-useless gutters he cannot install, as the result of the handyman reneging on the non-contractual agreement.

Question

Discuss how Title VII has impacted employment practices and what managers and organization must do to prevent liability.

Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based upon a person's race, color, religion, sex and national origin. This means, that when seeking a person to fill a new position, a prospective candidate's membership in any of these identity categories cannot be a consideration in hiring, unless it is contingent for the job. An example of an exception might be the need of an acting company to hire a female to play a female role. To avoid liability it is best that employers word their advertisements carefully, so that they do not seem to exclude persons based upon their unalterable personal qualities, or include personal factors unnecessary for the job. It is also wise for employers to specify that they are EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) employers. Finally, if an organization seems to have a disproportionately low number of disadvantaged groups, given its location and industry, this may arouse a legal red flag.

Title VII also affects promotional opportunities within an organization. Again, if disadvantaged groups seem to be relegated to the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy; this may suggest a pattern of discrimination. Also, to be in compliance, an organization must not have a hostile workplace. An organization must stress that insults, jokes, inopportune proposals and other degrading comments are unacceptable. In training, recruitment, bonuses, benefits, and other employment-related considerations, no preference for one group over another should be shown. Finally, the new Compliance Manual section of the EEOC notes: "Title VII encompasses race discrimination based upon not only ancestry and physical traits, but more subtle characteristics such as culture, race-linked illness (such as sickle cell anemia), perception of a person's race, reverse race discrimination, and even association with a particular racial group" (Messiha & Ross, 2006). A company cannot refuse to hire someone with sickle cell anemia (a disease that primarily affects persons of African ancestry), because the person might require costly health insurance, for so long as the person was strong enough to perform the job, discrimination would not be acceptable as it would affect persons disproportionately of one racial category.

Question

Explain trade secret and how it could be protected legally and in day-to-day operations. Provide an example.

According to Nolo.com, an online legal dictionary, a trade secret is: