Legal Questions About Entitlements, Violations, Proper Grants, and Enforceable Forms

Question 1: Entitlement to Leave Work and Care for a Sick Child

1. Sally, who is 8, is sent home from school because of a high fever. Her father takes her to a pediatrician who says that she has a severe strain of flu and she needs to stay at home for at least one week, possibly longer if she develops pneumonia. Sally needs bed rest and plenty of fluids and someone to care for her at all times.  Sally’s father is single and works full-time. Is Sally’s father legally entitled to leave work and take care of Sally without being fired or demoted?  Please explain your answer.

2. Tim was Mike’s sponsor at Alcoholics Anonymous. They had known each other for some time and had had many heartfelt conversations. One evening, Mike told Tim that he was under particular stress at the moment, because Nokia had begun discussions about acquiring his employer, Harwood Industries. This potential acquisition was creating a lot of stress in Mike’s life, making it particularly difficult for him to abstain from drinking. Tim expressed sympathy and support and then bought stock in Harwood. When the company was acquired by Nokia, he made a profit of $300,000. Have Mike and Tim violated the law?

3 Jack, a police officer, had heard that a blue Honda had been stolen. He saw Bobby sitting on his front porch with a blue Honda parked on the driveway. Jack challenged Bobby about the car. Bobby’s mother, Rose, came out on to the porch and told Jack that the car was hers and Bobby had not stolen it. Jack roughed up Rose and shot Bobby, who then sued Jack. In the pleadings on this case, Jack claimed that Rose and Bobby had shouted at him, Bobby had moved toward him in a threatening way and that, because the area was dark, he could not see them clearly. Rose and Jack said that none of that was true – they had been calm and unthreatening, and the area was brightly lit. Jack’s lawyers filed a motion for summary judgment which the court granted because it believed Jack’s version. Question: Is this a proper grant of summary judgment?

4. James, an engineer at Nova, Inc., circulated a memo internally to about 10 coworkers at the company that criticized its efforts to diversify its workplace, arguing that:

Women are not as good as men at leadership and technology.

Women  have a lower tolerance for stress.

Efforts to hire an equal number of women was “unfair, divisive and bad for business.” 

When James’s memo went viral, Nova fired him. Should Nova have fired him? Does he have a claim against Nova?

5. The new CEO of RJ Bank wanted more diversity at the 200-old Investment Bank. He noticed that not one single officer of the Bank was a female or a person of color.   He announced a company-wide policy that the bank would only hire people in these two categories until they comprised at least 30% of the officers.  George Wilkins, (a white male) applied for an officer position at RJ Bank for which he was denied. If Wilkins sues RJ Bank for discrimination, what would be the result?

6.Brockwell left his boat to be repaired at Lake Gaston Sales. The boat contained electronic equipment and other personal items.  Brockwell signed a form stating that Lake Gaston had no responsibility for any loss to any property in or on the boat. Brockwell’s electronic equipment was stolen and other personal items were damaged and he sued.  What is the form that Brockwell signed and is it enforceable?