A discharge that is made in retaliation for the employee’s conduct (such as reporting unlawful activity by the employer to the government) and that clearly violates public policy. • Federal and state statutes may entitle an employee who is dismissed by retaliatory discharge to recover damages. [Cases: Civil Rights 1247, 1249(2); Master and Servant 30(6.5). […]
retaliatory discharge Read More »
legalize, vb. 1. To make lawful; to authorize or justify by legal sanction (the bill to legalize marijuana never made it to the Senate floor). 2. To imbue with the spirit of the law; to make legalistic (as religions age, they tend to become legalized). — legalization, n.
husband. A married man; a man who has a lawful wife living. • Etymologically, the word signified the house bond, the man who, according to Saxon ideas and institutions, held around him the family, for which he was legally responsible. [Cases: Husband and Wife 1.] common-law husband. The husband in a common-law marriage; a man
escapee. A prisoner or other inmate who has escaped from lawful custody. [Cases: Escape 1. C.J.S. Escape §§ 2–3, 5–10, 12, 27, 44.] “The word ‘escapee’ is employed at times by those who are not careful in the use of language. They probably think this word is comparable to ‘arrestee’ or ‘employee.’ But the arrestee
spouse. One’s husband or wife by lawful marriage; a married person. [Cases: Husband and Wife 1.] innocent spouse. Tax. A spouse who may be relieved of liability for taxes on income that the other spouse did not include on a joint tax return. • The innocent spouse must prove that the other spouse omitted the
counterfeiting, n. The unlawful forgery, copying, or imitation of an item, esp. money or a negotiable instrument (such as a security or promissory note) or other officially issued item of value (such as a postage stamp), or the unauthorized possession of such an item, with the intent to deceive or defraud by claiming or passing
after-acquired-evidence doctrine. Employment law. The rule that if an employer discharges an employee for an unlawful reason and later discovers misconduct sufficient to justify a lawful discharge, the employee cannot win reinstatement. • The doctrine either shields the employer from liability or limits the available relief when, after an employee has been terminated, the employer
after acquired evidence doctrine Read More »
legitimacy. 1. Lawfulness. 2. The status of a person who is born within a lawful marriage or who acquires that status by later action of the parents; legal kinship between a child and its parent or parents. Cf. ILLEGITIMACY. [Cases: Children Out-of-Wedlock 1. C.J.S. Children Out-of-Wedlock §§ 2–11.] “In this age of equality, the question
cognate, adj. See COGNATIC. cognate, n. One who is kin to another. • In Roman law, the term means a blood relationship and implies that the kinship derives from a lawful marriage. In Scots and later civil law, the term implies kinship from the mother’s side. Cf. AGNATE.
blackmail, n. 1. A threatening demand made without justification; EXTORTION. Cf. FEEMAIL; GRAYMAIL; GREENMAIL(1), (2). [Cases: Extortion and Threats 25. 1. C.J.S. Threats and Unlawful Communications §§ 2–20.] — blackmail, vb. “[Blackmail is] a certain rate of Money, Corn, Cattle, or other consideration, paid to some inhabiting upon, or near the borders, being persons of