Jackson Legal Blog

It is commonly held that a person cannot get something for nothing. The idea behind this concept is that everything has a cost - from what one gives in their personal relationships to what they literally pay when they choose to purchase a consumer good. All across Tennessee individuals make transactional decisions when they choose how to spend their time, energy and incomes.

To this end, when someone is forced to part with an item of value, they may expect to get something in return. Under the real estate doctrine of eminent domain, the government may not take a property owner's land without providing that person with just compensation for the taking. However, as readers of this legal blog may expect, a property owner and the government may have very different interpretations of what is "just" under this legal practice.

There are dozens of restaurants where Tennessee residents can be served a hamburger and fries, but individual readers of this blog may each have their own favorite place to pick up this classic mealtime combination. Whether it is a special seasoning that they use on their burgers or a sauce that is offered on the side, distinctive elements are important to businesses so that they can stand out from their competitors. When a business establishes a unique element to their products that makes them distinguishable from those of their rivals that element may be considered a trade secret.

Trade secrets are often critical to the success of businesses. Without their trade secrets, businesses may struggle to hold themselves out as different from similarly situated entities. As such, a business may suffer serious harm if its trade secrets are made public and their competitors learn of them.

Not long ago this Tennessee legal blog discussed the ever-present problem of age discrimination in American workplaces. Unlike in other cultures, where older individuals are valued for their knowledge and experience, in the United States older workers are often looked at as liabilities and relics of a previous time. Not long ago a 70-year-old man was fired from a company where he had worked for 50 years.

The man began working for the toy maker, Mattel, in 1968. Over time he rose through the ranks to a supervisor position. In the years before his termination the company began laying off employees, and noticeably many older employees. In 2018, the man was informed that co-workers had alleged that he had sexually harassed them.

While age discrimination is against the law, it still happens in Tennessee workplaces far too often. Instead of being respected for their years of knowledge and experience, older Americans may suddenly be considered out of touch with current practices, and thus are passed up for promotions or even fired. In other situations of age discrimination, an employer who wants to slash the budget may fire or refuse to hire an older employee, in preference for a younger employee who likely will not be paid as much as the older employee.

According to one poll, approximately 50 percent of respondents in America believed that age discrimination does take place. However, the poll found that 60 percent of respondents age 60 and up reported believing that older people were often or always discriminated against in the workplace. Only 43 percent of respondents under age 45 said the same. Specifically, one-tenth of respondents age 60 and up reported being held back at work due to age discrimination. One-fifth of respondents age 45 and up said the same.