Air pollution has plagued communities since the industrial revolution and even before. Airborne pollutants, such as gases, chemicals, smoke particles, and other substances, reduce the value of and ability to enjoy affected property and cause significant health and environmental problems. Despite the long history and significant consequences of this problem, effective legal remedies are relatively recent. Though some cities adopted air quality laws as early as 1815, air pollution at that time was seen as a problem best handled by local laws and ordinances. Only as the United States' cities continued to grow, and pollution and health concerns with them, did federal standards and a nationwide approach to air quality begin to emerge.
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The principle set forth by an Argentine jurist, Carlos Calvo, that a government has no duty to compensate aliens for losses or injuries that they incur as a result of domestic disturbances or a civil war, in cases where the state is not at fault, and, therefore, no justification exists for foreign nations to intervene to secure the settlements of the claims made by their citizens due to such losses or injuries.
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An amalgam of state and federal statutes, regulations, and common-law principles covering air pollution, water pollution, hazardous waste, the wilderness, and endangered wildlife.
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency charged with eliminating discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age, in all terms and conditions of employment. The EEOC investigates alleged discrimination through its fifty field offices, makes determinations based on gathered evidence, attempts conciliation when discrimination has taken place, and files lawsuits. The EEOC also oversees compliance and enforcement activities relating to equal employment opportunity among federal employees and applicants, including discrimination against individuals with disabilities.
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The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the federal government. It supervises and coordinates the Farm Credit System, which is a centralized banking system designed to serve U.S. agricultural interests by granting short- and long-term credit through regional banks and local associations. Although initially capitalized by the federal government, the banks and associations that make up the Farm Credit System are now financed entirely through stock that is owned by members, borrowers, or the associations. The FCA ensures the safe operation of these lending institutions and protects the interests of their borrowers.
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A common-law rule governing job-related injuries that prevents employees from recovering damages from employers if an injury was caused by the negligence of a coworker.
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The Granger Movement was begun in the late 1860s by farmers who called for government regulation of railroads and other industries whose prices and practices, they claimed, were monopolistic and unfair. Their efforts contributed to a growing public sentiment against monopolies, which culminated in the passage of the Sherman Act (or Sherman Anti-Trust Act) of 1890, 15 U.S.C.A. §§ 1-7.
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A type of ownership of real or personal property by two or more persons in which each owns an undivided interest in the whole.
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Conflicting claims made by two different labor unions to an employer regarding assignment of the work or union representation.
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[Latin, We comand.] A writ or order that is issued from a court of superior jurisdiction that commands an inferior tribunal, corporation, municipal corporation, or individual to perform, or refrain from performing, a particular act, the performance or omission of which is required by law as an obligation.
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One of the most ancient forms of trial in England that required the accused person to submit to a dangerous or painful test on the theory that God would intervene and disclose his or her guilt or innocence.
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[Latin, Parent of the country.] A doctrine that grants the inherent power and authority of the state to protect persons who are legally unable to act on their own behalf.
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The legal relationship between a father or mother and his or her offspring.
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The persons who are directly involved or interested in any act, affair, contract, transaction, or legal proceeding; opposing litigants.
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A formal document issued by a court of probate appointing a manager of the assets and liabilities of the estate of the deceased in certain situations.
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