The Benefit of Adopting Comprehensive Standards of Monitoring Employee Technology Use in the Workplace

[Excerpt] This article will examine issues as they relate to the privacy of employees\u27 lives given that nearly everything can be discovered by some form of electronic monitoring. It will posit that most laws as they exist today do little to apprise either the employer or the employee as to what type of electronic monitoring of personal communications is acceptable. It will further propose that most employer policies related to scrutinizing employee electronic communications are vague and unsuitable. The article will conclude that, given the leeway employers tend to be given (often justifiably so) in monitoring employees there is little chance that we will soon see any standardization of laws regarding what can be done with electronically obtained information. Because of this, the author asserts that, given the vague state of the law, employers need to devise effective monitoring policies in order to strike a balance between their interests and the privacy interests of their employees

Bans on Bags or Bans on Bans?: A Home Rule Analysis of Recent Attempts in Ohio to Enact Legislation Eliminating Plastic Bags From Stores

This Article addresses how Ohio’s Home Rule provision in the Ohio Constitution has played out as legislators grapple with efforts to ban plastic bags from stores. It discusses the complexities of the Home Rule doctrine in Ohio, especially as it relates to the competing authority of state, county, and municipal governments. The Article discusses the history of Home Rule in Ohio, and the pre-emptive relationships between the competing governmental entities stemming from the existence of County and Municipal Charters that also grant legislative powers. It explains that the opting out of plastic bag bans by Ohio municipalities is a valid exercise of Home Rule power. The Article further examines how Home Rule has played out in other states where there is a tension between entities that wish to ban plastics and those who want to ban any bans. The Article suggests that even though Home Rule tends to be a partisan issue in which conservative legislators seek to limit the power of municipalities, many municipalities in both conservative and liberal states have been successful in enforcing plastic bag bans. The Article concludes, however, that after the quarantine, conservative legislators have returned to partisan lines in attempting to limit the power of municipalities. In Ohio, this has resulted in the Ohio Legislature enacting legislation prohibiting the development of alternative energy sources in some counties. The Article suggests that the return to partisan politics in Home Rule issues will make it much more difficult for counties and municipalities to act on their own in efforts to improve the environment

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: How the State of Ohio Can Save Money and Distress Through Legal Training for Pre-Service Teachers

For simplicity, this Note will focus on the educational requirements for high school teachers rather than elementary or middle school teachers. Here, the requirements include core content instruction, literacy instruction, and a 12-week student teaching experience. Additionally, ODHE issues a vague requirement of preparation in six different Ohio school-related standards. Only one of those standards, the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession, even mentions correctly applying the law. There is clearly a need for some form of legal preparation for teachers in Ohio that must take place before an individual becomes a teacher. Not only is there an ethical obligation to protect student rights, but there is a financial obligation to prevent the waste of taxpayer money on legal fees. This Note will establish the need for the Ohio legislature or ODHE to require that teacher preparation programs contain a set number of hours devoted to instructing pre-service teachers in the basics of education law and ethics because of the liability being placed on school districts. In reaching its conclusion, Part I of this Note discusses the history of education and education standards in Ohio and how the law is omnipresent in a teacher’s day-to-day existence. In Part II, this Note covers the history of claims, the potential for school district liability for failing to train teachers and school personnel, and the ways school districts are immune from suits. In Part III, this Note sets out how more legal education could be added to the basic educational curriculum for pre-service teachers and explains why this move is both necessary and advantageous. The overall conclusion reached by this paper is that, while the state is immune from lawsuits due to a failure to train teachers, continual legal pressure on school districts could increase the support for legal training for teaching education law in universities to pre-service teachers

Lovewell v. Physicians Insurance Co.: Personal Liability for Prejudgment Interest

This article discusses the Ohio Supreme Court\u27s decision in Lovewell by walking through the case from trial court to the final Supreme Court decision. The case raises many issues regarding the future of litigation involving parties who refuse to settle pursuant to a contractual right. Although, on the surface, it would appear that the court clarified what entity would ultimately be responsible for paying a prejudgment interest award, its failure to address other issues left open the potential for future litigation concerning the traditional relationship between the insurer and the insured. While Lovewell does not necessarily mean the death knell for right to refuse settlement clauses, both insurers and insureds need to be made aware of the potential risks of having a contract that includes such a clause

The United States and the Need for an Improved Global Citizenship in the Twenty-First Century: How History Shaped Our Identity as a Nation

This Article describes how accidents of geography and history enabled the United States to become the global power that it has become. It examines how the extended warring in Europe during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth century allowed the United States to develop as a country without the repeated necessity of continually rebuilding, as was happening in Europe. The Article explores how the isolation of the United States enabled it to develop continuity in its initially experimental political system—a continuity that was never available to Europe. These factors enabled the United States to be in the position of being able to achieve global status and dominance during and after the Second World War. This Article argues that many in the United States now feel a sense of superiority that is more “God given” than earned. Most are unfamiliar with the history that led to the United States becoming a world leader and thus often feel superior to other countries in the world. This Article concludes that there must be a cultural shift in the United States that recognizes the need to be a global citizen, or the United States faces deterioration as a global power

Obergefell v. Hodges—and the Use of Oral Argument and Storytelling to Reinforce Competencies in the Legal Writing Classroom

Legal writing professors struggle with trying to balance learning skills with the bigger picture of learning that law is ultimately about having the power to change lives. Often, learning the skills becomes completely separated from the human aspect of the law. Although we all work toward unifying the two concepts, it is not always done by having discussions about the bigger issues, or even having the students look at more traditional sources such as briefs or even law review articles. Oyez and the oral tradition of storytelling presented by radio (or other similar resources) have the potential of more fully connecting students to their passion while also enabling them to see the bigger picture of legal structure and legal argument. The case of Jim Obergefell in particular provides the opportunity to access resources that help students understand how the various aspects of what we teach in Legal Writing connect together

Pitfalls of FMLA and Collective Bargaining Agreements

Mika discusses union contracts and how employers must be aware of family and medical leave rights when applying contract provisions