Legal Aspects of Business Communication
Presented by aneela ashfaque Legal Aspects of Business Communication
OUTLINE
DefamationInvasion of privacyMisrepresentation and fraudLaws Regarding Employment credit and collection
Defamation:The unconsented & unprivileged publication of a false idea which injures the reputation of a person in a society is called Defamation.
Unconsented: Unconsented means without agreement. This makes the first point clear that whatever a person is
Type of defamationLibel and slanderare types ofdefamatorystatements.Libelis a writtendefamatorystatement, andslanderis a spoken or oral defamatorystatement.
Four suggestions are in order Establish , a company policy for heading information regarding both present and former employees Resist making public any information unless the required by public policyKeep a paper trial a record of released information.Avoid making subjective statements in the released material.
1: PublicationTo publish defamatory material about a person is to make public that information to a third party .(any mean of communication fax , letter , memo , circular, picture ,newspaper ,radio ,television ,Email and others)
Be careful even in a sending a sealed letter where in you accuse(mulzim)the recipient (receiver)Should the letter be read by third person you may be liable for publishing defamatory material .
Some suggestionsSeal the envelope.Mark the envelope personal and confidentialWrap the enclosed message with opaque(not able to seen) material
Privilege There are a times when defamatory infromation may be made public
2: Absolute Privilege:
A person has absolute privilege to defame the other person means he has been given full right by the law to defame the other person on any matter whatsoever. This case is limited to the following areas_Judicial Proceedings._Assembly Proceedings._Official Proceedings
Judicial Proceedings:
A particular action or a course of action in the law court is called Judicial Proceedings. The Lawyers in such proceedings have full right to defame the person against whom a suit is filed.
Assembly Proceedings:Legislature is the place where representatives of political parties have full liberty to ensure thegovernment or vice versa
Official Proceedings:
Government bodies such as NAB (National Accountability Bureau) have been given absolute privilege to defame the nabbed person
3:Conditional / Qualified Privilege:
Privilege under certain conditions or privilege to defame on certain matters is called ConditionalPrivilege. For example, an employer may defame his employee on the following matters.
TenureSalaryResponsibilities
2. INVASION OF PRIVACY:
If a person infringes upon another persons such activities, hes invading upon that persons privacy
INVASION OF PRIVACYInvasion of privacy is the intrusion into the personal life of another, without just cause, which can give the person whose privacy has been invaded a right to bring a lawsuit for damages against the person or entity that intruded. It encompasses workplace monitoring, Internet privacy, data collection, and other means of disseminating private information .
Examples: - Someone reading personal notes that someone else wrote- Reading personal emails - Reading personal text messages - Posting videos of someone without their permission - Posting videos of under aged children without permission - Going through personal items - Stalking someone Another very famous
Other example;example is our cricketer Shoaib Akhter, when he went for the tour for Australia are porter or some other person took his snap when he was hanging out in night club with his Australian friends. The photos then got by news channel and thus Mr. Akhter ban for some time . Now this is the privacy of Shoaib no matter where he been after match is his personal matter
An employees personal disabilitiesWith the increase in drugs use ,companies are uncomfortable in the acting under the guideline of the Americans with disability actMany sections of the act have yet to be clarified. Thus some employees object to drug test because the allege that such a test is an invasion of privacy(health example)
An Employees personal identity and private factsYou cannot use person name photograph or other identification for commercial benefit without permission.
An employees Records, Reports ,Letter and Electronic data An employee's right to be privacy will be violated if private records ,reports , letter and electronic mail are ready by persons not entitled to examine them
Misrepresenting and fraudsFrauds It refers to the intentionally misrepresentation by one part to a contract of a material fact which is relied upon by the other party to his injury. ORA person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities. Fraud may also be made by an omission or purposeful failure to state material facts, which nondisclosure makes other statements misleading
MisrepresentationIt means giving an incorrect or misleading representation of some important element or some item or fact relating to the claim. For example, under certain circumstances, false statements or promises made by a seller of goods regarding the quality or nature of the product that the seller has may constitute misrepresentation. A finding of misrepresentation allows for a remedy of rescission and sometimes damages depending on the type of misrepresentation.
Difference b/w fraud and misrepresentationFraud:1. Fraud is defined under Sec. 2. Fraud means a misrepresentation made with an intention to cheat3. The distinction between fraud and misrepresentation is solely(completly) on intention.4. In case of fraud, the aggrieved party can avoid the contract even if the means to discover the truth were available.5. In case of fraud not only the agreement is voidable but also the aggrieved party can claim damages.Misrepresentation:1. Misrepresentation is defined under Sec. 192. Misrepresentation means a misstatement made innocently.3. In case of misrepresentation misstatement is made innocently.
4. In case of misrepresentation if the aggrieved party has the means to discover the truth, it cannot avoid the contract.5. In case of misrepresentation no damages can be claimed, the aggrieved party can only avoid the contract .
Type of misrepresentation 1. Fraudulent misrepresentation A fraudulent misrepresentation (or fraud) occurs when the communicator know the representation is not true and the person to whom it was made relies on it to her or his disadvantage.
2: Innocent misrepresentationInnocent misrepresentation is a communication not in accordance with the fact but which the communicator thoughts are assumed to be true , to be legal significant the misrepresentation must be relied upon by the person to whom it is made.
Sale warrantiesThe seller under take certain obligation concerning the nature ,title , and quality of the goods or services being soldWhen these obligations are expressly stated or implied and when they actually the sales , the obligations are called warranties .
Type of warranties1: express warranties 2:implied warranties
1: express warranties
Express warranties are created by a seller specific statement about the product ,its characteristics ,or its performance which effected the buyer decision to buy .
An express warranty can take several different forms, whether spoken or written, and is basically a guarantee that the product will meet a certain level of quality and reliability. If the product fails in this regard, the manufacturer will fix or replace the product for no additional charge. Many such warranties are printed on a product's packaging or made available as an option.
Example
1: A verbal express warranty may be as simple as a car dealer telling a customer, "I guarantee that this engine will last another 100,000 miles." If the car fails to live up to this claim, the buyer may take it up with the seller (although proving the existence of a verbal warranty is very difficult).2: Other warranties may be expressed in writing but do not necessarily look like traditional warranties. For example, a light bulb manufacturer prints the words "lasts 15,000 hours" on its packaging. The words "guaranteed" or "warranty" do not appear, but this claim nevertheless is an express warranty.
2:implied warranties
Implied warranties of the uniform commercial code (ucc) apply only sale of goods it mean the warranty are part of the bargain even thought the parties themselves say nothing them. Consumer have four year from the times the goods or services were delivered to take legal action
They must conform to the standards of the trade as applicable to the contract for sale.They must be fit for the purposes such goods are ordinarily used, even if the buyer ordered them for use otherwise
Cont.They must meet the specifications on the package labels, even if not so specified by the contract for sale.They must be packaged and labeled per the contract for sale.
Laws Regarding Employment , credit and collection
Thebodyoflawthatgovernstheemployer-employeerelationship,includingindividual employmentcontracts,theapplicationof tortand contractdoctrines,andalargegroupofstatutoryregulationonissuessuchastherighttoorganizeandnegotiatecollectivebargaining agreements,protectionfromdiscrimination , wages andhours,and healthandsafety.
credit and collectionMany federal and state law are in place to protect the consumer and because state statutes vary you will need to investigate those in your state Equal credit opportunity act: requires financial institutions and other engaged in credit extensions to make credit equally available to all credit worthy costumer without gender , marital status, race , colour ,religion, national origin or age some lenders are tuning to a credit scoring system to protect themselves from law suit.
2 Fair credit billing actAims to protect their consumer against inaccurate and unfair credit card practices
3 fair credit reporting actDemands that consumer reporting agencies (credit bureaus, investigation, detective and collection agencies computerized information reporting firms lenders exchanges)
4 fair debt collection practices actAddresses abuses of consumer by unethical debt collector the bill basically states what bill collector can and cannot do.
5 federal truth and leading act
Interest rate for consumers may be compare more readily the charges different credit source make. Recent widespread error in the calculation and disclosure of interest rate under adjustable rate mortgage loans (ARMs) have increased the number of lawsuit.
6 false claim act.Seek to protect the federal government from fraudulent claims
7 uniform commercial codeSet up guidelines concerning among many other things, product specification and un truthful statements about a product or services
Other area of caution in business communicationCopy right :Copyright protection exists from the moment a work is created in a fixed, tangible form of expression. The copyrightimmediatelybecomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author, or those deriving their rights through the author, can rightfully claim copyright. In the case of works made for hire, the employernot the writeris considered the author.
Computer data security Data security refers to protective digital privacy measures that are applied to prevent unauthorized access to computers, databases and websites. Data security also protects data from corruption. Data security is the main priority for organizations of every size and genre.Data security is also known as information security (IS) or computer security.
