Legal and Regulatory Risk Individual’s and organization’s interests are protected by civil and criminal law, and regulations.  A violation of those interests creates risk.  Further, new laws or regulations may create risk to one’s interests.  The basis for this risk falls into the categories of torts, contracts, and statutes/regulations.

Regulatory Risk Regulatory risk is the risk of a change in regulations and law that might affect an industry or a business.

Legal Risk Legal risk is the risk arising from failure to comply with statutory or regulatory obligations

Legal and Regulatory Risk: This includes monetary damages, defense costs, indirect costs, and specific performance or injunction. Monetary damages Defense costs Indirect losses Specific performance or injunction

Criminal and Civil Law The simple difference is the level of interest. Criminal acts are threats to society at large enough for the government to prosecute and punish.  They range from felony to misdemeanor.  Civil law concerns everything else, more private interests. 

Torts Torts are wrongful commission or omission of an act that invades a protected interest.  They generally fall into three groups:  Negligence Intentional tort Strict liability

Contracts There are four requirements for a contract to be enforceable; agreement, consideration, capacity to contract, and legal purpose. Types of contracts Express vs. implied Valid vs. void Unenforceable contracts

Examples of Legal Risks Civil Rights Violations Wrongful termination

At Will Employment At-will employment is a term used in U.S. labor law for contractual relationships in which an employee can be dismissed by an employer for any reason (that is, without having to establish "just cause" for termination), and without warning

At Will Employment Employment relationships are presumed to be "at-will" in all states except Montana. The only time Montana employers can practice "At Will Employment" in Montana is during the employee's probationary period. In general, an at-will employment relationship means that either the employer or the employee is free to end the relationship at any time and for any reason (or no reason) at all. However, "wrongful termination" is a major exception to at-will employment.

Common Law Implied-Contract Exception to At-Will Employment A widely recognized exception to the at-will employment presumption prohibits terminations after an implied contract for employment has been established. Such a contract can be created through employer representations of continued employment, in the form of either oral assurances or expectations created by employer handbooks, policies, or other written assurances.

Wrongful Termination Several courts have construed language in employer personnel manuals or employee handbooks as de facto employment contracts where they describe some sort of guarantee of job security or spell out the kinds of offenses for which a worker may be fired.

Wrongful Termination Laws: Discrimination Under federal law, it is illegal for employers to fire an employee because of the employee's race, gender, national origin, disability, religion or age (so long as the employee is at least 40 years old). In addition to these "protected classes," federal law also makes it illegal for employers to fire an employee because she is pregnant or has a medical condition that is related to her pregnancy or childbirth. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Equal Employment Opportunity

Wrongful Termination Laws: Retaliation Generally speaking, it is illegal for an employer to terminate an employee for asserting his or her rights under federal or state anti- discrimination laws.

Wrongful Termination Laws: Aliens Under the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act, employers are prohibited from firing employees on the basis of their alien status. So long as the employee is legally eligible for employment within the United States, an employer cannot fire that employee solely on the basis of their alien status.

Wrongful Termination Laws: Complaints about OSHA Violations Under the federal Occupation Safety and Health Act (OSHA), employers are prohibited from terminating employees because they make complaints about the employer's OSHA violations.

Wrongful Termination Laws: Violations of Public Policy There are a number of states that have laws that prohibit employers from terminating employees when the terminations are in violation of public policy. In other words, these laws stop employers from firing employees for reasons that the public would find morally reprehensible or ethically wrong. Example: Terminating an employee because the employee complained about his or her employer's illegal activities (such as firing an employee that made a complaint to the federal government about his employer's illegal dumping of toxic materials).

Violation of Civil Rights Age Discrimination in Employment Act Americans with Disabilities Act Equal Pay Act Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Retaliation Harassment

Harassment The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defines harassment as unwelcome verbal or physical behavior that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), gender/gender identity, nationality, age (40 or older), physical or mental disability or genetic information.

Hostile Work Environment A hostile work environment is a form of harassment. It is demonstrated by such severe and pervasive conduct that permeates the work environment and interferes with an employee's ability to perform his or her job.

Unlawful Detention/Arrest Typically, security officers have no more authority to act than private citizens. If the security officer is an off duty law enforcement officers, those officers often have all their authority whether or not they're on duty. In the absence of a specific statute or deputization, the private citizen is not privileged to arrest another solely upon the reasonable belief that the arrestee was the perpetrator. A private citizen can make an arrest for a criminal offense without a warrant if the arrested person has committed a felony in his/her presence or if the arrested person has committed a felony offense outside the presence of the citizen but the arresting person has reasonable cause to believe that a felony has been committed. Excessive force and lethal force civil lawsuits