Knowing the Law
Knowing the Law
There are statutory laws in place which can be found by searching government websites. However, the courts use case law to define different words placed within a statute. For example:
Arizona Revised Statute 23-804 states the following:
“Every employer employing workmen in a hazardous occupation shall, by rules, regulations or instructions, inform all employees in such occupations as to the duties and restrictions of their employment for the purpose of protecting the safety of employees in their employment” ARS 23-804. Posting of notices by employer.
There are several words in this one statute that could have different meanings and courts use case law to define these words and phrases. In this particular statute, the word “inform” must be defined. What steps must an employer take to adequately “inform” his/her employees? Is it enough to post a notice in the break room where employees take breaks or is an employer required to give verbal notice to all employees during a meeting? The statute gives some assistance in defining what is adequate for purposes of informing through the statement “by rules, regulations or instructions.” This at least informs us that rules or instructions will adequately inform. However, there is still the issue of which means should be used to make employees aware of such rules, regulations or instructions. All of these types of questions arise when a case goes to court where a specific statutory violation is involved. The courts will use previous case law to answer these types of questions. This is what attorneys go to law school for and this type of understanding can be very complex. Do not despair…there is light at the end of the tunnel. There are many ways to educate yourself on current case law thanks to the internet. It will take time and effort to understand how the legal system works, but knowledge may give you some direction when you can’t afford to pay an attorney to assess your case.
There are many helpful resources in your local libraries and many states even have a law library where you may be able to look up cases using a database such as Westlaw and LexisNexis. Westlaw is a fantastic database of cases where you can search for various cases by typing in key words. Please click here for instructions on how to use Westlaw and Lexis Nexis if available in your state law library.
