Weekend File - October 9, 2020
/Weekend Notes
George Wythe
Who is George Wythe?
Last week we asked if anyone could identify whose office this was and why it was significant. We had many good guesses and one correct answer (who asked to remain anonymous).
Here's the answer: The photo is the office of Mr. George Wythe. Who is that? I'm glad you asked. George Wythe was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and is widely considered to be the first law professor in America. This photo is of his office in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Wythe's impact on American law cannot be overstated. In the course of his careers as lawyer, legislator, judge, and professor Wythe taught a "who's who" of statesmen and jurists, including John Marshall, chief justice of the United States; Henry Clay, secretary of state, speaker of the House of Representatives and United States senator from Kentucky, and President Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson's life in the law has been generally overlooked, despite the years he devoted to its practice and the impact it had on the American Revolution and subsequent generations. Jefferson was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1765 after more than two years of reading law under the tutelage of George Wythe.
Jefferson practiced before the General Court in Williamsburg, specializing in land cases. By the time Edmund Randolph took over his practice in 1774, he had handled more than 900 matters, with clients ranging from common farmers and indentured servants to the most powerful and wealthy of the colony's planter elite.
Jefferson was influenced by an English tradition distinguishing between common law—a tradition preserved by courts through precedent—and natural law, or rights ordained by God. In this way, his legal training left its mark on his revolutionary writings, in particular the "Summary View of the Rights of British America" (1774) and the Declaration of Independence (1776).
Legal Notes
Fired for COVID-19, or fired for irresponsibility?
Prada v. Trifecta Productions, filed a few weeks ago in federal court in Ann Arbor, Michigan, asks whether an employer can legally fire an employee with COVID-19 based on the perception that the employee's out-of-work activities placed the business at risk. This will be an interesting case to watch.
On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued revised regulations under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) following a federal court’s decision that invalidated a handful of regulatory provisions interpreting the FFCRA. Although the DOL was widely expected to address the court decision through revised regulations and/or court action, these new regulations throw additional curveballs for employers already struggling to comply with extensive COVID-19-related legislation.
OSHA: Employers Must Report Work-Related COVID Deaths Within 8 Hours
OSHA issued updated guidance on September 30th mandating that employer must report any work-related COVID-19 employee death to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration within eight hours of learning about it. The OSHA guidance also mandated that employers must report in-patient hospitalizations related to workplace exposure to COVID if the hospitalization "occurs within twenty-four (24) hours of the work-related incident.”
Weekend Readings & Entertainment
Deconstructing Disney: Motherhood and the Taming of Maleficent
These days, Disney doesn’t kill witches — at least, not as often as they used to. These days, Disney is interested in the ultimate rehabilitation project: How do you make these archetypal wonders, this sublime femininity, less frightening? Less powerful — particularly to people invested in women and queers behaving in normatively gendered ways? You make the witch a mother.
The Inside Story of MacKenzie Scott, the Mysterious 60-Billion-Dollar Woman
Amazon’s first employee, Jeff Bezos’s ex-wife, and one of the world’s richest women is rewriting the philanthropy playbook
Visit Fort Landia at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Oct. 3, 2020 - Jan. 31, 2021
If you will be in Austin, consider a trip to explore a collection of forts custom designed and built by local architects, designers and artists for the Mollie Steves Zachry Texas Arboretum. Stop and build your own fort at Fort Build too. These creative spaces will transport you to imaginary worlds and spark an appreciation for art and nature — and the curious, wonderful ways in which they intersect. Your secret hideout awaits!
Stream "The Right Stuff" on Disney+
Based on the book of the same name, The Right Stuff follows NASA's first group of astronauts as they train for space flight and finally launch into Earth's orbit. The first two of eight episodes debut on Friday. The series will reportedly move on to the moon landing in season two.
