Analysis of Freedom of Speech and Employment Law Challenges

This assignment analyzes three distinct legal scenarios related to freedom of speech and employment law. The first scenario examines a challenge based on freedom of speech and expression, specifically concerning commercial speech in the context of an advertisement in the yellow pages. The analysis references the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the First Amendment, and the case of Edenfield v. Fane to establish the legal basis for the challenge. The second scenario addresses religious discrimination in the workplace, citing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and emphasizing the importance of accommodating religious beliefs. The third scenario explores a breach of contract related to an employee's actions, such as playing golf instead of fulfilling work duties, and discusses potential legal repercussions and counterclaims. The assignment concludes by referencing several academic sources to support the legal arguments presented.

Name 1
Name
Affiliation
Instructor
Date
Freedom of Speech
1.
Silvia’s legal basis for her challenge is freedom of speech and expression. This
freedom allows one to articulate his or her ideas and opinions without fear of retaliation,
reprimand or legal sanction. As such, this is stipulated under the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, Article 19. Further, the First Amendment protects commercial speech as seen
in the case of Edenfield v. Fane, 123 L. Ed. 2d 543, 113 S. Ct. 1792, 1798 (1993). This case
sets the principles governing commercial speech. Silvia’s advertisement in the yellow pages
is considered to be commercial speech because it is aimed at promoting one’s services as
well as the advert being paid for, (Ghannouchi 30). According to the case above, the yellow
pages is a “commercial market place” where individuals use it as a forum to share ideas and
give information that serves a positive purpose. The information under question must be
vital and helpful to everyone, (Hammer 22). As such, the First Amendment covers for
communications aimed at making commercial transactions. For this to be considered a
commercial speech, the following elements have to be satisfied. First, the commercial
speech should depict lawful activity that does not mislead too. Secondly, a determination of
whether the reprimand made by the Florida Board of Accountancy is substantial. Lastly,

Name 2
whether there is a regulation in place to check commercial speech. From the explanations
above, Silvia has a legal basis for her challenge.
2.
No. According to Title V11 of the Civil Rights Act, employees should not be treated based in
their religion because this is a form of discrimination. However, I could contest their claim if
there was a contractual agreement for them to work on the Sabbath. It is essential to sort
out any form of religious conflicts raised by employees, (Hallberg & Virkunnen 220). This
leads to the determination of the right days from them to work and exemption on their
religious days. As such, work policies are not supposed to interfere with religious beliefs.
3.
The desire to play golf, setting aside one’s duty goes against the contract that one has with
his employer. One can sue for damages especially when the business runs into losses.
Contractual agreements stipulate the time that one should be at work or the time that one
can be free thus having an opportunity to play golf, (Fiss 33). In this case, one can contest
claims that employees raise because they were fired. Seeking damages after being dismissed
from work after deciding to play golf is not justified. In such a scenario, an employer can
contest the claims. Despite it being a Sunday, the employees could be justified if they
attended church or stayed with their families. Secondly, certain business entities work on
Sundays. This means that employees are aware about the business code and working hours.

Name 3
Signing contracts with such employers means that one has accepted to work on Sundays.
However, one can contest the stipulation by stating that he or she does not work on Sunday
because of his or her religious inclination.

Name 4
Works Cited
Fiss, Owen. Liberalism divided: Freedom of speech and the many uses of state power.
Routledge, 2018. 33
Hallberg, Peters. & Virkkunen, Junior. Freedom of Speech and Information in Global
Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan. 2017, 200- 345.
Hammer, Lin. The International Human Right to Freedom of Conscience: Some Suggestions
for Its Development and Application: Some Suggestions for Its Development and
Application. Routledge. 2018, 22
Ghannouchi, Reynolds . The state and religion in the fundamentals of Islam and
contemporary interpretation. In State and Religion in the Arab World Routledge.
2017, pp. 25-32