Business law is the law that oversees business and commercial dealings within a country. The United States has Commercial laws, which govern the United States commerce and trade industries. Its commercial laws deal with issues arising from both private and public law.
The United States legal system affects the trade and commerce sector by the various laws it has enacted which govern the sectors. Most of the American laws concerning businesses affect businesses negatively.
The legal system is behind the running out of business of various businesses and has also contributed immensely to most companies operating on losses. Three are a good number of companies that have collapsed most of these companies can blame the legal system for their collapse (Wall Street Journal).
One such area is the law concerning corporate contracts, which oversees that all contracts between various businesses and corporations are legally bound. This means that the law protects all contracts and if a contract is not honored, the aggrieved party has the right to sue the offender.
There are also laws regulating the hiring practices of various businesses and corporations. The law provides for the legally bound employment of all people and their welfare should be well taken care of. It also provides for the company’s provision of all benefits to its employees. It also dictates that employment opportunities should be afforded to all despite their sexual orientation, race, or religion.
There is also the law governing the sale of business securities that is also called the Uniform Commercial Code. It oversees the sale of business and investment securities in the market (Wall Street Journal).
There are also other numerous laws that are attached to commercials laws. However, businesses cannot operate smoothly without breaking some of the laws. In fact, some business lawyers have argued that for a business to comply with all the legal requirements it has to go out of business.
Many companies have been fined billions of shillings for breaking these laws. Some of the laws protect the public from being exploited by the business. This has seen most businesses lose a lot of money in settlements that have been awarded to people who have sued the companies.
The US businesses also lose because of the laws protecting consumers against any harm done to them by the companies’ products. A good example is the cigarette industry, which has paid billions in settlements to consumers who got lung cancer while they were smoking.
In regards to laws that oversee the hiring of people, the businesses are held liable for the harm that could be done by the employees when they were working for the company. McDonald’s had been sued after an employee had harassed a minor in one of their takeaways. Although McDonald was not guilty of any crime, the jury passed the judgment against them (Wall Street Journal).
Generally, the legal system of the United States has had negative effects on the business sector. Most of the laws are against the business sector and if all of the laws are followed, most businesses could end up running out of business. Many business lawyers have admitted that the companies they represent do not adhere to all the legal requirements because first, they are very expensive, and secondly, most businesses would run out of business.
In these days of the global economy, most of the legal systems in various countries have a negative effect on the business sectors.
References
Wall Street Journal.(2008): New by Fees Settlement Revised. Web.