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Yellow dog contract

A name given in American labor law to contract of employment by which the employee agrees to forfeit their employment if they join a union during the period of employment. These types of contracts are now prohibited by American law.

Young offender

Young persons who, in many states, are treated differently than adult criminals and are tried in special youth courts. In Canada, for example, criminal suspects between 12 and 17 inclusively are processed under the Young Offenders Act, which includes several provisions which reflect the rehabilitative nature of the legislation.

Zipper

"Devices consisting of two opposite series of members adapted to be attached one on each side of an aperture in some article and to interlock so as to close the aperture upon the slide being operated in one direction, or to separate so as to leave the aperture open upon the slide being operated in the opposite direction." Editor's note:we didn't make this up! It's from a 1932 trademark case of the Supreme Court of Canada called Lightning Fastener Co. Ltd. V. Canadian GoodrichCo. Ltd.

© Lloyd Duhaime 1994-1999. The researcher-writer of Duhaime's Legal Dictionary is a lawyer, Lloyd Duhaime. For the litigious souls out there with no respect for the generosity of spirit that goes into this free world wide web legal dictionary, please be advised that you are using this dictionary entirely at your own risk with no warranty on content whatsoever. Also, the information provided in this document is internationally copyright protected. "Duhaime's Law Dictionary" does not cover common English words unless they have a distinct meaning in the law. If you have a good suggested addition for Duhaime's Law Dictionary, please e-mail Lloyd at lloyd@duhaime.org but note that this project is volunteer and he may not be able to research and write the definition immediately or, depending on how busy he may be with his clients, even find time to reply.