Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Knowledge or skill that a person holds out as possessing by reason of occupation. The phrase identifies expertise tied directly to the particular practices or goods involved in a transaction rather than to attributes common to the general population.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Merchant Status for Watch Inspection
Aurora Capital, an investment bank, retained Blake, a specialist watch dealer, to inspect luxury watches pledged as collateral by Meridian Timepieces before extending credit. Blake's expertise in evaluating high-end timepieces and related documents is peculiar to the practices involved in the secured transaction. Because Aurora employed an intermediary holding himself out as possessing that specialized knowledge, Aurora is chargeable with merchant-level skill for the watch inventory deal.
Pregnancy Policy Under Title VII
Johnson Controls maintained a policy barring women capable of bearing children from jobs involving lead exposure in battery manufacturing. The physiological risks of lead exposure to a developing fetus are peculiar to women of childbearing capacity. The policy therefore constituted sex discrimination under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act because it treated a condition peculiar to women less favorably than other medical conditions.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Uniform Acts
Restatements
Study Supplements
State Sovereign Immunity Limits
The Seminole Tribe sued Florida in federal court to enforce rights under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The Eleventh Amendment immunity from suit that the state asserted is peculiar to the federal-question context when Congress attempts to abrogate state sovereign immunity. The Court held that this immunity could not be overridden by federal legislation enacted under the Indian Commerce Clause.
State Employee Wage Regulation
San Antonio transit workers sought overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The functions performed by the metropolitan transit authority are peculiar to traditional state and local government operations rather than to uniquely federal concerns. The Court therefore upheld Congress's power to apply the federal wage statute to state employees performing those functions.
OSHA Warrant Requirement
Barlow's, Inc. refused entry to an OSHA inspector who lacked a warrant. The expectation of privacy in commercial premises is peculiar to the context of administrative searches that intrude on areas not open to the public. The Court held that the Fourth Amendment therefore requires a warrant for OSHA inspections of business facilities.
Sexual Orientation Under Title VII
A county employee was fired after his employer learned he was gay. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation necessarily involves treating an individual differently because of sex, a characteristic peculiar to the statutory prohibition against sex discrimination. The Court therefore concluded that Title VII protects employees from adverse actions based on sexual orientation.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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How does the UCC definition of merchant rely on knowledge peculiar to the goods or practices?+
The statute treats a person as a merchant when that person deals in goods of the kind or holds himself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the practices or goods involved in the transaction. Attribution of such knowledge through an agent or intermediary also satisfies the definition. This specialized standard triggers heightened duties in sales transactions between merchants.
Supporting sources
What distinguishes a risk peculiar to employment from an ordinary disease of life in workers' compensation statutes?+
Statutes often limit coverage to diseases peculiar to the type of employment, meaning the condition must arise from hazards unique to that occupation rather than from risks common to the general population. Courts compare the nature of the occupation with the specific disease to determine whether the statutory standard is met.
When does an employer owe a nondelegable duty because work poses a peculiar risk?+
An employer hiring an independent contractor must provide for special precautions when the work is likely to create a peculiar and unreasonable risk of physical harm unless those precautions are taken. The duty arises from the nature of the contracted activity itself and cannot be shifted to the contractor.
517 U.S. 44, 106 (1996)Constitutional Law
…state sovereign immunity itself immune from abrogation in federal-question cases is open to a further set of objections peculiar to itself. For today's decision stands condemned alike by the Framers' abhorrence of any notion that such common-law rules as might be received into the new legal systems would be beyond the…