The job application form for sales clerk positions at Dollar and Dime Stores, Inc. (DDS), a national retail chain, asks for date of high school graduation, contact information for all prior employers, arrest record information and proof of U.S. birth. Nicole, the new DDS Human Resources Manager, is worried that some aspects of the form could be problematical and is thinking about modifying it.

While she was trying to find time to work on the form, a problem popped up at the DDS Pittsburgh store, where Bob, a sales clerk, assaulted and seriously injured a customer. According to witnesses, when the customer questioned whether Bob had given her the correct change, Bob became enraged and walked around the service counter to physically confront her. Because there was no doubt that Bob was entirely in the wrong, he was immediately fired and banned from ever being reemployed by DDS. Nicole has since learned that DDS was aware of Bob's history of violence when he was hired.

Today brought two new developments in the Bob saga. DDS received a demand letter from the customer's attorney, seeking compensation for the customer's injuries and reimbursement for her medical expenses. And DDS got an inquiry from a neighborhood grocery store, where Bob has apparently applied for a cashier position. Bob's former supervisor is worried about a potentially violent reaction to a bad reference and has asked Nicole to give Bob a glowing review. Nicole's inclined to do that, if only to avoid more problems.

Please analyze the legal issues presented by this fact pattern. Be sure to

• Identify each legal issue raised by the facts and identify by name the laws that govern those issues.
• If additional information would be helpful to your analysis, identify that information and how it would impact your analysis.