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Simple English definitions for legal terms
grandfather
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A quick definition of grandfather:
Term: GRANDFATHER
Definition: When a new rule or law is made, sometimes people who were already doing something before the rule was made are allowed to keep doing it. This is called a grandfather clause. For example, if a new rule says you have to be 18 to buy cigarettes, but you were already 16 when the rule was made, you might be allowed to keep buying cigarettes until you turn 18. This is called being "grandfathered" in.
A more thorough explanation:
Grandfather is a verb that means to exempt or protect a person or group from a new rule or law because they were already doing something that is now prohibited.
For example, if a new law is passed that requires all employees to have a college degree, but you have been working at the company for 20 years without a degree, you might be grandfathered in and allowed to keep your job.
Another example is if a new zoning law is passed that prohibits the construction of buildings over a certain height, but a skyscraper was already under construction before the law was passed, it might be grandfathered in and allowed to be completed.
One more example is if a new policy is implemented that requires all students to wear uniforms, but students who were already enrolled in the school before the policy was announced are grandfathered in and allowed to continue wearing their regular clothes.
These examples illustrate how the term grandfather is used to exempt or protect people or things from new rules or laws because they were already doing something that is now prohibited.