Posts

Apple recently received some bad publicity regarding its policy of prohibiting convicted felons from working on the construction of its new, 2.8 million square foot campus in Cupertino, California. According the San Francisco Chronicle, several workers lost their jobs working on the site because of past felonies. Bad press is one thing, but is what Apple doing illegal? Are businesses allowed to have polices against hiring convicted felons? Felony Discrimination The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces anti-employment discrimination laws, specifically Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964....

Another day, another FAA regulation on drone use. First it was frowning upon attaching flamethrowers to drones in order to roast turkeys in the back yard. Now, the man is trying to tell us that if we want to deliver beer via drone, we need something called a “pilot certificate.” The FAA issued new commercial drone rules this week, and the big news is that commercial delivery drones will be legal by the end of the summer....

San Francisco is debating whether or not to impose new dog walker regulations. The new regulations, if passed, would require dog walkers to get permits and licenses. The rules would apply to dog walkers who walk two or more canines at one time. In order to get the permit, dog walkers would need to meet a few requirements. They would have to take training courses that will go over some of the basics of dog park etiquette, doggy first aid, and pack management....

Today a divided Supreme Court issued an opinion that workers covered by collective bargaining agreements which contain an arbitration clause must submit claims of age discrimination to arbitration rather than sue in federal court. Overturning the court below, today’s decision further illustrates the strength of arbitration clauses in a growing variety of employment disputes. The 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett opinion released today (discussed in detail on FindLaw’s Law & Daily Life) held that a union can collectively agree to arbitrate claims of age discrimination and thereby waive individual workers’ rights to bring claims under federal law....

It’s that time of the year again: holiday decorations are likely appearing on your front yard (from about now, through Christmas). But if you’re channeling your inner Martha Stewart and are currently decking out your property, be careful. If your decorations cause injury, you can be held liable under a theory of premises liability. This doesn’t mean you can’t put out any decorations. It just means that as a homeowner, you need to be careful....

Twenty-six Montana marijuana dispensaries were raided earlier this week by federal authorities after an investigation into potentially illegal activity. Montana marijuana law permits medicinal use, meaning that the dispensaries were legally operating under state law. If distributing for medicinal purposes, then why exactly were the dispensaries shut down? Medical marijuana is not actually legal. The Supreme Court has said that, though states are free to permit medical marijuana use, the federal government can incarcerate users....

Divorce can be tough on children. But moving after you’ve finally worked out a child custody schedule can be even worse. Deciding to uproot yourself and/or your children is difficult. However, that’s not your only consideration. Following a divorce, many things you used to take for granted can become more cumbersome. Moving away is one such example. So if you’re sharing custody with an ex-spouse, there are three questions you need to consider before packing up....

New York City’s health inspectors are on a rampage. A bagel seed rampage, that is. And your city may be next. B&B Empire Bagel Cafe was reportedly fined $1,650 for allowing sesame and poppy seeds to fall onto the floor while its bagels were being made. They weren’t reusing the seeds, but merely allowing them to accumulate on the floor until they had finished seeding and baking the bagels. Few think the bagel seed fine is fair....

An Olive Garden waitress accidentally served rum to a 10-year-old boy – a mistake the restaurant’s spokeswoman called “completely unacceptable.” The boy’s mother claims she ordered her son a Wildberry Frullato – a fruit-and-yogurt smoothie – at an Olive Garden in Indianapolis on April 19. But instead of a smoothie, the waitress brought back a 4-ounce strawberry daiquiri that contained rum, an Olive Garden spokeswoman told the Orlando Sentinel. The waitress realized her mistake – but apparently didn’t tell the boy’s parents right away....

The Internet presents a variety of risks for companies, including systems crashes, hacking attacks, security breaches, and the mishandling of private information. While companies should do all they can as a matter of policy, practice and technology to prevent such risks from coming to fruition, there is no such thing as perfect prevention. Accordingly, as a backstop, companies would be prudent to procure appropriate insurance for their cyber risks. A variety of insurance products to address cyber risks have entered the marketplace for the past decade....

It’s the holiday season, and you’ve invited friends over for a party – but on the way into your house, someone slips and falls on your driveway. In most cases the person will pick himself up and be fine, but there’s a chance the slip-fall injury could result in some serious pain. Not only will it put a damper on your party, but you could also be held liable for your guest’s injuries....

What sounds at first like a sign of our changing times and how parents need to deal with the latest technology was instead a brutal throwback to a day and age when parents had free rein to physically punish their children. After seeing racy photos of her teenage child on social media, a Georgia mother took to Facebook to shame her daughter, live streaming her reaction. But the vicious beating that followed has left many who saw it wondering if law enforcement will step in....

President Obama and Congress are currently attempting to sort out details large and small about what type of health care reform we may see, and how we will pay for it. No whehter we see a robust “public option,” fully private insurance, or any variants in between, universal health coverage for all Americans remains a primary goal. All sides agree that this will cost much money, even if reigning in health care costs over the long term proves feasible....

Ahhh, the Ritz. A hotel chain famous for its storied level of luxury and service. In Paris, it was home to the likes of Coco Chanel. In Naples, Florida, it is allegedly home to some extraordinarily racist guests. At least, that is, according to the lawsuit filed by one of the Naples Ritz-Carlton’s long- time employees, who is suing the hotel for race discrimination for complying with a guest’s request that they not be served by anyone of color....

Last week, former U.S. Attorney Eric Holder shared detailed findings of his investigation into sexual harassment claims at Uber with a subcommittee of the company’s board of directors. While the results of that investigation are unlikely to be made public, the fallout can’t be kept a secret. On Tuesday of last week Uber fired more than 20 people in response to multiple probes into the company’s corporate culture and conduct, and this morning the company confirmed its second-most powerful executive, Emil Michael, is out as senior VP of business....

Photo-sharing service Instagram published an updated version of its terms of service as well as its privacy policy on Monday. Instagram users did a collective double-take. The company’s blog said the updates, set to take effect Jan. 16, are aimed at combating spam, which has admittedly been a problem for the growing business, Forbes reports. But the new user agreement has raised some eyebrows about how Instagram will be using your photos going forward....

Mortgage fraud includes various illegal schemes involving material misrepresentation, misstatements, or omissions that relate to property or a potential mortgage. In general, mortgage fraud involves two parties: the party providing false information and the party that relies on that information to complete a transaction. It can be committed by both individual borrowers (fraud for housing) and industry professionals (fraud for profit). Let’s look at five common mortgage fraud schemes: Need More Help?...

For small business owners, when a customer threatens to sue, the threat needs to be evaluated before any actions are taken as a result of the threat. The majority of threats are not carried out, as the majority of people are too lazy to actually file a lawsuit after their initial anger passes. However, from time to time, a threat of litigation might actually be serious. Fortunately for business owners, insurance can be purchased that covers nearly every kind of legal liability a business can face....

You’ve won your personal injury lawsuit, which is fantastic. But it turns out you still have some bills to pay, and perhaps to some people you didn’t expect. If those bills go unpaid, creditors, insurance companies, or medical providers may try to secure a “lien” against your settlement. A lien is essentially a legal attachment to your property, saying you owe a debt to someone else, and liens against personal injury awards can mean those debts can be paid out of your personal injury settlement first....

As a business owner, you know it can take years to develop your reputation and to grow your business. And as a business owner, you may also be aware that all of your hard work may be destroyed in a single keystroke when an unhappy customer writes a disparaging review on a website like Yelp or Angie’s List. That’s why more and more businesses are taking their reviewers to court by bringing Yelp lawsuits....