You can always record a conversation if you let everyone know it is happening and all parties consent. Even if people don’t affirmatively agree, when they keep talking to you after you gave them notice, you’ve received a kind of consent. But if you want to secretly record someone that is a whole other ball of wax and whether you can do it legally depends on several factors. Let’s consider them....
If you’ve been injured on the job and thought about filing a worker’s compensation claim, you may have worried about how that could affect your employment. Could your boss fire you for filing a worker’s compensation claim? The short answer is no: Most states make it illegal to retaliate against an employee who files a worker’s comp claim. That said, there are a few ins and outs to be aware of when filing your claim....
You might think about handling a simple fender bender on your own. After all, it’s just a couple quick calls to insurance companies and paperwork from the repair shop, right? But even the most straightforward car accident claims can go sideways in a hurry. For more serious cases where someone is injured, the fallout can be complex and intimidating. Going it alone can mean forfeiting your legal rights, getting a smaller settlement, or even being found liable for the accident yourself....
Any car accident is terrifying – we realize how powerful and dangerous cars can be, and how fragile our health and safety can be when driving. In some tragic instances, serious car accidents can result in fatalities and we are truly shaken. Often, the last thing from our mind when a loved one is killed in a car accident is the legal system. But if the deadly accident was someone else’s fault, you may be able to recover for medical bills, funeral costs, or pain and suffering....
In an effort to reduce injuries and deaths from vehicle rollover accidents, federal highway safety officials announced this week that car makers will need to comply with tougher vehicle roof strength standards. Below are details of the new vehicle roof strength regulations, from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: For lighter vehicles (up to 6,000 pounds), the new federal regulations will double current roof strength requirements, mandating that the driver and passenger sides of vehicle roofs be able to withstand an impact three times the vehicle’s weight....
The first criminal case of teen sexting has reached its way to a U.S. Appeals Court. According to Reuters, is it the first U.S. case to see what the constitutional rights of sexting are. Sexting, which is a combination of the words texting and sex, is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos between cell phone users. Teen sexting is a problem because the dissemination of sexual photos of underage users can be considered child pornography....
What would you do if you were evicted from a foreclosed house? This is an unusual tactic for the attorney. Michael Pines advises his clients to break into their foreclosed houses and illegally squat in them, Newser reports. And it seems like he has a few attorneys who admire his chutzpah: “Most attorneys won’t admit it, but they admire his convictions,” said Ventura lawyer Doug Michie. While it may seem tempting to break back into your own foreclosed house, it certainly has not helped Michael Pines’ own clients....
No one likes the process of applying for a job. There’s no real guide on how to find work. The search alone can wear people down and writing cover letters is no picnic. But what about your legal rights? It’s probably not what most people think about when it comes to getting a job. But it should be. Whether you know it or not, job applicants have rights. And they don’t just come after you’re hired either, some attach before....
An Obamacare deadline extension is coming to the rescue of Americans who say they won’t be able to enroll in health plans via the federal insurance marketplace by the March 31 deadline. The extension, announced Tuesday, is an attempt to prepare for a last-minute surge of people trying to sign up before the deadline. That sudden spike could leave some people unable to get through the system. Here’s what you need to know about who’s eligible for an Obamacare deadline extension and how to claim it:...
Can a state forbid registered sex offenders from using social media? Apparently not, a federal appeals court ruled this week. An Indiana law (Indiana Code section 35-42-4-12) prohibits sex offenders from using social media sites that allow access to those under 18. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that this law is too broad, and is an unlawful prohibition on protected speech. One huge problem with Indiana’s law – passed by state lawmakers in 2008 – was that it restricted registered sex offenders, even after they had served their time and were no longer on probation, The Indianapolis Star reports....
Only you can decide if your business is worth selling and that probably depends on more than money. How much your business is worth hinges on many factors, including the industry, the economic climate, assets and liabilities, revenue, and much more, some of which cannot be easily translated into dollar figures. Some things have value and are important to the sale of a business but are not easy to quantify....
Call it the comeback kid. The Senate has voted to end debate on a small business jobs bill, 60 to 37. The bill would restore the lending fund to the jobs bill. Under the bill, the Treasury Department would provide as much as $30 billion to banks with under $10 billion in assets in order to spark loans for small businesses. The bill includes provisions designed to lower small business loan rates....
Peter Godefroy was riding his bicycle on Valley Vista Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, California two years ago when struck a pothole, crashed his bike, and suffered “severe traumatic brain injury and numerous broken or fractured bones throughout his body.” Godefroy sued the City of Los Angeles, claiming poor lighting and even worse maintenance led to a simple pothole becoming a “concealed trap for bicyclists.” The L.A. City Council settled that lawsuit last week, voting 11-0 to approve granting Godefroy $6....
A Muslim man was fired from his post as a security guard. The reason? He was fired over his beard. Abdulkadir Omar, 22, was working for American Patriot Security in May 2009. Omar is from SeaTac, Washington. When he was hired, he had facial hair, but was never told he had to shave, the Seattle Times reports. A few months after he was hired, Omar was told that he had to shave his beard....
Cities and states across the country are investing more money and resources into protecting pedestrians, through infrastructure projects like sidewalk construction and crosswalk installation, and safety plans that seek to better accommodate walking as a viable mode of transportation. Here’s a look at some recent “steps” in the push for pedestrian safety: In Washington D.C., Mayor Adrian M. Fenty released a comprehensive pedestrian safety plan – including guidelines for engineers and city planners – that “challenges a century of car culture [and] infuses city planning with the concept that pedestrians have as much right to the streets as motorists do,” according to the Washington Post....
Just when you thought it was safe to order office supplies … Well, actually, ordering supplies for your office is probably pretty safe, just as long as you’re not ordering from a few unscrupulous vendors in California or Maryland. The Federal Trade Commission just charged 12 companies in those two states for ripping off non-profit organizations and small businesses, and “tricking them into paying for overpriced office and cleaning supplies they never ordered....
Las Vegas weddings just got easier with the introduction of the Wedding Wagon. No longer will starry-eyed lovers have to take a cab to the nearest Elvis chapel. Now the wedding can come to them. The masterminds behind this idea, Andy Gonzalez and James Cass, realized something was missing in the Vegas wedding market so they filled the gap. They became ordained online through American Marriage Ministries although their service is largely non-denominational, according to the pair....
Automatic voter registration is the law in California as of Saturday. The Golden State will now automatically register eligible voters when they obtain a driver’s license. Oregon is currently the only other state to provide automatic voter registration. The California effort to increase electoral participation stands in stark contrast to Alabama, which last week announced the closing of 31 Departments of Motor Vehicles based on budget cuts, a move some say is designed to prevent the state’s disenfranchised from registering to vote....
Even if your small business is filing for bankruptcy, there may still be some debts you’ll need to repay. And who you’ll need to repay – and who you’ll need to repay first – will depend on how your creditors are classified. By the same token, if a client or customer is declaring bankruptcy, there’s still a chance you’ll get paid. And whether – and when – you’ll get repaid will also depend on how your small business is classified as a creditor....
Harassment has left the schoolyard and taken to the cell waves in the form of texts. According to a poll in Owlcation, 96 percent of the nearly 23,000 voters in the poll have been text messaged harassed. Sometimes these messages are annoying, and sometimes they are far more harmful. When should you report a harassing text to police? The answer really depends on you and the nature of the texts....
