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The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that public accommodations must provide reasonable modifications in their policies, or procedures for those with disabilities and remove structural, architectural, and communication barriers when such removal is “easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty and expense.” The Act also allows a private person to bring a lawsuit to enforce these requirements. And while increasing access for disabled persons is essential, even the best intentions can be manipulated for personal gain....

Following the horrific accusations regarding a Florida nursing home in the wake of Hurricane Irma, you would hope California facilities would be on high alert during any natural disasters, like, say, a wildfire. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. “These people were left stranded,” attorney Kathryn Stebner told the Los Angeles Times. “They had no keys, no cell service, no walkie-talkies. The three caregivers on hand did not know about any evacuation plan … and in fact, were waiting for an executive director, who did not show up....

Good drivers are always on the lookout for cyclists, and good cyclists always follow the rules of the road. But sometimes those rules aren’t obvious. Like when it comes to groups of riders, are cyclists allowed to ride side by side, or two abreast? Does it matter how fast they’re going? Or what kind of road they’re on? Bicycle laws can vary by state, so let’s take a look: Thirty-nine states have laws that specifically allow cyclists to ride side by side....

It’s prom season across American high schools, and while some students are wondering who their date will be, others are wondering if they’ll even be allowed to attend prom with their chosen dates. This is because some schools have policies against allowing same-sex couples to attend prom. But are these prohibitions even legal? Can schools stop you from bringing a same-sex date to the prom? Fricke v. Lynch Way back in 1980, a male Cumberland High School student wanted to bring a male date to prom....

‘Every woman dreads getting period symptoms when they’re not expecting them,’ said Alisha Coleman, ‘but I never thought I could be fired for it.’ It’s not a legal question often asked, but Coleman should know better than most. She was fired from a 911 call center in Georgia, allegedly after experiencing heavy menstrual symptoms related to the onset of menopause while at work. With help from the American Civil Liberties Union, she is now suing her former employer, the Bobby Dodd Institute, for gender discrimination....

When Child Protective Services knocks on your door, many parents are so confused that they may make some poor decisions or give some suspicious answers without even realizing it. CPS investigators are trained in working with confused, worried parents. If they observe certain behaviors or things around the house, they may ask a parent to take a drug test. When CPS asks you to take a drug test, many parents assume they must comply....

Email. Social media. Even personal cell phones. There is a lot of employee activity that employers my legally monitor. But what about their actual movements throughout the office? Most employers can install and run video surveillance in the office, but that’s yesterday’s technology. Nowadays, bosses have employee badges fitted with microphones and sensors that can track physical and verbal interactions, all through an app. So is this kind of movement monitoring legal?...

Gamblers at Caesars Palace Casino in Las Vegas will live to smoke another day. Casino employees will do the same, whether they want to or not. Yesterday, lawyers for plaintiffs suing Caesars Palace and its parent company Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. dropped their suit for exposing workers to unsafe levels of second hand smoke. According to the plaintiffs’ counsel, this had less to do with the merits of the suit and more to do with the undefined circumstances which now prevent the firm from representing the lead plaintiff, Tomo Stephens....

Even a single cyberattack can cost a small business a lot more than you may think. The average cost of one cyberattack totals about $8,669.48, the National Small Business Association (NSBA) reports. The NSBA also found that 94 percent of small business owners are worried about cybersecurity, while almost half of small businesses, 44 percent, have already fallen victim to a cyberattack. What else does this survey tell us when it comes to cyberattacks?...

A federal judge has sided with retailers seeking a lower cap on debit card swipe fees charged by banks. A victory for retail groups and a setback to banks, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon held last week that the U.S. Federal Reserve didn’t have the authority to set the limit the way it did in 2011, and made the cap higher than Congress intended. The swipe fee ruling may affect small businesses across the country....

A cringe-inducing genital injury to a former Alabama farm worker has resulted in a jury award for $4 million in damages. Gerald Lymon was working with a post hole driller more than five years ago when the drill became entangled in his clothing, eventually stripping the skin from his genitals, AL.com reports. Why did Lymon’s jury feel a multimillion-dollar award was necessary? According to AL.com, Lymon filed suit in an Alabama state court in August 2010, naming his boss, Wylie Joe Kendrick, as well as Kendrick Farms and Kendrick Logging LLC as defendants....

The Fourth of July is almost here, and nothing symbolizes Independence Day quite like fireworks. While it’s usually best to leave pyrotechnics to trained professionals, that doesn’t always happen at this time of year. Chalk it up to that historical independent streak we’re celebrating. So when it comes to the private purchase and use of fireworks, here are a number of legal and safety concerns to keep in mind. Fireworks Laws....

The three Valencia College students that filed a civil rights case against their instructors for retaliating against them when they objected to being forced to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds won their appeal. The Federal Appeals Court ruled that the ultrasounds were not only an unconstitutional search, but also that the instructors violated the students’ right to free speech. This case is as shocking as it sounds. The three female students objected to Valencia College’s Sonography program’s unusual practice of requiring female students to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound at the hands of other students....

JP Morgan Chase has agreed to settle mortgage discrimination claims, brought by the Department of Justice for $55 million. The federal lawsuit alleged that Chase worked with mortgage brokers that discriminated against minority borrowers by charging them, on average, $1,000 more than white borrowers. While Chase admits no wrongdoing as part of the settlement, the lawsuit alleged that approximately 53,000 black and Hispanic borrowers were charged more than white borrowers by the allegedly independent brokers that Chase was working with between 2006 and 2009....

It used to be that a business was flying into an IPO blind: you couldn’t talk to potential investors until after you filed all of your public offering documents with the SEC. So hundreds of thousands of dollars could be wasted before a company could gauge if there was sufficient interest in their stock on the public market. Companies were forced to circumvent these requirements through “educational meetings” between investment bankers and large investors, but it appears that those days are done....

Dubbed the “Grim Sleeper” for his long pauses between murders, Lonni Franklin Jr. pleaded not guilty to murdering ten women in the Los Angeles area between 1985 and 2007. Prosecutors have not decided whether they will seek the death penalty against the 57 year-old Franklin. The Herald Sun reports that all Franklin’s victims (many African American prostitutes) were killed within a few miles of his South Los Angeles home, using a small caliber weapon....

As soon as the skies became littered with unmanned aircraft systems, or, as most users call them, drones, legal regulations were sure to follow. While most drone users are just hobbyists who think they’re cool, there are legitimate security and privacy concerns that accompany drone use. To address these concerns, the Federal Aviation Administration has begun requiring registration of drones (and has already been sued for it). So how do you know whether you need to register your drone, and how do you do it?...

It’s Shark Week both on the Discovery Channel, and here at FindLaw! While many of will never see a shark in the sea, some of us will have to deal with a different kind of shark: loan sharks. Get a $500 loan fast! No collateral required! These offers sound great, especially if you need money quickly. However, these nice lenders do not tell you how much you’ll be paying them later on....

Despite known cases of male breast cancer, Medicaid does not cover it. Men with breast cancer may have to suffer through high bills and hospital costs unless new rules are implemented - or existing rules are interpreted differently. Raymond Johnson, 26, was diagnosed with breast cancer in South Carolina, where he works for around $9 an hour, reports MSNBC. Johnson was surprised to learn of his diagnosis, because he wasn’t even sure that men could be diagnosed with breast cancer....

Constance McMillen, a senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi can’t go to her school’s prom because it was cancelled. Thanks to her. On her big night, Constance wanted to bring her girlfriend as a date and wear a tux. When she asked school authorities if she could, they said no. The ACLU came to her aide and the school cancelled the prom. Christine Sun, the ACLU’s senior attorney for its gay rights project told the Clarion Ledger that Constance’s constitutional rights were being violated....