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Some jobs are naturally dangerous, some are unnecessarily so. And the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Justice have announced a new effort to investigate and criminally prosecute health and safety violations in the workplace. The Worker Endangerment Initiative is a joint undertaking uniting the DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and Wage and Hour Division (WHD) with the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U....

On July 13, 24 Hour Fitness, a nation-wide fitness company, became the subject of an employment discrimination suit. The suit, filed in Alameda, California accuses the fitness company of systematic racial and gender discrimination against its California employees. The suit will seek class action status and claims damages of lost wages and unspecified punitive damages. The Associated Press reports that one of the lead legal representatives for the plaintiffs is the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund....

Whether it’s your first, or you’re hoping it will be your last, buying a house can be an exciting time. It can also be a bit nerve-racking – between finding the perfect home, having it inspected, negotiating a price, and signing all the right paperwork, buying a house isn’t easy. Which is why we’re here to help. Below is some of our best legal advice for buying a home, from the FindLaw archives:...

Dozens of former Yale frat members – 86, to be exact – are being sued over a 2011 incident with a U-Haul truck which killed one tailgater and injured two others. The ex-members of Sigma Phi Epsilon are being sued by the family of 30-year-old Nancy Barry, who was killed after being struck by the U-Haul truck, reports Connecticut’s WVIT-TV. The national chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon has disavowed any connection to the incident....

Apple and Samsung are waging a global war for dominance over mobile devices. And with a U.S. federal judge picking ten jury members, the first battle is set to begin. In the fight between Apple and Samsung, the two companies have filed lawsuits against each other around the world, each accusing the other of stealing their patents and intellectual property. In the U.S., Apple sued Samsung claiming that the South Korean company “slavishly” copied their iPhone and iPad, reports Reuters....

Arizona had passed legislation prohibiting courses “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group,” which targeted a decades-long, voluntary Mexican American Studies program for K-12 students in the Tucson Unified School District. But a federal judge ruled the ban was “enacted and enforced with a discriminatory purpose,” and is therefore unconstitutional. Racial Animus Judging from local reporting on the ban, it became a personal issue. The Arizona Daily Star reports that Arizona’s superintendent of public education at the time, Tom Horne, and former state senator, and Horne’s successor John Huppenthal, had it out for the Mexican American Studies program for years, culminating in an alleged blog post comment by Huppenthal comparing the classes to Hitler’s rise to power....

Bookstore chain Barnes & Noble’s recent settlement with New York’s Attorney General should be a warning to business owners: Breastfeeding moms usually have the law on their side. In the New York case, a woman breastfeeding her 5-month-old child was asked to cover up or leave by a Barnes & Noble manager, who said that uncovered breastfeeding was “against store policy.” After the woman filed a complaint, the Attorney General stepped in to remind Barnes & Noble that breastfeeding in public was definitely encouraged by state policy, not to mention state law....

Flaming desserts and injury are something that seem like they would go hand-in-hand. And, a recent Bananas Foster fire that left four unlucky restaurant diners burned seems to underscore the danger of fiery foods. The unfortunate accident took place at the Ozona Blue, a restaurant in Palm Harbor, Florida. Katie Hudgins, her fiancé and her fiancé’s family, were sitting down to a nice meal and had ordered two servings of Bananas Foster....

Did you know that some of your gifts could be included in your income tax calculation? But only those that the IRS says are “not really” gifts. Let’s break this concept down. Also, keep in mind that there is a tax that is entirely separate from income tax and it is called “gift tax.” It has its own tax return and its own set of tax rules. But gift tax is beyond the scope of this post....

To some, a casino is like an adult version of an arcade. The lawsuit was filed in federal court last month. Denise Keller, mother of two young daughters, is asking for a jury trial, damages, and restitution of up to $5 million. “We don’t think that children should be exposed to casino-style gambling devices at an arcade,” says Eric Benink, Keller’s attorney, to The San Diego Union-Tribune. According to Keller, some of Chuck E....

A solid succession plan is essential to the longevity of a family business. Though family businesses account for a staggering 50 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States, only 52 percent of family business owners have faith in younger relatives’ ability to sustain the business for generations to come, according to a PwC survey reported by Forbes. To assuage such concerns, here are five tips on how to form a family business succession plan:...

The Boy Scout Jamboree is a celebration which promises fun and the great outdoors for young Scouts… unless those Scouts are dangerously overweight. A new fitness requirement for the 2013 Jamboree demands that attendees must meet specific body mass index (BMI) requirements, reports USA Today. The 10-day gathering kicked off Monday with 30,000 Scouts in attendance; it’s not clear how many Scouts failed to make the weight cut. While these standards may be imposed to encourage fitness and health, many Scouts and their parents feel this requirement is plain discrimination....

This year’s Listeria cantaloupe outbreak has left consumers wondering about the safety of the nation’s food products. In fact, there are legal remedies in place to help victims of food poisoning. Plaintiffs can file products liability lawsuits against food producers. Not all food poisoning cases will be the same. However, most are similar to lawsuits filed against dangerous or defective products. Food poisoning generally occurs when someone consumes food that is contaminated with pathogens....

This is another in our series on car accident claims. So many of us experience an accident, but do we really know what do to, how to get help, or what our rights are? This series can help. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you know you may be able to get reimbursed for hospital and medical bills. But what if those injuries were severe enough to cause you ongoing pain and suffering?...

Guest post by Jennifer K. Halford, Esq. School is out for the summer. That means that there is a new, youthful workforce looking for summer employment. That can mean less expensive, energetic employees wanting to work for your business. This may sound like a great deal for a business owner trying to save money and increase temporary staffing for the summer months. But beware. This also means new employment laws that you have to comply with....

Beth Shak’s ex-husband is hitting where it hurts - her shoe collection. Shak is being taken back to court over her allegedly $1 Million shoe collection. Her ex-husband claims the shoes weren’t declared in their divorce three years ago. Shak, a professional poker player, has a love of beautiful footwear and a shoe collection to match. Her closet full of designer heels and flats has appeared all over the media, including MTV Cribs....

A simple Google search for “snowmobile accident” returns a distressing number of results, many detailing significant injuries or even deaths. With snowmobile sales on the rise and winter weather feeling more extreme, snowmobile accidents statistics may only get grimmer. It may be easy to assume that snowmobiles would be treated exactly like automobiles and other vehicles when it comes to accidents. In fact, a 2003 study indicates that snowmobiles cause a higher rate of injuries and fatalities than road traffic....

How responsible is an online service provider supposed to be about offensive videos that are posted by third parties? A Google lawsuit in Italy regarding video of an autistic teen getting beaten up has gotten a lot of attention because of cyberbullies. As a result, the New York Times recently reported that Google has had to defend the actions of four of its executives for failing to comply with privacy laws....

Outgoing NJ Governor Jon Corzine has signed legislation granting chronically ill patients legal access to marijuana. NJ Gov. Jon Corzine signed the bill on his last full day in office before Gov.-elect Chris Christie will be sworn in. The new law legalizing medical marijuana in New Jersey to help patients with chronic illnesses also is the strictest medical marijuana law in the nation. Only patients with specific illnesses would be permitted to get a prescription: cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, seizure disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gherig’s disease), severe muscle spasms, muscular dystrophy, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease and any terminal illness if a doctor has determined the patient will die within a year....

America’s longest married couple recently celebrated their 81st wedding anniversary. For all the hopeless romantics out there, hope lives: John and Ann Betar eloped in 1932, shortly after they met. Sigh. The Betars are the real deal. They’re what “rom com” dreams are made of. But what about the rest of us? Here are a few questions to ask yourself to figure out when you’re ready to take the marital plunge:...