The holiday bonus: a not-so-subtle stocking stuffer to show your staff you appreciate all of their contributions to the company over the past year. And while a few extra bucks on their paycheck can make for some happy employees, the battle over how much the bonus should be and on what it should be based can put a damper on the holiday spirit. Plus, cash can be boring. So how do you avoid the ubiquity and difficulty of the standard holiday bonus?...
Do you love going to that cute little diner for lunch but absolutely hate having to pay cash? There are drawbacks to carrying a lot of bills. Maybe you don’t want to get mugged. Or, maybe you’re just busy and can’t make pit stops at the ATM before going out for a meal or a snack. You might wonder if it’s legal for stores to impose a credit card minimum charge before they’ll swipe your plastic....
“Alright, listen up, people. Our fugitive has been on the run for ninety minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground barring injuries is 4 miles-per-hour. That gives us a radius of six miles. What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area. Checkpoints go up at fifteen miles. Your fugitive’s name is Dr....
The latest and greatest social network is none other than Pinterest, an online bulletin board system. Founded in 2010, the site already has 7 million unique visitors – and it’s even found a way to start earning money. Pinterest and small business seem like a match made in Internet marketing heaven. For those who haven’t heard of Pinterest, it falls somewhere between a social networking site and an online scrapbook. Users create multiple boards to which they “pin” – or add – items from around the web....
We live in politically-charged times, and we often don’t check our opinions at the office door. And even if we do, the internet has an amazing knack for carrying them into work anyway. From loose water cooler talk to social media posts that go viral, employees can often put their foot in their employer’s mouth. So can you limit your workers’ free speech? And do you have a legal obligation to accommodate it in the workplace?...
There may have been a moment, a brief blip of Internet time, when trolling was harmless and funny. But as instances online harassment and cyberbullying have escalated, we’ve become aware of how serious the real life consequences of Internet trolling can be. As schools are now teaching online safety and states are passing cyberbullying laws, insurance companies are also pitching in and providing “troll insurance” to cover victims of online harassment....
People have a general right to work in a place that’s free of discrimination, whether it’s based on race, religion, gender, age, or disability. In the event that you feel you have become the victim of employment discrimination, you can usually file a claim with the government and/or file a civil lawsuit. The Alleged Discrimination Mark Penn had worked for the hospital’s Department of Pastoral Care as duty chaplain between 2004 and 2011....
When you lose your job, your child support order doesn’t just go away. You still owe the unpaid amount in arrears, which can’t be discharged in bankruptcy and usually can’t be reduced retroactively. But the court can modify your support obligation when you experience a change in your financial situation. If you are unable to pay the current child support amount due to job loss, you may be able to secure a child support modification, which is a particular type of court order....
Illinois juvenile inmates are being held in youth prisons beyond their release dates as the state struggles to find appropriate transitional living programs and halfway homes. Nearly 10 percent of the inmates in Illinois’ juvenile prisons have completed their sentences and are trapped in the system because they have nowhere to go, the Chicago Tribune reports. The lack of aftercare services for to troubled juvenile inmates has kept many of them in youth prisons for months and in some extreme cases a year beyond their release date....
Are you and your colleagues thinking about throwing down some cash by the water cooler to bet on the Oscars? You might think placing a bet on “12 Years a Slave” for “Best Picture” would be a nice way to cheer on an excellent frontrunner, liven up your work day, and make a few extra bucks. But is it actually legal to bet on the Oscars at work? To answer that question, let’s look at how state gambling laws are worded....
He has moved far away from his days as “Governor Moonbeam.” Today, California Attorney General and current gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is asking that California resume enforcement of the death penalty. Executions by the state of California were halted by a federal judge in 2006, when the state’s lethal injection procedures were found unconstitutional and ordered to undergo revisions. Brown’s current position is that the new injection procures adopted in the past month will meet the legal standards requiring inmates won’t suffer “cruel and unusual punishment” when executed....
As much as most people love children, most business owners would tend to agree that having kids in a store or restaurant may also be a liability. A restaurant in Pennsylvania has made headlines this week with its ban on children under the age of 6 - should your business do the same? There are some drawbacks to banning kids. First and foremost, kids’ parents are usually the bread and butter customer of most stores and restaurants....
Trick or treat. Tipsy or Tow. Whatever situation you may find yourself in on Halloween night, it’s important to be safe. Law enforcement agencies around the country will be stepping up their patrol looking for drunken drivers. To help out, the Automobile Association of America is offering its free “Tipsy or Tow” program in places including California, Nevada, Utah and Oklahoma. If motorists feel too intoxicated to drive, AAA will dispatch tow trucks to pick up drivers and their vehicles for a free lift home....
Proving that one false step can change the rest of your life, a Pennsylvania man was left blind after falling off an unmarked step leaving a shopping center. And proving that there may still be some justice left in the world, a jury awarded him $4M in a lawsuit against the property owner. It may be the largest personal injury award in York County, according to the man’s attorney, and comes four years after the incident....
‘Tis the season for small business owners to take stock of 2011 and get ready for success in 2012. We know the holidays are always hectic, but it’s an important time of year for your business. Not only is this the season when retailers make most of their income, it’s also a good time to sit down and strategize, USA Today recommends. Here are some tips to make the last month of the year pay off in 2012....
The New York State Senate Health Committee has passed a medical marijuana bill as support grows for putting a new law on the books. The move puts New York a small step closer to joining more than a dozen of other states that already have passed legislation. This is the second year in a row the bill has gotten out of the Health Committee before progress was stalled. In 2007 and 2008, the New York State Assembly passed medical marijuana legislation but the issue has never gotten a Senate floor vote....
Selling your old car can be a great way to get some quick cash to finance a new vehicle. But if sellers aren’t careful, a used car can become more of a liability than an asset. To avoid angry buyers and assure legal sales, here are five legal tips to consider when selling your car: Commercial dealers who sell used cars are obligated by an implied warranty to deliver the car in good, working condition....
A transgender first grader has won a ruling against a Colorado school district that will allow her to use the girls’ restroom at her school. The Colorado Rights Division has ruled that the Fountain-Fort Carson School District likely discriminated against 6-year-old Coy Mathis when they wouldn’t allow her to use the girls’ restroom at Eagleside Elementary. According to CNN, Mathis’ parents were told that their child – who was born a boy but identifies as female, and even holds a passport that recognizes her as a girl – could only use the boys’ restroom, the nurse’s bathroom, or a gender-neutral faculty bathrooms, but not the girls’ facilities....
When consumers have a gripe with a business, such Texas-based Bitcoin “mining” computer maker CoinTerra, they often turn to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). As Austin’s KXAN-TV explains, the BBB catalogs customer complaints – in this case, that the company’s computers allegedly failed to perform as advertised and that promised refunds haven’t appeared. The BBB then contacts the company. But business owners may be wondering: What exactly happens when a customer makes a complaint to the BBB?...
Fashion is a must for celebrities out on the town, and for Lindsay Lohan, court appearances are no different. Facing charges of felony grand theft related to an allegedly stolen necklace, she made her way back into a Los Angeles courtroom yesterday. In a tight, white dress. Did I mention that it was also short and paired with patent leather heels? Though the entertainment media loves to rag on Miss Lohan, they actually made a good point: Lindsay Lohan’s white dress was not an appropriate dress for court....
