We’re just one week into winter, but if you live in a snowy area like the Midwest or the Northeast, you’d better break out your shovels and buy some salt. Because if you don’t shovel your sidewalk, you could expose yourself to liability. As snowstorms are expected to hit (or already have hit) parts of the United States, property owners may face legal obligations to keep their property clean, safe, and ice-free....
The case of Jarretta Hamilton against her former employers, like many others, is sex based. In other words, she has filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination due to her gender. But it is also sex based. That is correct; Ms. Hamilton claims she was fired for having sex three weeks before her wedding, and having the details of her after school activities broadcast to the staff and to parents of students at her former school, Southland Christian School in St....
As we wrote about previously in this blog, there is a Yelp lawsuit claiming that Yelp is involved in unfair business practices, running an “extortion scheme,” and having Yelp employees call businesses in order to have them pay Yelp monthly in order to remove or adjust negative reviews about their business. In response to these allegations, the Yelp CEO has posted his take on the lawsuit on the Yelp official blog....
Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer season and BBQ season, not to mention the travel season. AAA projects that 36 million Americans will trek at least 50 miles away from their homes this Memorial Day weekend, ready to shake off the cold-weather blues of a rough winter. That means there will be 1.5 percent more people on the roads than last year. As you prepare for your Memorial Day weekend road trip, don’t forget these five legal tips:...
As helpful a resource as the internet can be, it can also be a forum for online abuse. And perhaps nowhere on the internet is that abuse more prevalent than Twitter – a social media app that, at best, allows one voice to project to millions of interested followers, and at worst allows minions and trolls to attack users. Kurt Eichenwald, journalist and writer for Newsweek and Vanity Fair, was the victim of one such heinous attack – a tweet embedded with “a multicolored strobe that was going at a speed that was designed to cause a seizure....
There is controversy in Morgan Hill, California, after a vice-principal at Live Oak High School asked two students to remove their American flag t-shirts and bandanas. It was Cinco de Mayo, and because the school has large Mexican-American student population, he believed the flags could cause a disruption. Several media outlets have already reported on the story, focusing primarily on the controversy. “I think they should apologize ‘cause it is a Mexican Heritage Day,” said Live Oak High student Annicia Nunez, continuing, “[w]e don’t deserve to be get disrespected like that....
Police stop-and-frisk policies have been controversial from their inception during the 1990s. Opponents have complained that allowing officers to detain and search based only on “reasonable suspicion” leads to hundreds of thousands of baseless stops, mostly of black and Latino citizens, and, ultimately, is ineffective in fighting or deterring crime. In fact, the City of Milwaukee just agreed to pay $3.4 million to settle claims its police department’s stop-and-frisk practices targeted black and Latino people through racial profiling....
So you’ve decided to get engaged. Congrats! But while planning for your wedding, you should be aware of some the legal issues surrounding your engagement. For example, what happens to that expensive ring if the wedding gets called off? A New York man recently found out the hard way when a judge ruled his ex-girlfriend (whom he claimed was his ex-fiancee) could keep the $10,000 ring he bought her, even though the couple had split....
Where did you attend school? How many jobs have you had? Have you ever been convicted of a crime? Advocates of the “Ban the Box” movement are working to remove that last question from job applications. As a small business owner and employer, how could this affect you? Ban The Box Movement According to the National Employment Law Project, over 70 million Americans have conviction records. With nearly 90 percent of employers conducting criminal background checks during the hiring process, many of those 70 million are unable to secure jobs....
A new study found that about 25 percent of people who own small businesses with fewer than 25 workers do not have health insurance. Typically, these small business owners do not provide health insurance either for themselves or for their employees, reports the Huffington Post. So what will the fallout be when Obamacare kicks in next year with its provisions requiring that certain individuals and employers purchase health insurance? Surprisingly, not a whole lot....
‘I don’t have all the details, but to answer your question, no,’ Jim Pattison Jr., president of Ripley Entertainment, told CBS This Morning. ‘It shouldn’t have been in the water if, if what happened, happened.’ What happened is one of Pattison’s amphibious duck boats capsized and sank in high winds Thursday night in Table Rock Lake in Missouri. Seventeen people were killed and another seven were injured in the accident. Officials have yet to determine whether, and how many, passengers were wearing life jackets....
Few, if any, small businesses set out and decide they will discriminate against their employees based on sex or gender. More often, discriminatory acts or policies are entrenched from outdated approaches or the behavior of a rogue employee. Still, sex discrimination in employment happens far too often, with employees paying the price first, then companies later when they are sued. So here are a few legal updates and tips on avoiding or rectifying sex and gender discrimination at your small business, from our archives:...
Insurance is a necessary part of protecting your business from liability, and as the need for protection grows, so has the field of insurance. Check out these five key types of insurance your small business may need: Just as homeowners should protect their properties with homeowner’s insurance, your business’ physical location should be protected by property insurance. Basic plans will provide coverage for damage by: Fire/smoke, Water sprinkler systems, Explosions, Riots, and Vandalism....
The Mega Millions jackpot has reached $640 million – the largest in world history. People are scrambling for a chance to win, grabbing a few lotto tickets on their way home. Others are turning to office lottery pools, hoping that a few extra numbers will significantly increase their odds. If you’re part of this second group, take a few seconds and read below. Are office lottery pools legal in your state?...
Two Oregonian’s injured in a bar fight are now seeking damages in a lawsuit against the bar. Michael Ray Gaston and Timothy G. Reed were attacked by Shaun Edward Hartley in February. He was a patron at the Wichita Pub where the injuries occurred. He wasn’t an employee but the fact that he drank at the bar that night gives the men the opportunity to bring suit against the pub....
Black Friday. Small Business Saturday. Cyber Monday. Between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas morning, Americans will spend millions, if not billions on holiday shopping. And between the in-store crowds and online fraud, Americans are set to lose a lot of money as well. So here are three of our best tips for keeping holiday shopping safe, from our archives: You want to be sure the goods you get and gifts you give are legit....
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest, according to Benjamin Franklin. But many students in the US must borrow so much for education that they will be paying interest on knowledge long after school is over, sometimes decades later. If you are one of those people – or considering marriage to someone with student debt – here is what you need to know about how you and your partner’s education loans will impact you financially....
A trolley in Boston collided with a waiting train at Government Center Station on the city’s Green Line on Friday, causing more than 40 injuries, and preliminary reports indicate that the conductor was distracted at the time of the crash because he was text messaging with his girlfriend. Friday evening’s accident prompted the area’s transit authority to announce that conductors and drivers will now be prohibited from even carrying cell phones and PDAs while on the job, the New York Times reports....
Is it dental malpractice to leave a patient’s braces on for 11 years? Devin Bost and his lawyer surely think so. That’s why they filed suit on Friday. Bost claims he was just 7 when his orthodontist, Dr. Brad Chvatal, put braces on him for the first time. Those braces stayed in place until he was 18 years old. At that he got a ‘frantic’ call from the orthodontist office to come in and get the braces off, according to the complaint....
An Episcopal priest in Illinois is facing deportation after disclosing that he voted in a federal midterm election in 2006. He mistakenly thought that as a permanent resident he could vote, since the person registering him to vote never asked if he was a citizen. He was even sent a notice with polling place information. Honest mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. Which brings up an interesting question: can a permanent resident be deported for accidentally voting?...
