You may have a handle on the big things in your estate plan like real estate, bank accounts, and guardians for your children. But there are a few things you may not have considered. For example: Do you know who will take care of your pets when you’ve passed on? And what about custody of assets almost as precious as your pets, like your guns and prized collections? Who will take care of them?...
Hooters has just been sued for the third time in the state of California for illegal employment practices. The restaurant, best known for its pneumatic wait staff and hot wings, is under fire for its treatment of employees as relates to the Hooters uniform and whether or not employees are allowed breaks. Former employee Maya Galakhova is one of the plaintiffs in the suit filed by attorney Burton Boltuch. Boltuch has also filed suits against Hooters restaurants in Southern California as well as in the San Francisco Bay Area....
A bounce house was blown more than 50 feet in the air Monday, injuring three children who fell from the house as it was carried aloft. The children were dumped from the airborne bounce house in South Glens Falls, New York, where a gust of wind freed it from its moorings. According to the Glens Falls Post-Star, two of the kids were at least 15 feet off the ground when thrown from the bounce house, and both suffered serious injuries....
With a number of recent fatal bus accidents as a tragic backdrop, federal safety regulators are urging motorcoach carriers to consider seat belts on their buses, to help protect passengers. NTSB Chairman Urges Bus Industry to Add Seat Belts. In a speech before the Greater New Jersey Motorcoach Association earlier this month, Mark Rosenker, Acting Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), discussed four recent fatal bus accidents in which the NTSB played a major investigatory role, and noted that those four accidents resulted in 35 fatalities and 92 passenger ejections....
The State of California filed a lawsuit last week claiming a janitorial company, responsible for cleaning retail stores like Ross, JoAnn’s Fabrics, Burlington Coat Factory, and Toys R Us, violated state wage and tax laws. One Source Facility Solution is accused of failing to pay workers the minimum wage, underreporting payroll taxes, and providing false payroll information to its workers’ compensation insurance carrier. The lawsuit alleges One Source janitors “have not received and do not receive the state-mandated minimum wage for all of the hours they work....
With the NFL’s regular season starting soon, it’s not just players and coaches who are getting ready. The millions of Americans who play Fantasy Football are also prepping, researching players for upcoming drafts and joining leagues made up of friends, or in many cases, co-workers. According to Forbes, these office fantasy football leagues may offer a golden opportunity for business owners to connect with their employees on a more personal level....
Maybe you were swayed by the swaying palms or a free round of golf. Or the idea that owning a piece of paradise would mean you’d visit more often. Either way, you’re on the hook for a timeshare and now you’re wondering how to get out of it. (Clearly, you didn’t heed our advice about not buying a summer timeshare.) The contract might seem iron-clad, but you may have a few options if you want to back out of a timeshare:...
Sometimes you might think getting paid under the table is the way to go. After all, it’s (ostensibly) unreported cash, so no taxes, right? (Wrong.) The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that qualifying employers pay at least the federal minimum wage, as well as “time and a half” overtime pay for employees working more than 40 hours a week. Local and state labor laws can be even more restrictive and include employers the FLSA omits....
After the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and Zika virus in 2015, the fear that a deadly, communicable disease will find its way from foreign countries into America is very real. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proposed a new rule giving it more authority to detain, test, and quarantine travelers entering or moving through the United States. This might seem like a good idea on its face – after all, we don’t want people dying from preventable diseases....
If there is anything positive to be taken from the horrific Harvey Weinstein revelations, it’s that more victims of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment – both male and female – are coming forward with their stories. And as more stories are told, more lawsuits will follow. And that will leave many people wondering whether you can sue for sexual assault or harassment, and who, other than the perpetrator, might be responsible....
The secret is out. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the controversial policy which bans openly gay military members from disclosing their sexual orientation, has been repealed 65-31 in a historic senate vote Monday. The don’t ask don’t tell’ repeal also rested on a detailed Pentagon study looking at the potential effect openly gay servicemen and woman will have on troop morale and combat issues. Opponents of the DADT policy argued that such a ban was a violation of a gay military member’s right to due process, free speech and open association....
Courts make custody determinations using a single, seemingly simple standard. That standard is the best interests of the child. As you can likely imagine, living in a violent setting does not meet that standard. Domestic violence definitely affects child custody, and will certainly be considered by a court determining the best place for your child to live. So whether you’re the victim or the perpetrator of domestic violence, understand that protecting the child is the court’s priority....
What does the law say about how to display the flag on the Fourth of July, or on any other federal holiday? The American flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing, according to a Congressional report. That’s why there are a number of rules about how to properly display the flag. The Flag Code doesn’t prescribe any penalties, but it does give instructions on the time and occasions for display, the position and manner of display, and on how to show respect for the flag....
Travel is expensive. Why spend money on a hotel if you’re going to spend most of your time sightseeing? Airbnb has become a cheaper and more attractive option for many travelers. However, what happens in the case of an injury? You slip and fall in a hotel, you sue the hotel. If you slip in fall in an Airbnb rental, who do you sue? Can you even sue? Personal Injury Lawsuits Under the principle of premises liability, homeowners, landowners, landlords, Airbnb hosts, are responsible for maintaining a relatively safe environment on their property....
In a long-running dispute, a Brazilian court has ruled in favor of a New Jersey father trying to get his 8-year old son, Sean Goldman, back to the United States. David Goldman’s efforts to regain custody of Sean started after David and his then-wife Bruna Goldman traveled to Brazil with their son. It was then that she allegedly disappeared with Sean and told David she wanted a divorce (and obviously custody)....
Any tax code that talks of marriage will apply to all married couples, wherever wed. The Treasury Department and IRS yesterday proposed rules that will put in practice the Supreme Court’s June decision recognizing same-sex marriage. The proposed regulations would also interpret the terms “husband’ and ‘wife’ to include same-sex spouses as well as opposite-sex spouses, a Treasury Department statement explains. These regulations implement the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v....
Social media and jurors do not mix. This has already been made clear in a few cases of twittering jurors, and now in one example of frivolous facebooking. A juror in a Detroit resisting arrest trial posted to her Facebook page how much she was looking forward to announcing a guilty jury verdict. One small problem, the trial was not over and the jury had not yet reached that verdict....
Getting a small business loan can be extremely difficult in these tough economic times. Banks and other lenders are hesitant to loan to businesses that do not have a real track record of profits. So if you are just starting your business or looking to expand, your requests for financing may fall on deaf ears. Still, just because it is difficult to get a small business loan doesn’t mean it’s impossible....
Under the current U.S. immigrant detention system, many detainees are denied adequate medical care, face cruel and inhumane conditions and have fallen out of touch with their families. It’s this kind of widespread treatment of detainees that has led the head of U.S. immigration enforcement to announce plans for a major overhaul of the government’s controversial detention system, the Arizona Republic reports. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is addressing oversight, medical care and tracking of detainees at facilities....
If it’s possible for a consumer to win against the battle of unmanageable debt, then the Federal Trade Commission’s recently unveiled debt settlement protections are a step in the right direction. Aimed at cracking down on debt settlement scams and better informing the consumer, the FTC is placing some pretty substantial demands on debt settlement companies that have seen business flourish since the recession hit. Perhaps the biggest role these new laws will play in debt management is to better inform the debtor of the nature of the process....
