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While coffee gets much love in our culture, coffee makers will be cut of out of some communal tip pools. Specifically, in Montano v. Montrose Restaurant Associates, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found for waiters who complained that coffee makers who worked in the kitchen and should not share in their tips. A waiter sued the Houston restaurant where he worked, claiming it violated federal law by requiring him to share tips with the coffee makers....

WikiLeaks founder and editor Julian Assange has been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012, fearing extradition to the United States. After WikiLeaks released classified material leaked by Chelsea Manning, American authorities began investigating Assange for possible violations of the Espionage Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and other crimes. In fact, CNN just reported in April that Justice Department officials were preparing charges to seek Assange’s arrest....

Two months after Ohio had to stop a botched execution, the state now has become the first to adopt a new single drug lethal injection protocol. Ohio, unlike 35 other states that use lethal injection, switched to a single drug, rather than a three drug cocktail in its death penalty procedures, according to the New York Times. That case caused a flurry of debate among many states whether alternative approaches to lethal injection should be considered....

The Department of Justice released new guidelines addressing the enforcement of marijuana laws and medical marijuana. The guidelines reverse federal policy under the Bush administration by instructing federal officers not to go after marijuana users or suppliers who comply with their states’ medical marijuana laws. According to the LA Times, the formal move came after some confusion surrounded federal marijuana raids which happened after Obama took office. Obama stated during the campaign that federal raids on state compliant medical marijuana would stop....

New Jersey residents hit hard by Hurricane Sandy had the option to vote by email for the first time this year. But because of some glitches in the system, email voting has been extended through Friday night. Not only is New Jersey the first state to allow a significant portion of its population to vote by email, but state officials only had a few days to set up the system and work out any problems....

What a difference a day makes. Or in this case, less than a day, as the proponents of California’s ban on gay marriage, Prop 8, filed late on Wednesday their notice of appeal on the district court decision in that case. As discussed in a prior post, Judge Vaughn Walker ruled yesterday that the California law was an unconstitutional violation of the rights of same sex couples. While the notice of appeal was filed promptly, the actual hearing on the appellate briefs in the case will take a bit longer, unless the court decides to expedite the case....

New York Governor Paterson announced this week that state insurance companies are required to cover seasonal flu and swine flu, or novel H1N1 virus, vaccinations. To be sure, he said the State Child Wellness Law required that New York insurers cover the vaccines, not subject to co-payment, co-insurance, or annual deductible for youth ages 19 and younger. The State Child Wellness Law mandates insurance coverage for vaccines that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends....

As discussed in a prior post on this blog, the Arizona legislature has recently passed what is being called the strictest anti-illegal immigration bill in the nation. Supporters say the new law steps in to help the state control immigration since the federal government has failed to do so. Opponents say the Arizona bill will do nothing but encourage racial profiling by local law enforcement who will be required to question the status of anyone they have reason to believe is in the country illegally....

Brianna Moore’s pink hair got her suspended from school last week. But now the sixth-grader is back in class, after the American Civil Liberties Union stepped in to teach school administrators a lesson about the law. Officials at Shue-Medill Middle School in Newark, Del., suspended Moore because the 12-year-old’s pink-dyed hair clashed with a school policy that requires students’ hair to be a “natural color,” Reuters reports. But when attorneys with Delaware’s ACLU heard what happened, they sprang to action....

If you have fallen and been injured, you probably want to sue someone, and that is a typical reaction. For example, the former superintendent of the Monterey, California school district is suing the city of Monterey for an injury that she says will bar her from wearing stylish heels and dancing with her husband for life. Marilyn Shepherd is seeking $750,000 for an ankle injury from a city pothole, and her husband is making demands too....

By now, your business likely has some form of social media presence, whether on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or possibly all of the above. But what about Instagram? This mobile photo- and video-sharing network is becoming an increasingly powerful way for businesses to market their products and services, reports The Associated Press. What should business owners considering or already using Instagram to market their businesses be aware of? Here are five legal tips for small business owners on Instagram:...

Suing a doctor or hospital for medical malpractice or negligence is no simple task. Doctors, hospitals, and insurers have pushed lawmakers hard to limit when medical professionals and institutions can be held liable for injuries to patients. However, despite all the limitations, legitimate medical malpractice claims arise at an alarming frequency. Below you’ll find the top 5 questions individuals have about when they should sue their doctor or hospital. If your doctor lies to you, you may have a malpractice claim based on a lack of informed consent....

In an effort to fight the Mexican drug trafficking operations on the country’s Southwest border, the Obama Administration has delivered a blow to transportation networks controlled by major Mexican drug cartels moving drugs, guns and money. The operation was a huge dragnet which netted tons of drugs and hundreds of suspects, and was a part of two-year, multi-agency effort to crack down on drug trafficking. The operation, dubbed “Project Deliverance,” involved law enforcement raids across 16 states and a massive takedown, the Los Angeles Times reports....

Love works in mysterious ways. And to some, so does the criminal justice system. Most crimes don’t stop following those convicted once they’re released from jail, and sex crimes especially can haunt perpetrators for years, decades, or their whole life. For those offenders, and the people who love them, sex offender registration can impact everything from residency to employment to marriage. While inclusion on a sex offender registry is not a per se bar to marriage, restrictions stemming from the registration and other conditions of probation or parole can impact romantic relationships....

Car accidents are a risk of driving. When an accident results in a lawsuit for personal injury, the driver at fault may be in for another huge headache. What should you do if you’re involved in an accident and concerned about being sued? Here are five tips on accidents, injury, insurance and lawsuits, informed by a list on Enlighten Me. Knowing a little bit about the law and what to expect can go a long way toward minimizing your anxiety if you find yourself in an unfortunate situation....

Michigan was the birthplace of many of America’s industrial and manufacturing dreams, and it grew up with its own set of laws. Whether you’re in Detroit living out your “8 Mile” fantasy or visiting one of the Wolverine State’s many dairy farms, you need to know what’s permitted by state law. So even if you’re a member of the Michigan militia, pay attention to these 10 laws you should know:...

Maybe a death sentence isn’t so bad for the more than six hundred California inmates facing capital punishment. The state not only has the nation’s largest death row population but a wait list with long delays. The appeals process can last decades. Legal analysts say as one of California newest prisoners, Johnson’s request for a death sentence highlights how delays in executions could undermine any deterrent effect of the California death penalty....

Lunch breaks are for eating, not sleeping. Right? That was the rationale of Los Angeles sanitation officials, at least, when they passed a rule prohibiting sanitation workers from taking naps on their lunch breaks. The officials feared the bad publicity that could arise from members of the public seeing city workers sleeping in the middle of the day. Workers filed a class-action lawsuit against the city, saying that the policy robbed them of their lunch breaks....

This time, life imitates art. In 2004, British artist Sam Taylor-Wood produced a video portrait of soccer legend David Beckham, peacefully asleep. In a eerily parallel scene, the on-going case against the Lower Merion School District for allegedly spying on students via webcams attached to school issued laptops produced in the latest court papers, similar pictures of one plaintiff, Blake Robbins, sound asleep. The motion further claims that the school employees with access to the software and the pictures were delighted with the results....

A circus rigging collapse in Rhode Island has left at least nine performers injured, and an OSHA probe is underway to determine the cause. The incident occurred at a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus event in Providence, Rhode Island, on Sunday. Eight acrobats in a “human chandelier” fell approximately 30 feet to the ground, injuring a ninth performer on the ground. CNN reports that witnesses observed a cable snap during the acrobatic feat, plummeting the performers to the floor....