Posts

A new study has found that 10 American cities are the deadliest places for pedestrians in the nation. The National Complete Streets Coalition (NCSC), a branch of the neighborhood advocacy group Smart Growth America, released a study in May which compared total pedestrian deaths, annual pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents, and percentage of pedestrian commuters to come up with the most dangerous metro areas to walk in America. So which cities are the deadliest for pedestrians?...

Avoiding slip and fall accidents at your business is crucial to limiting your liability. In order to do so, it is imperative that you and your employees take affirmative steps to reduce your risk. Here are three key areas to watch out for to avoid slip and fall accidents. If you fail to monitor them, your business might find itself on the wrong end of a lawsuit. Keep floors dry and clear....

With NSA surveillance all over the news, you may be wondering: What is FISA? The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) regulates the government’s conduct of intelligence surveillance inside the United States. The law generally requires the government to seek warrants before surveilling “agents of a foreign power” engaged in espionage or terrorism. In practice, it grants the government wide surveillance authority. Below is a general overview about what FISA is and what the FISA court does....

The father of a boy misidentified by the New York Post as a Boston Marathon bombing suspect may soon extract his legal pound of flesh from the tabloid, as he is seeking counsel for a potential lawsuit. El Houssein Barhoum, father of 16-year-old Salah Barhoum, says the possible lawsuit would seek compensation for the emotional stress and upheaval his family and his son have faced since the erroneous story was printed, reports The Washington Post....

Women owned businesses rule! Now, in more ways than one. Known as the Women Procurement Program Rule, the Small Business Association recently filed the final rule on this program, which is aimed at increasing federal contract opportunities for female owned and operated businesses. Small Business Trends quotes SBA Administrator Karen Mills: “Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, and even during the economic downturn of the last few years, have been one of the key job creation engines in communities across the country....

Perhaps the only busier time of year than the holiday shopping season is the post-holiday gift-returning season. Small business retailers must be prepared. First, there may be feelings of rejection when customers try to return their purchases. But it’s probably not about you or the quality of your goods. Instead, it’s usually a combination of the holiday shopping frenzy and deep discounts that lead many shoppers to buy stuff they don’t need, don’t want, and don’t have room for....

The ridesharing companies Uber and Lyft, which recently left Austin to avoid driver safety regulations, are being sued in two cases by Texas workers who say they were laid off without fair warning. The drivers say the companies violated federal regulations requiring employers with 100 or more workers to provide 60-day notice of layoffs. The companies are probably not alarmed – between them they face almost 700 cases of labor violations and other infractions, according to Courthouse News Service....

Restaurant owners, if you thought you would avoid employee wage claims if you duplicated Iron Chef America champ Mario Batali’s tip pool, think again. Batali’s restaurants distribute the server tip pool on a percentage plan. Wait captains get the most, bartenders get a percent, and backwaiters get the least. With the Batali employees’ lawsuit, does the house taking 4% to 4.5% of the wine sales portion of the tip pool create problems under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act?...

We recently covered the tale of a Chicago car salesman who was fired for wearing a Green Bay Packers tie. Now two New York Boom Boom Room cocktail waitresses claim they were fired because they did not look enough like “willowy, svelte and statuesque runway models.” Faye Rex and Stephanie Jaggers, former Boom Boom Room waitresses are suing The Standard Hotel over allegedly only hiring women with model looks. “There’s definitely a type at the Boom Boom Room - and that type is beautiful, tall and skinny … They were excellent employees who were terminated for one reason - their body type....

In a two day sweep, investigators for the California Labor Commissioner issued $682,344 in fines to 18 different Los Angeles based garment manufacturers. Over $600,000 of the fines were issued against 6 different garment makers for failing to maintain workers’ compensation insurance. California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su warned, in the agencies press release last week, that the California Labor Commissioner “will shine a light on the underground economy and those who contract with unregistered contractors will also be held accountable....

We’ve all heard stories about women being fired for being fat or not pretty enough. These stories have moved beyond Hooters and have now hit Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino Hotel, which is being sued for firing 15 middle-aged cocktail waitresses after they were deemed not sexy enough to pull off skimpy new uniforms. Wondering whether you can legally be fired for being fat or unsexy? Unfortunately, it depends. Technically, if your state does not bar appearance-based employment discrimination, yes, you may be fired for being fat or not sexy enough if that is the real reason for loss of employment....

As more states legalize marijuana, more people are asking about the future of restaurants serving ’edibles’ to customers. It’s an interesting question touching on a number of tension points in the law, among them state vs. federal drug laws and regulation of the food and restaurant industry. Marijuana is recreationally legal in eight states and the District of Columbia. California, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Washington State are the most populous. Most of the remaining states permit medical marijuana under some – highly variable – circumstances, while some still don’t....

Disney’s beard-ban is no more. Starting February 3, employees at the company’s Florida and California theme parks can now have facial hair. It’s a historic move for the company which has long been known for strict dress code policies. There will still be some restrictions. Facial hair cannot exceed a quarter of an inch. Disney still forbids visible tattoos, body piercings (except for ear piercings on women), “extreme” hairstyles or colors, and soul patches....

Your business is doing great, and you’re planning on expanding into another state. Congratulations! However, did you register as a “foreign corporation” yet? Do you need to? Here are four things that owners of growing businesses should know about being a “foreign corporation”: 1. What Is a Foreign Corporation? A foreign corporation doesn’t necessarily mean a corporation from another country. Corporations registered in one state would be considered a “foreign corporation” in another state....

An insurance salesman living in Illinois has been charged with taking (and attempting to sell) the hotel peephole videos of ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews. Michael David Barrett has been arrested and charged with interstate stalking. Federal prosecutors have alleged that Barrett stalked Andrews across multiple states and on more than one occasion booked a hotel room in the same place she stayed. Though prosecutors claim his conduct included physically following the sportscaster across state lines, they charge that Barrett’s alleged use of his cellular phone to take and send the videos, along with his emails offering to sell the videos to online gossip magazine TMZ....

It’s time to add another reason to the (lengthy) list of reasons why businesses shouldn’t discriminate against LGBT workers. Besides turning off customers and courting controversy, it’s now illegal under federal law in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. There’s a reasonable chance that the U.S. Supreme Court could soon extend that decision nationwide as well. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating in the workplace on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin....

When running a business, keeping costs down and retaining good employees are two of life’s major challenges. But what if you could do both at the same time? Approximately 250,000 Americans transition from the military to civilian life each year. Many struggle to find jobs for a variety of reasons. Some can’t find civilian jobs in the field they were trained in the military. Some lack civilian business connections. And some are disabled, and have a more difficult time finding gainful employment....

The forthcoming health care ruling will have far reaching effects, including a potentially significant impact on Medicaid. The new health care law expands Medicaid’s reach and forces states to comply with those expansions or lose their federal match dollars. Obamacare would drastically alter eligibility for the program and allow more Americans to qualify for benefits, according to The Washington Post. It’s worth taking a second here to review some federal benefits vocabulary....

Haitian immigrants living illegally in the United States may be granted temporary protected status. In the wake of Haiti’s 7.0 earthquake causing devastation and destruction, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has halted the deportation of Haitians. Now, the Obama administration is struggling with how to process thousands of illegal Haitian immigrants. Officials say, about 30,000 Haitians currently face deportation. But the question at hand is whether immigration authorities will offer illegal Haitian immigrants “temporary protected status” (TPS)?...

When calculating damages for an injury lawsuit, lost wages are often included in the total amount. Lost wages typically include money that a plaintiff would have earned from the time the injury occurred until the settlement is reached or a trial is complete. However, an injury lawsuit may also seek recovery for the loss of future wages, known as earning capacity. Damages for lost earning capacity seek to compensate an injured person for his or her diminished ability to earn money in the future due to impairments caused by an injury....