It’s a concern that’s unique to the most recent generation of parents: how worried should I be about my child’s Internet use? We’ve all heard the anecdotes about everything from screen time to online bullying, and as the Internet grows and evolves, it’s only natural for parents to become more uneasy about the amount of time their kids are spending on the Internet and what they’re seeing and sharing while online....
A ruling by the state supreme court has possibly put thousands of Massachusetts foreclosure sales in jeopardy. In Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez, the court ruled that a bank must own a mortgage before it can foreclosure on a piece of property. Otherwise, when the bank later sells the property, it does not transfer title. This is a big problem for those who took advantage of cheap prices at the height of the housing crisis....
Steven Domalewski’s life was changed after a Little League game where he was struck by a ball hit hard off a metal bat. The accident happened in 2006, when Domalewski was 12 years old. Now at age 18 he’s only just getting compensation. The young man’s family sued the bat manufacturer, a sporting goods chain, and the Little League organization for the injuries he suffered. The case settled on Wednesday for a sizable amount....
Landing your dream job can be tough. Sometimes it seems like the only way to set yourself apart is to embellish your credentials. But fight the urge to pad your resume, because as a new FindLaw survey shows, doing so can get you fired. More than one in four people who padded their resumes lost their jobs as a result, FindLaw.com’s survey shows. Eight percent of Americans admit to exaggerating information on their resumes....
Performance improvement plans (PIPs) can be a great tool for employers to track and document the progress of employees who may not be cut out for the job. PIPs can also be a great way to keep records of your company’s efforts to rehabilitate a struggling employee, especially in the face of a potential discrimination or wrongful termination suit. But these plans are not impregnable shields to litigation, and there are still legal nuances when it comes to implementing one....
As of this writing, NBC Washington reports, via Twitter, law enforcement has confirmed the name of the armed suspect they say walked into the Discovery Channel offices in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. The believe the man holding hostages in the building is James Jay Lee. Children in a daycare facility within the building have been evacuated. According to updated reports by NPR, at 1:00 p.m. local time, a man entered the Discovery Channel offices and a 911 call came into police reporting shots fired....
Owners of a Connecticut ski slope cannot be held liable in a ski injury lawsuit that sought damages for a teenager’s paralysis, a state appellate court has ruled. James Malaguit of Brewster, N.Y., was hurt in a ski jump accident at New Hartford, Conn.’s Ski Sundown in 2006, when he was 15. Malaguit suffered spinal cord injuries and is now a quadriplegic, the local Republican American reports. Malaguit sued Ski Sundown Inc....
If you or your kids have a PlayStation, it’s likely you received an e-mail a few weeks ago from Sony Online Entertainment telling you that your personal information might have been stolen. In response, approximately 25 lawsuits have already been filed against Sony, according to Westlaw. The number will likely only grow as more plaintiffs - and attorneys - step up to take a bite out of the Sony apple....
On Sunday, August 1, a balcony collapse during a party at an Austin townhouse caused dozens of people to fall two stories to the ground. Many of the party goers were hurt and had to be sent to area hospitals, though none with life-threatening injuries. The building inspectors and police in Austin are now investigating, to try to determine the exact reason the balcony gave way. During a party on Sunday night, at one point, about 30 people crowded out onto the 400 square-foot balcony, which was more than the weight it was constructed to hold, according to the American-Statesman....
With the economy down, car torchings are up. Well, not all cases involve an automotive blaze of glory, but more and more people are faking the theft and/or destruction of cars they can no longer afford in order to collect insurance money. The few thousand dollars in upside to such a scheme are almost assuredly outweighed by the multitude of consequences should it not turn out as planned. The LA Times cites the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB) to report that the first quarter of 2009 saw a 27% increase nationwide in suspicious vehicle fires and arsons over last year, and a 24% increase in “owner give-ups” (cars intentionally left or destroyed by owner)....
If you’re in business today, you’re in the social media business as well. But not all of us were born online, with Facebook accounts, Twitter handles, and Snapchat feeds as a central part of our identity. So if your small biz is still playing catch-up online, here are a few essential social media questions to ask yourself, and where to go for answers. 1. Can You Use User Social Media Photos to Promote Your Business?...
Is your business keeping tabs on customers’ merchandise returns? If so, your company could potentially be vulnerable to a lawsuit. A number of major brands – including Best Buy, J.C. Penney, Victoria’s Secret, Home Depot and Nike – are tracking customer returns as a security measure. Recently, however, Best Buy was slapped with a privacy lawsuit for engaging in the practice. But do the security benefits outweigh the lawsuit risks? Here are some potential pros and cons of tracking customer returns:...
You’ve probably heard of “incubators” for new businesses, but what’s a startup “excubator”? Business incubators aim to fast-track the growth and success of startup and early-stage companies. Fledgling entrepreneurs can gain access to coveted capital, equipment-rich work spaces and guidance from industry experts – if they’re approved to participate in the incubator, that is. Some only allow startups to “incubate” for a few weeks. But the industry is now abuzz about startup “excubators,” which work with any startups that are willing to pay....
As old tax laws and court rulings struggle to catch up to e-commerce, some of the nice loopholes that benefitted online retailers are closing fast. One in particular – that allowed retailers to avoid charging a state’s sales tax if they didn’t maintain a physical presence in that state – was shut tight by the Supreme Court this week. In a 5-4 decision, the Court admitted previous rulings on the issue of internet sales tax were “flawed,” and can “create, rather than resolve market distortions....
Thanks to smartphones, “showrooming” is on the rise, and it’s not showing any signs of stopping. The practice is more widespread now than ever, with a 156 percent increase in showrooming from 2012, according to a survey conducted by Vibes. Showrooming essentially occurs when prospective shoppers enter a brick-and-mortar retail store, use their mobile devices to check and compare prices, and then make their purchases elsewhere – most commonly, online....
Your employees are going to watch movies, and most likely they are going to discuss those movies at work. And with the majority of movies, this is fine. But judging from the book and early reviews, “Fifty Shades of Grey” is not most movies. And a workplace discussion of the movie could get as racy as the silver screen adaption. In a time when even hugging at work can be cause for concern, and with all employers trying to maintain healthy work environments and avoid sexual harassment claims, the prospect of loose talk about sexually explicit topics around the water cooler could have bosses worried....
Parental leave isn’t just for mothers anymore. And providing parental leave isn’t just for venture capital-flush startups anymore. In some cities, it’s becoming the law for all employers. It seems like America finally might be catching up to the rest of the developed world when it comes to giving parents paid time off. So who’s leading the way? Here are five places (four employers and one city) that are giving their employee parents the most benefits:...
March 21st is National Single Parents’ Day, an observance that began over 30 years ago with a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan. While raising a child isn’t easy, dealing with legal issues as a single parent can make your life even more challenging. But even though you can deal with many of legal issues on your own, you don’t always have to go it alone. Here are five legal issues that single parents commonly face, and some resources that can help:...
Election Day is less than a month away and there’s been a lot of talk about early voting, voter fraud, and voter ID laws lately. Donald Trump has even said there will be “large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day [sic]” and that the “election is absolutely being rigged.” And where you have voting rights questions, we have voting rights answers. Here’s what you need to know about your voting rights, from our archives....
Small business owners need to be vigilant about what they post on their blogs. If they are not, it could end up in a lawsuit worth millions of dollars. That is exactly what happened to Leslie Richard; she owns a small business called Oko Box which sells clothing made out of organic hemp, bamboo and cotton. After the company called her about payment for some of the production costs, Ms. Richard got suspicious and called the Better Business Bureau....
