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It’s the most politically controversial fashion statement since the hippies grew their hair out. Wearing one is like putting a lightning rod on your head during a thunderstorm. And now some public accommodations are banning customers from wearing them. Yep – it’s the iconic, red, “Make America Great Again” hat, synonymous with President Donald Trump’s campaign and a particular strain of his supporters. And they’re verboten at Wursthall Restaurant and Bierhaus in San Mateo, California....

There’s an old joke about senior citizens and driving. Jim is travelling home on the freeway when his wife calls and says she heard on the radio that there’s a car driving the wrong way on Route 80. “It’s not just one car! It’s hundreds of them!” he exclaims. But the truth is, accidentally driving down a one-way road can happen to even the most vigilant of drivers, especially if you don’t live or work in a city with one-way roads....

In certain states, cities, and municipalities, new laws prohibit potential employers from asking job applicants for their salary history. These laws may also require employers to disclose their salary range if the applicant requests that information. The purpose of these new laws is to protect applicants from employment discrimination. Employers must comply with the new laws or face liability. However, according to Bloomberg, some states have enacted the prohibition about asking for an applicant’s salary history, many have delayed an applicant’s ability to sue or seek punitive damages, presumably to allow employers to learn how to comply with the new legislation....

To get ready for Halloween this year, perhaps put more emphasis on protecting yourself than getting the best mix of candy for trick or treaters. Property crimes increase by around 24 percent on Halloween, according to one study. Of this, 19% is vandalism and malicious mischief, 21% is off-premises theft, and 60% is theft from the home. What can you do to protect yourself from vandalism? Plenty, according to the insurance industry....

The sad story of a chef killed over a meal raises an important issue for small business owners: How should you deal with disgruntled customers? Or more to the point, how should you not deal with them? Japanese chef Miki Nozawa died from injuries that resulted from a fight with two customers in Germany who apparently thought their meal was poorly prepared, UPI reports. No one has yet been arrested....

When you open a family business, you love the people you work with. But let’s face it, none of us like our coworkers all 40 hours out of the week. And when you’re working with family, those office tiffs can spill over into the home. So when it comes time to sever ties with an employee who also happens to be related, things can get a little dicey, both personally and legally....

Whether you’re a couple, a parent and a child, or business partners, the decision to open a joint bank account is a personal one that will depend on your particular circumstances. A joint account offers both advantages and drawbacks, so the decision should be taken with some careful thought. Here are six pros and cons of opening a joint bank account: Larger account balance. A major advantage of a joint checking account is that there are more funds available in the account because both people are making regular contributions....

Los Angeles has passed an Arizona boycott over its controversial immigration law. The City Council voted 13-1 to end most business with Arizona. The move involves as much as $8 million in contracts with the city. The Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, stated that he will approve the Arizona boycott. “Los Angeles is the second-largest city in this country, an immigrant city, an international city. It needs to have its voice heard,’’ Councilman Ed Reyes said, the Los Angeles Times reported....

As more and more states continue to legalize marijuana, both recreationally and medically, more and more businesses are getting in on the money grab surrounding the world’s largest cash crop. For marijuana business owners looking for financial and legal peace of mind, purchasing insurance becomes an important consideration. Along with the typical kinds of insurance that all businesses need to maintain, such as workers’ comp. for employees and premises liability coverage for customers, cannabiz owners need to evaluate whether other insurance coverages are in their best interest....

What would you do if your medical health records became part of records that were accessible to the public? Well it turns out some people had that happen to them when they filed for bankruptcy. The Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reports that Aurora Health Care Inc. allegedly included specific details of medical treatments in their bills which were included in court bankruptcy records. This caused two class action lawsuits to be filed against Aurora....

After years of criticism and debate, New York officials have agreed to ease back on the Rockefeller Drug Laws which have been labeled some of nation’s toughest. The AP gave some specifics on the changes and the reasons behind them: Instead, the legislation will give judges discretion to impose a range of alternative punishments including local jail time, probation, treatment at facilities, boot camps, and prejudgment diversion programs. Noteably, about 1,500 inmates sentenced under the prior system are eligible to apply for resentencing, although alternative sentences are not guaranteed by the new laws....

The nation’s top court rejected Philip Morris’s appeal in a brief statement, without any legal analysis or opinion. But the action means that the tobacco giant’s efforts at overturning or reducing the huge 1999 Oregon jury award have likely come to an end. And big companies – who had their hopes pinned on some kind of definitive word from the Court on limits for punitive damage awards in high-profile injury cases – also came away disappointed....

An Oklahoma oil tycoon who amassed one of the world’s largest private oil empires may soon be known for a more dubious honor: the priciest divorce in history. Harold Hamm and his wife Sue Ann announced last year that they were divorcing after 25 years. Eight months later, however, the battle of Hamm’s earnings over the course of the couple’s marriage, estimated at $17 billion, continues in an Oklahoma City courtroom, reports CNBC....

By his own admission, Gurbaksh Chahal built his first business on a lie. He inflated his age to a London programmer and promised to pay him money Chahal did not have. Chahal sold that company for $40 million. A less successful second venture, a Bollywood restaurant that literally died in flames, taught another unsavory lesson: “Forget noble motivations,” Chahal wrote in his memoir. “Pursue your own interests and focus on making yourself happy....

The controversial SOPA copyright bill is coming under fire from influential lawmakers, as fears spread about the proposed law’s penalties – including possible prison time for posting copyrighted material online. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi chose an apt forum to go public with her criticism. “Need to find a better solution than #SOPA #DontBreakTheInternet,” Pelosi said Thursday via Twitter, Reuters reports. Congressman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., made his comments offline, saying SOPA has no chance of passing....

A former college student who was paralyzed after falling 20 feet at an off-campus residence has reached an $11.6 million settlement for her injuries. Former University of Pennsylvania student Lorna Bernhoft was a junior at the time of her injury in 2010, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Bernhoft fell through a raised skylight opening on the fourth floor of a building; the opening was covered only by flex board and carpet....

A study released today found lower IQs in children born to mothers who had used the antiepileptic drug valproate (sold as Depakote) while pregnant, compared with results from other antiepileptic medications. The study Cognitive Function at 3 Years of Age After Fetal Exposure to Antiepileptic Drugs is published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers tracked hundreds of pregnant women with epilepsy who were taking a number of different antiepileptic drugs, and looked at the cognitive function of 309 children of these mothers when the kids reached the age of 3....

You may or may know that today is National Waiters and Waitresses Day. Either way, if you’re planning on dining out, today might be a good day to throw a couple extra percentage points onto your usual tip (assuming you do tip). To do our part, we’ve put together a few tips of our own – legal tips, naturally. Don’t wait… check out our Top 5 legal tips for waiters and waitresses:...

With all the ongoing chatter about legalizing marijuana, it appears that some government authorities might be thinking they’ll go ahead and skip a few steps ahead and join the pot growing and distribution process. First, CNN reported about the “government’s stash” of pot kept on the campus of the University of Mississippi, and now it turns out that if you lived in Gallatin County, Illinois, the person to see about buying an ounce of pot might have been your local sheriff....

Last week, it was revealed that a Facebook bug gave 876 different app developers access to the private photos of up to 6.8 million users for almost two weeks before the company found and fixed the problem. That’s not a great look for a social media company guilty of security lapses in the past, but some bad P.R. isn’t Facebook’s only problem. It turns out Facebook waited three months to tell authorities about the data breach, apparently violating the General Data Protection Regulation, which requires 72-hour notification in the event of a breach....