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This week is the SBA’s Small Business Week, so we’ll be featuring legal advice for small businesses all week long. Today’s topic is employment – the lifeblood of your company that can turn toxic if you’re not careful. Worker protections against discrimination and wrongful termination are expanding, and wage and hour laws aren’t getting any less complex. So here are a few tips as your startup or small business in advertising, hiring, and firing (with some demoting or promoting in between):...

Teachers are responsible for children’s education. But are they legally liable when a child is injured at school on their watch? Well, it depends on where and how the injury occurred, the teacher’s actions or inaction, and the evidence on the whole. Just like anyone else, teachers are only responsible for torts if all the elements of negligence are proven. Remedy for Wrongs A tort is a wrong action that results in an injury to another person’s body, property, or reputation....

Saturday is Armed Forces Day, which celebrates all branches of America’s military in one federally sainted day. But it wasn’t always that way. Here’s a brief legal history of how Armed Forces Day came to be: Prior to Armed Forces Day being recognized, each branch of the military had its own day to celebrate: Army Day, Navy Day, Marine Corps Day, Air Force Day, and even Coast Guard Day. According to the Department of Defense, some of these days were observed for more than 100 years....

The Super Bowl is this Sunday. March Madness is right around the corner. And with several states legalizing sports betting recently, 2019 has the potential to be the biggest sports gambling year yet. So, what do small biz owners need to know before sports betting invades their offices? Here are a few legal pointers. Office pools and betting squares are especially popular come Super Bowl time, and while you may not need to outlaw all gambling in the office, you’ll want to make sure your cross-cubicle bets don’t get out of hand....

So you want to be a star and maybe even help other people at the same time? Move over YouTube, here comes FindLaw. Maybe you have seen FindLaw’s funny commercial letting people in on the best place to get help when “life gets legal.” Now, it’s your turn, and you have a chance to win $5,000 in the process. FindLaw wants everyone who found legal help on FindLaw.com to tell us their story on video....

A Colorado man who was fired for using medical marijuana is taking his case to the state’s supreme court. Brandon Coats, a former phone operator at Dish Network, was fired by the company after he tested positive for marijuana. Despite being a quadriplegic and a medical marijuana patient, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled in April 2013 that despite state law, Dish Network could still fire Coats for having prescribed pot in his system....

More and more women are filing lawsuits against drug company giant Bayer Corporation because of side effects caused by their contraceptive Yaz and Yasmin (precursor to Yaz). According to attorneys who have sued Bayer, the birth control pill has been associated with severe side effects such as heart attacks, blood clots and strokes. Most lawsuits have centered on Bayer’s negligent and fraudulent marketing. The lawsuits claim that Bayer has fraudulently represented that Yaz has been tested and was found to be safe....

If parting is sweet sorrow then divorce must be candied heartache. And while emotions may run high and uncoupling couples may find themselves rounding the turn of a slow-motion roller coaster, there are great incentives to working together for an amicable exit. Tackling the legal black box of a do it yourself divorce can be just the collaborative project that both sides can get fully behind and commit themselves to– allowing the door to close gently into a new beginning....

Waiting in line at the airport can be a soul-sucking experience, but not following the rules can land you in serious legal trouble. Fortunately, there are ways to “skip” the lines and be on the level. One of them was released just a month ago: a free iPhone app which allows travelers passing through Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to blow through customs like a hot, carefree wind. And the winds of change are blowing with regard to air travel....

“If you or a loved one has been injured by a metal on metal hip replacement, you may be owed millions of dollars. Call now for a free consultation!” We’ve all seen the commercials on daytime television. They tell you that there are class action lawsuits for defective medical devices, and claimants are getting million dollar settlements. Most of the time we drown them out or switch to another channel. However, these medical device defects do hurt thousands of people each year, and many people are involved – or should be – in class action suits against medical device manufacturers....

Everyone’s got a different idea of what keeps the peace. Gandhi preached nonviolent resistance and Georgia businessman Lance Toland believes that armed women are the answer. “As more people arm themselves, women in particular, the world’s going to be a safer place,” Toland told The Daily Beast. Referring to his office workers specifically, he said, “This is a group of very, very professional women, well-educated, pilots, but they’re armed and they’re deadly, so do not screw with us....

With the passing of James Gandolfini, the man who played the troubled and ruthless mob boss on the HBO series “The Sopranos,” it might be time to take a second to learn a thing or two from Tony. Here are a few tips to keep the “bada-bing” in your business: When Tony’s “nephew” and often dirty-job-doing employee Chris Moltisanti was discovered to be addicted to heroin, Tony Soprano gently suggested that he should go to rehab and get help....

Call it a sign of the times. The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that non-traditional homes can suffice for the “structure” requirement needed for the definition of burglary. Burglary, though a state crime, is generally described as the unlawful entry into a dwelling with the intent to commit a crime inside. The reason that burglary is considered a violent and inherently dangerous crime is because dwellers are highly likely to defend their home, and therefore there is a high risk of confrontation between the offenders and the dwellers....

California’s DUI laws that allow repeat offenders to get licenses has raised brows for some legislators. Under state law, drunken drivers have to hurt or kill someone before they permanently have their license revoked. The 42-year-old man from Belmont, convicted nine times of drunken driving, was sentenced to two years in prison, but because of credit for time already served will spend less than a year in custody. The Bay Area News Group quoted a local legislator who called Simon’s case “irresponsible and outrageous....

A legal fight over a snowball fight has broken out in Washington State. Last week, a fan injured in the alleged Shaun Ellis snowball attack after a Jets/Seahawks game sued Ellis for personal injury, mental distress, humiliation pain and suffering. The suit did not specify damages. The snowy fracas took place after the Jets game on Seahawks home turf in December of 2008, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. As the Jets leave the field, they are pelted by snowballs from the stands....

Previously reserved for getting small business and creative ideas off the ground, crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe have morphed into online money pools funding everything from legal fees to medical expenses. So, for those toiling under the crushing burden of student loans, it’s only natural to wonder whether you can crowdfund your way out of that debt. But before you go asking strangers to pay back that law school loan, here are a few legal considerations to take into account....

Questions about child support get even more complicated when a parent dies. Do child support payments continue even after a parent’s death? What is the protocol supposed to be? While child custody laws vary by state, the general answer is that child support does continue after a parent’s death. There is a very strong public policy reason for the child to continue being cared for in the manner agreed upon. This, of course, will require a modification to the child support order after the death of a parent....

The United States Dept. of Transportation has released its Motorcoach Safety Action Plan last Monday. This comes at the heels of an investigation into a fatal crash in Texas and another crash this week in Minnesota. The fatal bus crash in Texas occurred in the summer of 2008 because of a tire puncture. We covered both crashes on the Injured blog here and here. Many would be surprised to know that currently, buses are not required to have seat belts installed....

The US Court of Appeals for D.C. issued a ruling that drone hobbyists are rejoicing over. The 2015 FAA emergency regulation that required all drone and model aircraft users to register their glorified toys was struck down last week. Now hobbyists can fly their drones, and RC planes, without fear of being excessively fined or criminally prosecuted for failing to register. The appellate court found that the FAA overstepped their authority in promulgating rules that cover model aircrafts flown for recreation or as a hobby....

About 96,000 Jeep Liberty baby strollers have been recalled by maker Kolcraft due to a projectile hazard. At least 18 people have been hurt. The inner tube of the tire on the stroller can rupture, causing the wheel rim to fracture and fly off as a projectile, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s announcement. The strollers were sold at Sears, Toys R Us, and Burlington Coat Factory, as well as online and other retail stores between June 2010 and June 2013....