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When South Carolina’s new law against texting while driving went into effect on Monday, Montana officially became the last state in the nation with no statewide ban on texting while driving. But as The Associated Press reports, Montana isn’t far behind: Currently, a dozen cities and two counties in the state prohibit texting while driving, and state legislators have plans to introduce a bill to ban the use of cell phones while driving in 2015....

The U.S. Navy on Monday began to compensate victims of Friday’s Navy jet crash, and provided legal assistance to help guide residents through the claims process. An F/A-18 fighter jet crashed into an apartment complex in Newport Beach, Va., just after noon Friday. Two crew members and five civilians on the ground were treated at hospitals and released. No one was killed, but five apartment buildings were damaged or destroyed....

On the heels of recently proposed mandatory paid sick leave legislation, a Florida Congressman has proposed legislation that would require some employers to offer employees annual paid vacation. Currently, employers have no legal obligation to offer employees paid or unpaid vacation. Yesterday, Alan Grayson, Representative of Florida’s 8th District which includes Orlando, proposed the Paid Vacation Act of 2009. If passed, the law would federally mandate that businesses with at least 100 employees, and later businesses with at least 50, offer paid vacation each year to full- and part-time employees....

It appears this might be a big week for serial killer cold cases. First, a California woman yesterday claimed her dad was the infamous Zodiac killer, now CNN reports that police have linked 72-year-old John Floyd Thomas Jr. to a couple of Los Angeles murders that happened over 30 years ago. Police further indicated that Thomas could be connected to “as many as 30 murders and dozens of rapes during the 1970s and 1980s”, crimes which appear to have targeted older women....

Yesterday, the state of Ohio and Huntington Bancshares announced a joint program to lend $1 billion to small businesses over the next three years. Many small businesses have waited for such initiatives from banks like Huntington that received TARP money. According to the press release issued by Huntington, Ohio’s Governor and the Department of Development, the Ohio and Huntington Job Growth Partnership is a public private partnership designed to “attract, retain and grow businesses and jobs within the state....

Is your small business on social media? If so, are you keeping your activities legal? There are many legal implications behind the inner workings of social media. Many may not occur to business owners, especially those for whom social-media use seems almost like second nature. Still, it’s best to be careful as to how you publicly represent your business on Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms. Here are the Top 10 legal tips (and a few non-legal Internet etiquette tips) for small business owners on social media:...

Doing business with the government can have its advantages. Longer contracts more prone to renewal with a customer who pays on time are a dream come true for most small businesses. But there are only so many local, state, and federal government entities with which to contract and competition can be fierce. So how do you qualify for government contracts and then set your small business apart? Here are three keys:...

Asylum is a humanitarian form of immigration relief. It is available only to those who have experienced particular kinds of persecution. There are two types of asylum applications, affirmative and defensive. They are similar but arise under different circumstances. An affirmative asylum application is for a person who comes to the U.S. and actively seeks relief within one year of entry in the country. Defensive asylum applications are for people who are placed in removal proceedings and seek to remain in the country, defending against deportation with a humanitarian claim....

Over six years from 2007 to 2012, drug distributors sent almost 40 million doses of opioids to retailers in Cabell County, West Virginia. Cabell County has around 96,000 residents. That would mean more than 400 pills for every adult and child in the county. Now Cabell and another West Virginia county are suing at least ten drug distributors, including McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen as well as CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and other retailers, claiming the companies violated federal drug control laws....

There are some potential Obamacare penalties that small businesses should know about. Under the Affordable Care Act, small businesses have a laundry list of chores that they’ll need to check off in order to be compliant with the new law. First, there’s the requirement to mail “Obamacare letters” notifying all employees about the health insurance marketplaces by October 1. Failure to do so, however, will not result in a fine or penalty, according to the Small Business Administration....

The Defense Authorization Bill, which includes the repeal of the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, will be up for Senate debate next week. The Bill also includes proposed funding for upcoming military operations. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy (DADT policy) bans openly gay men and women from disclosing his or her sexual orientation while serving in the U.S. military. The policy has been in effect since 1993 (with harsher variations of the ban in effect for years prior) and has seen 12,500 gay men and women booted from armed services as a result....

An 11th Circuit Court has overruled the summary judgment motion granted to Disney in 30 federal lawsuits alleging Disney has violated its duty to autistic children at its amusement parks. This ruling will give plaintiffs an opportunity to have their claims heard in court. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts a child’s ability to express emotions and thoughts correctly, and often makes it very difficult to consistently use appropriate behavior. ASD impacts approximately one in every 68 children born in the U....

Store owners: have you ever seen a woman breastfeed her baby in public in your shop? Well, don’t overreact. They may be doing so legally. There are many public breastfeeding laws that specifically encourage and allow women to breastfeed their children. This includes breastfeeding in the workplace – and possibly within the walls of your store. So it’s probably wise not to overreact. One Target store in Texas did, and now they’re receiving a wave of negative publicity....

We know that courts prefer not to separate siblings when issuing custody orders. But what if one sibling wants custody of another? In some cases, an older sibling will want to remove a younger one from a dangerous or unhealthy parent. In other cases, a younger sibling may think they’re better suited to care for a disabled older sibling. There are legal ways to gain custody of a sibling – here’s how....

Corporations want engagement from their customers on social media. But they don’t want labor complaining about them or their policies online. Doing that got one worker at Chipotle fired and now has the fast-food chain in the spotlight yet again. An administrative law judge in Pennsylvania has ordered Chipotle to pay James Kennedy for lost wages, offer to rehire him, and to change and clarify its social media rules, according to the Associated Press....

The law is generally not a major concern for young tech geeks dreaming of being the next Mark Zuckerburg. But sometimes, long before the first billion is made, student startups hit a snag. A serious snag – like a state attorney general’s investigation. That is what happened to some students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who found themselves under investigation by New Jersey. Their promising software was accused of hijacking computers....

In addition to mischaracterizing drivers as contractors rather than employees, the drivers are alleging violations of federal labor laws relating to minimum wage and overtime. Among the most grievous allegation is that after deducting gas and regular maintenance, the drivers are not even earning minimum wage. To make matters worse, the drivers who work overtime are not paid overtime rates. What’s the Difference Between Independent Contractors and Employees? Usually, when a worker becomes a full time employee with a company, they fill out a tax form and other paperwork, and the employer withholds taxes from their paycheck and provides other benefits as required by federal, state or local law....

Denise Rich is using an unusual strategy to save money - she renounced her U.S. citizenship. Rich, a Massachusetts-born songwriter and socialite, recently appeared under her maiden name ‘Denise Eisenberg’ in a quarterly report of Americans who gave up their citizenship. She has Austrian citizenship through her father, according to Reuters. Her partner Peter Cervinka is also Austrian and her daughters both live in London. She plans to live primarily in London while maintaining Austrian citizenship to “be closer to her family” in a statement made to the press....

Although it’s not the real thing, fake pot is a pretty big deal as the Georgia State Senate voted to ban the use and sale of synthetic marijuana. As a result, Georgia could become a part of a movement nationwide to crack down on fake pot also known as K2 or Spice and impose severe penalties, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. As previously discussed, K2 was banned in by lawmakers in Kansas....

With stimulus money starting to flow for a wide variety of “shovel-ready” government projects, many small businesses want to know how they can take advantage of forthcoming opportunities. One good way to start: Central Contractor Registration (CCR).Businesses must be registered in CCR to bid on the vast majority of federal contracts. Registering through CCR also allows a business to provide its information to a central federal database accessible to a multitude of government agencies....