Posts

Another blow has been struck against gay marriage bans. A federal judge blocked Nebraska’s gay marriage ban as unconstitutional on Monday. U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon issued an injunction allowing same-sex couples to marry in Nebraska, once again overturning the state’s ban. (Bataillon had struck down the ban once before in 2005, but the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it, The Associated Press reports.) 1. The Case. Last November, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska sued the state on behalf of seven same-sex couples....

Is online gambling legal? This is the question everyone is asking in light of a recently released Department of Justice opinion. New York and Illinois had asked the Office of Legal Counsel to clarify the Wire Act of 1961, which purportedly bans all online gambling. According to the new opinion, however, that’s not true. The federal government had previously held that the Wire Act of 1961 prohibited interstate transmissions of gambling-related communications....

The U.S. Senate voted this week to kill a bill to reauthorize the popular SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program, reports the New York Times. SBIR, a program to encourage small businesses to explore commercialization of technology, reserves 2.5% of federal research and development (R&D) funds for small businesses. Thus, says SBA, SBIR enables small businesses to compete for federal R&D funds with larger enterprises. In an example of legislative perversity, the bill’s author, Sen....

State lawmakers across the United States are thinking about implementing a new teen tanning ban. California in particular is contemplating a new ban that would ban teens under the age of 18 from tanning beds, reports the AP. A ban for teens under the age of 14 is already in place, but teens between the ages of 14 and 18 can still go under the lights if they get parental approval....

A work contract is just like any other contract, which means that you can negotiate the terms that it contains. There usually aren’t many parts of an employment contract that are up for negotiation, but there are some that you should definitely try to negotiate, particularly when it comes to pay and benefits. Not making the effort means you could be leaving money on the table. But as any employment lawyer will tell you, negotiating your work contract can mean much more than a bigger paycheck....

Kids across the country are gearing up to pack their knapsacks and head off to summer camp to explore the outdoors and smell like s’mores. If you’re sending your soon-to-be stinky kiddies to summer camp, you may not be able to prevent end-of-summer pre-teen heartbreak, but you can take safety – and legal – precautions. Here are 10 legal tips to keep your kids out of harm’s way at summer camp:...

Whether you are season non-profit professional or you are a budding social entrepreneur contemplating your first venture, you may find yourself thirsty for knowledge about all things non-profit. Over the past few months, we have been posting about various aspects of non-profit organization. Here is a rundown of our top 5 posts… 5 Types of 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organizations - This post hit a chord with readers. Included is a rundown of 5 garden-variety non-profit categories that fall under the 501(c)3 umbrella....

A New York City woman who suffered brain damage after a hit-and-run truck crash has settled with the truck driver and his employer, Duane Reade. The 2008 accident left Shirley Miller, 37, with brain damage, blindness, and very limited communications skills. The parties intend to settle the lawsuit for $22 million, according to Brooklyn Daily Eagle. If approved, it would be the largest personal injury settlement in New York state history, the New York Daily News reports....

Uber is the target of yet another sex crime lawsuit, this time concerning a driver who purportedly is a repeat offender. The driver, John Kyle Lane, sexually exposed himself to a rider just days after he had sexually assaulted another rider in a nearby town. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, a woman was sexually assaulted by Lane on July 22, 2017. The victim contacted the local police and Uber immediately. Uber replied the next day that they had launched an internal investigation, refunded her fare, and placed a restriction on her profile so that the two would never be paired again....

Nobody wants to file for bankruptcy – it can be a disheartening and complicated process, both legally and emotionally. But sometimes it may be the only option for escaping the most crippling debt and rebuilding your financial future. There are many life scenarios that might lead to personal bankruptcy, different types of bankruptcy to file, and a series of legal hurdles along the way. Here are a few of the basics of personal bankruptcy....

There are certain clauses every employment contract should include. A good employment contract will make it crystal clear (or at least close to it) what exactly the parameters of the job are and what an employer’s expectations are. You’re trying to eliminate the element of surprise. You probably already know to include certain things in your contracts, such as the terms of employment, job title and responsibilities. But here are five other terms every employment contract should contain:...

Bratz dolls may no longer be made by toy-maker MGA Entertainment after a ruling yesterday in a California federal court. The reason? A designer MGA used for the cartoonish yet scantily clad dolls for young girls was on contract for Mattel when he worked on the Bratz designs. As the downturn (and hopefully upturn) causes employment shifts, new employees and especially businesses that hire them should take care not to use work from a past job....

A faulty furnace may be to blame for an Indiana explosion that killed two people, leveled two homes, and damaged 80 others in the neighborhood. The co-owner of the home that’s believed to have caused the explosion said that a furnace problem in the home likely caused the blast Saturday. Investigators are still looking into the case and have not yet pinpointed an official cause, reports USA Today. The explosion occurred in an Indianapolis subdivision, and a neighboring young couple is presumed to have died as a result....

Prison inmates are not granted the same rights as free citizens. Their rights should be limited. But to what extent? Surely they have the right to practice religion, guaranteed by the First Amendment. In fact, in many prisons, the practice of religion is encouraged. But what if such practice requires dietary restrictions? In a recent case, a New York inmate, David “DeAndre” Williams, claimed that as a devout practicing Nazarite Jew with a dairy allergy, he couldn’t eat the meat, vined fruit, or dairy products in prison meals....

A Florida business owner is suing over Obamacare’s employer mandate delay, after allegedly spending substantial time and resources preparing to be ready by the original 2014 deadline. Larry Kawa, an orthodontist from Boca Raton, had a suit filed on his behalf by the public interest firm Judicial Watch on Tuesday, alleging that “the delay harmed [his] business,” The Daily Caller reports. Are suits like Kawa’s even possible? In July 2013, the Obama administration announced that it would be allowing businesses extra time “to comply with the new rules” by pushing the enforcement of Obamacare’s employer mandate back to 2015....

Here is another reason why us New Yorkers are tough cookies: we always need a reason (even if its faulty reasoning), even when it comes to divorce. It has to be a divorce over something. New York State is the only state in the country that has not adopted a unilateral no-fault divorce statute. As a result of this, there are six grounds of divorce in New York. The six grounds of divorce are:...

Home is where the headache is when your landlord has no heart. Although it may be easier to just move on if an owner responds to reasonable requests with threats and retaliation, you do have rights as a tenant, and you cannot be punished or evicted for exercising them. The reason states have retaliation statutes, however, is because some owners do try to push out renters who insist on their rights....

Summer is here and it’s probably time to take some steps to address the neglected home repairs issues that you ignored all winter. For most repair jobs and additions, you’ll probably have to work with a contractor. While there are a lot of really good contractors out there, there also are a lot of really bad ones. And if you’re stuck with a bad contractor, be prepared for months of struggle, stress, and fights....

Whether you call it fake news or conspiracy theory, allegations of imagined crimes can have very real consequences. Take the case of Edgar Welch, a father of two who drove six hours from his home in North Carolina to a Washington, D.C.-area pizza restaurant to investigate unfounded claims that it was involved in a child sex-slave ring led by former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Welch’s investigation involved walking into the popular pizzeria with a loaded AR-15 assault rifle and firing it inside the restaurant....

Teachers don’t just impart knowledge to students. They keep children and teenagers safe. And sometimes that means recognizing and reporting signs of abuse. Not only can teachers be the first to spot signs of child abuse, they are often legally required to report abuse to law enforcement. Because of their frequent contact with children, teachers are often classified as mandatory reporters under state child abuse and neglect laws. Mandatory reporters can include doctors and physicians, day care workers, and school administrators – any professional that engages in regular contact with children....