Companies, especially small businesses, can operate in a constant state of flux. As your business grows and shifts, it may require a different corporate structure. Maybe your partnership now needs to be an LLC, or your LLC needs to sell shares as a corporation. (As entrepreneurs and optimists, we don’t often think about our businesses moving in the other direction.) But if you’ve already incorporated, can you change your incorporation status?...
As a kid, finding Oreos in my school lunch always made my day. These days, however, packing Oreos into your child’s lunch might get you a stern reprimand from the school. That’s what happened to an Aurora, Colorado mom who says teachers confiscated her daughter’s Oreos, and sent her home with a note, saying, “This is a public school setting and all children are required to have a fruit, a vegetable and a heavy snack from home, along with a milk....
Colorado is looking at making its first large-scale drug-sentencing reform. New proposed legislation (House Bill 1352) is aimed not only at saving the state money but finding ways to offer drug offenders less jail time and more rehab, the Denver Post reports. The sponsors of the bill say Colorado is beginning to realize that locking up non-violent drug offenders does not cut recidivism and is not the best use of public-safety dollars....
An out-of-court settlement in a lawsuit stemming from a Kent Denny’s shooting has saved the company an outrageous $33 million dollars. And the plaintiffs are probably better for it. Denny’s is well-known for its sometimes less than savory late night customers. In fact, a Kent Denny’s in the southern suburbs of Seattle has made dozens upon dozens of phone calls to local police in the last few years just to deal with the rowdy post-bar crowd....
In general, it’s a good idea to keep personnel files for all your employees. You can track their interview and hire, promotions and bonuses, and any complaints or disciplinary action. These records can come in handy later if the employee is asking for a raise, or arguing against their termination. But does keeping a file on every employee mean that each one has a right to view, copy, or keep their personnel file?...
A New Jersey man was killed in a head-on collision with a Ferrari. Stephen Lenge was riding to work on his motorcycle when he was hit. The accident happened near the MetLife Stadium. Two 2006 Ferrari F430s were headed toward the 56-year-old Lenge. One of the drivers, Joseph Meyer, 19, lost control of his car and spun out, The Star-Ledger reports. The other Ferrari driver, Joseph Ferretti, 28, swerved to avoid being hit and crashed into Lenge’s motorcycle....
When filing for bankruptcy, do you need an attorney? A bankruptcy case can be a daunting task to take on by yourself, but it can be done in some cases. Still, you may not want to rule out the idea of hiring a bankruptcy lawyer altogether. The bankruptcy process is long, time-consuming, and pretty complicated. As a general rule of thumb, the simpler the case, the more feasible it is to go it alone without an attorney....
From email services to cloud storage, we live in an era of free online services. Though many people use these services for personal purposes, many small businesses rely on these services for their day-to-day operations. As evidenced by Yahoo email’s recent meltdown, when free services go kaput, it can wreak havoc on small businesses and incur the wrath of angry customers. But can your business sue for damages when a free service goes down?...
Following the holiday shopping rush is the less popular but always pervasive post-holiday gift return. People will be anxious to return their unwanted gifts starting this week. In much the same way that purchases are at their highest during the holiday season, so too are gift returns. So be prepared to toe the delicate line between enforcing gift return policies and not upsetting gift-return customers. The best approach to gift returns during any season is to set out a policy that is visible to the customer when he or she is buying the present....
The new health care reform law (aka “Obamacare”) has taken another hit in the courts. A Florida judge ruled the entire law is unconstitutional this week. But the real question now is: What does the health care decision really means for ordinary citizens? Especially now that some provisions of the law have already come into effect. Judge Roger Vinson declined to issue an injunction preventing the federal government from enforcing the law while it appeals....
The oldest hath borne most; we that are young shall never see so much, nor live so long. –William Shakespeare, King Lear It can happen to anyone, rich or poor. In this case, it may be happening to someone very, very wealthy so we are all talking about it. The questions surrounding the daily life of Huguette Clark the “reclusive heiress” are still mostly unanswered. She owns millions of dollars worth of beautiful homes, but lives in a single hospital room in New York City....
To snoop or not to snoop, that is the question. Employers might feel hesitant about spying on employees. It can give employees the impression that they aren’t trusted. Yet when employers find themselves in the midst of an embarrassing legal nightmare, monitoring employees may seem like a useful preventative measure. But is it legal to spy on your employees? The answer may depend on how you’re spying on them, and where your business is located....
A jockey’s family has been awarded $7.8 million in a lawsuit against a racetrack in Pennsylvania where the jockey died nearly four years ago. Mario Calderon, the jockey, died after being dragged and repeatedly kicked by the horse he was exercising. Calderon also suffered broken ribs and a bleed on his brain, according to Philadelphia’s KYW-TV. Calderon’s family sued the racetrack for allegedly creating an unsafe working environment which caused his death....
A Washington, DC attorney has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the Washington Metro system. The lawsuit stems from the injury the attorney suffered as a result of a pipe falling from the ceiling and hitting him in the head last year. The attorney then stumbled onto the escalator from the below ground platform, and was escalated above ground, where he received help. Unfortunately for the WMTA, the attorney is employed at a large law firm which has taken on the job of representing their employee....
“Plasma gettin bigger, Jesus gettin smaller. Spill a cup of coffee, make a million dollars.” - Toby Keith, American Ride Toby Keith mocked it, Seinfeld parodied it. It’s the McDonald’s coffee case, something that has become synonymous with the idea of a court system filled with frivolous lawsuits and runaway juries. Nevermind that of all the possible examples of a frivolous lawsuit, the McDonald’s case is probably one of the least frivolous imaginable....
You may remember hearing about an Ohio couple in the news in 2005 who was discovered to have been forcing their 11 adoptive children to sleep in cages. The couple was convicted of criminal charges including child endangerment and child abuse and each is serving a two-year sentences in state prison. The two oldest adoptive children, have brought a civil suit against the couple for abuses sustained during the 10+ years they were in the care of Michael and Sharen Gravelle....
With over 70 million users, the PlayStation Network hack is thought to be the second largest in history, providing a host of personal and credit card information to network intruders. What’s worse is that it took Sony nearly a week to disclose the security breach to users, even though network service had been cut days earlier. That delay has now spurred a class action lawsuit against the company, filed only a day after the breach became public....
It’s officially summer, when many of us are heading out of the office and onto a lake, river, or ocean to partake in our favorite relaxing pastime. And while a little fishing can be good for the soul, a little phishing can be bad for business. Cyber attacks using familiar looking domain names or email addresses or formats can be both difficult to detect and destructive to your company’s data and security....
There’s no doubt that smart phone are addictive. The average smartphone user will check their device almost 85 times per day. While we already know how distracting they are for drivers, a new report suggests that the allure of using smartphones while driving is just a gateway to other bad behavior for teens. The report, issued by State Farm this summer, explains that teens who had been in a crash are more than three times more likely to report that they browse the internet and watch videos while driving....
You get a ticket; your insurance goes up. You get in an accident; your insurance goes up even more. You get a DUI conviction, and you’ll be eating dollar menu McDonald’s everyday to afford your insurance premiums. Insurance rate increases can vary wildly between states. Since most states don’t have limits on how much insurance rates can go up, you could be paying thousands of dollars more for an accident or ticket or a DUI....
