You have a great startup idea and you are hoping to get funding from venture capitalists. To do so you will need to know in advance the kind of questions they will ask and how to communicate your big idea, formulating everything from an elevator pitch to a detailed analysis of the market. In an effort to anticipate all the questions you may face when seeking venture capital, Forbes put together a list....
Spring break is just around the corner. But before you cast aside all your responsibilities, you should know some simple legal tips that will make your time more enjoyable (and safer). Here are five tips that every spring-breaker should keep in mind: Related Resources: Spring Break Abroad? Get a Power of Attorney (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life) Holiday Travel Tips (FindLaw’s Common Law) Air Travel: Carry-On Items, Luggage, and Security Screening (FindLaw) Get Contracts Reviewed by a Lawyer With a Legal Plan From LegalStreet (LegalStreet....
You don’t want full responsibility for your workers and so your business avails itself of one of the many schemes that exist to employ people without being their employer. This saves you money and headaches and it seems to be working out great. You don’t pay for insurance or sick days, just labor. The US Department of Labor (DOL), however, now understands that this is what American businesses are increasingly doing and is trying to ensure that workers don’t end up laboring without any of the protections of employment....
Bank of America is being sued by current and former employees, who allege that the bank withheld overtime and regular earned wages. The lawsuit was filed in federal court last Friday in Kansas City, Kansas. According to George Hanson, attorney for the plaintiffs, the lawsuit seeks class-action status for as many as 180,000 workers, after consolidating 12 lawsuits filed by employees in other states including California, Florida and Texas. The bank has over 280,000 employees worldwide....
According to the Kansas Supreme Court, the nose knows. In a 4-3 decision, the highest court in Kansas resolved conflicting decisions at the appellate level to rule that if police smell raw weed when outside a Kansas home, they can conduct a warrantless search of the home based on probable cause. This smells fishy on many different levels, as pointed out by the minority opinion, but the ruling will stand....
Ever since your neighbor got that drone for Christmas last year, he’s been buzzing around your backyard and the rest of the neighborhood. Is there anything you can do about it? Now that they make a rifle that can shoot down drones with radio waves, can you take out your neighbor’s annoying flying contraption? While nothing would feel better than shooting that drone out of the sky, there are a few legal considerations you may want to think about first....
In 2015, the United States and Iran negotiated a historic deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear program in return for a rollback on international economic sanctions. But, like many other Obama-era policies, President Trump has indicated his displeasure with the deal, declaring Iran “should write us a letter of thank you” for “the stupidest deal of all time.” This would seem to be a clear indication that Trump would want the U....
When it comes to business contracts, there are generally three different types: express, implied, and quasi-contracts. A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties. In many cases, a contract is an actual written document, signed by both parties. But this is not always necessarily the case. What are the differences between express, implied and quasi-contracts? In the case of express and implied contracts, the legal effect of the agreement is the same....
Why so much talk about rate hikes at the end of November when we are barely rounding out the first week of October? Federal law requires lenders to give consumers 45-day notice before increasing interest rates. So, consider yourselves warned! While Wells Fargo has established itself as the bank for small business, it has managed to capture the title of 8th largest lender for U.S. credit cards. Others in in the top ten list include Bank of America, at #2, which reportedly will not raise credit card rates until the passage of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility Act legislation takes effect....
Under Wisconsin’s administration of health insurance benefits,"[p]rocedures, services, and supplies related to surgery and sex hormones associated with gender reassignment" were excluded from coverage. But a federal judge recently ruled the exclusion violated antidiscrimination measures in the Affordable Care Act, and a jury just awarded two transgender women $780,000 after they were denied coverage for hormone therapy and surgery relating to their gender transitions. On top of that, Wisconsin’s insurance board voted to allow the coverage beginning January 1, 2019....
Like Alabama, Puerto Rico resisted federal court rulings overturning it’s ban on same-sex marriage. And like Alabama, Puerto Rico got slapped by a federal circuit court of appeals. Unlike Alabama though, Puerto Rico at least had a decent argument for flaunting a higher court’s ruling – not every civil right preserved in the Constitution extends to Puerto Ricans. But, as the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week, the right to marriage is protected for same-sex couples in Puerto Rico....
Starting a small business can take many forms: consulting out of your living room, building in your garage, or cutting the ribbon on a storefront. And your small business can exist in many corporate structures: a sole proprietorship, partnership, or LLC. In almost all of these iterations, however, there is normally just one owner or a small group of investor-shareholders. But what if you want to do something different? They say that giving your employees stock options can incentivize them to work harder and smarter for the company, so what happens if you make all of your employees owners?...
In the wake of recent food recalls, foodborne illnesses, and reports of unhygienic food processing conditions noted in some factories, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Food Safety Enhancement Act this week in a vote of 283 to 142, significantly increasing resources for food inspection and quality control. The bill updates a national food safety program that has been largely left untouched over the century after it was introduced. It allocates $3....
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) added important COBRA benefits for laid off workers. Instead of the ex-employee needing to pay the full cost of COBRA coverage, now, the federal government will now subsidize 65% of COBRA premiums for up to nine months. By April 18, employers must notify some previously laid off employees of their potential COBRA premium reduction. Under ARRA, individuals involuntarily terminated between last September 1 and the end of this year may qualify to pay only 35% of the cost of COBRA coverage....
Federal investigators are holding a public meeting today on the cause of a 2008 Utah bus crash that killed nine people, and the agency’s findings will only increase the recent scrutiny of bus travel safety and a push for stricter bus safety standards. Today’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) public session is focused on a January 2008 accident that occurred near Mexican Hat, Utah, when a bus carrying 53 people ran off the road and rolled over, killing nine people and injuring 43 others....
The economy has left many small businesses in the dust when it comes to unfair trade practices. Bigger and more powerful businesses have started scalping the talent from smaller businesses. The scary part? Sometimes there is nothing that small business owners can do about it. CNN reports how one small business owner almost lost it all because her employees were stolen away from her by a larger rival. Ms. Debra Killian details how she lost 10 of her employees to her rival....
A Wisconsin judge this week sentenced Dale Neumann and Leilani Neumann to 10 years probation and 30 days jail time each year for the next six years for praying instead of pursuing medical treatment for their eleven-year daughter. They were charged with reckless homicide when Madeline passed away in their living room from complications from undiagnosed diabetes in 2008. Though the facts of the Neumann case are extreme, many parents face situations in which they have to make a difficult medical decision on behalf of their children....
Not all of us have the personal capital or investors needed to finance our small business completely. That means borrowing some money, normally in the form of a small business loan or a small business credit card that can fund the day-to-day operations of the business. A business credit card can help your business establish creditworthiness, which in turn can help secure future financing, and it can be a good way to prevent personal and business debts from commingling....
In a sharply divided 5-4 opinion, the Supreme Court today slapped down a New York law limiting the legal avenues available for prisoner civil rights lawsuits against corrections officers. Courts across the nation are no strangers to lawsuits brought by prisoners against corrections officers, wardens, judges, and sometimes pretty much anyone in the justice system they may feel is responsible for their plight. Considering that inmates do have quite a bit of time on their hands, perhaps it isn’t too surprising that some are able to spend chunks of this time pursuing legal redress for perceived or real wrongs....
Military funeral protests by members of the Westboro Baptist Church may be the target of a bill President Obama’s signed into law Monday. The bill, known as The Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, is a general package of veteran’s affairs laws. It deals with many aspects of care for veterans and their families, covering healthcare, housing, and education. It also covers memorial services and funerals which is where Westboro Baptist Church comes in....
