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A San Francisco bar is being temporarily shut down for doing something seemingly harmless: charging extra for drinks. But Dimples Cocktail Lounge isn’t being shuttered for 45 days just for raising prices. The bar was charging a surcharge for the personal company of its female servers, reports San Francisco’s KPIX-TV. So when can bars charge a little something extra for their drinks? The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control shut down Dimples after a three-month investigation that revealed servers “were placing a surcharge on drinks in return for keeping male patrons company,” reports KPIX....

When a marriage goes bad, there may not be a whole lot of time for planning the divorce. In some cases, it’s better to make a clean break quickly, and in other cases couples may have the time and patience to take things slowly. Every relationship is different and there’s no one way to go through a divorce, but there are some considerations worth keeping in mind when you’re look for the best time to file divorce papers....

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced that it is going to stop deporting certain widowed immigrants under an oft-criticized “quirk” in immigration law. According to the AP, current law requires the deportation of immigrants who have applied for residency based on their marriage to a U.S. citizen, but whose spouse dies before the residency application gets processed. The DHS’s decision affects not only those widowed immigrants, but also their children, and suspends any actions against them for two years....

We trust our doctors with our lives. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t have rights as patients. While medical professionals can give us expert advice on our health care, we have the ultimate say on our medical decisions. At times, we have to be our own health care advocates, and it helps to know what our patient rights are and how to assert them. Here are seven ways to protect your patient rights:...

Apple and Facebook recently began offering to pay for female employees to freeze their eggs, a procedure that typically costs at least $10,000. NBC News reports that the two tech giants may be attempting to compete for top female talent by allowing women who work for them to put their reproductive choices on ice. Covering the costs of egg freezing may allow female employees to pursue their careers without sacrificing their fertility, and Apple and Facebook are leading the way....

October is in the air. Leaves are changing color, kids are talking ghosts and goblins, and… the world is reminded that there still is no cure. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and amidst discussions of health care reform, individuals facing the disease or any form of cancer are often caught as unaware by their diagnosis as they are by how to safeguard their legal rights. The American Bar Association (ABA) recently released an op-ed piece authored by the organization’s President, Carolyn Lamm, focusing on the challenges faced by breast cancer patients....

A woman attending this year’s Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert has reportedly been killed in a bus accident. The woman, who has not been identified pending notification of her next of kin, fell under a bus carrying festival attendees, reports the Burning Man Blog. What are some of the legal options the woman’s family may have following this tragic incident? Wrongful Death Lawsuit When a person’s death may be caused by the intentional or negligent actions of another, the deceased person’s family may decide to file a wrongful death lawsuit....

If you’ve ever read the contract associated with your ski resort season pass, you know you’ve agreed to waive your right to sue the resort for its negligent actions. This is pretty standard. However, it seems the industry is getting a bit more clever, and is adding an additional waiver. Mountain Creek, New Jersey’s largest ski resort, requires season pass holders to waive liability for all past injuries. If you’re injured during the 2011-12 season, you can’t file a ski injury lawsuit and obtain a season pass for 2012-13....

A new law signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown will require most employers to give workers at least three paid sick days a year. The governor’s signature on the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 will provide paid sick leave to over 6 million workers starting in July 2015, reports the Los Angeles Times. California’s new rules on paid sick leave are found in the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act and will apply to any employee who works in California for 30 or more days in a year, meaning that the law will apply to both full and part-time workers....

Talk to your roommate. If you are feeling this way, it is likely that your roommate shares the sentiment. If you talk it out, you may find some middle ground or can make plans for one roommate to move out and find a someone to sublet. You may be able to locate a community mediator or university ombudsman to help facilitate conversation and agreement. If your roommate is a co-tenant… If both of your names are on the lease, you are co-tenants and have equal right to remain in the lease....

A good lawyer will tell you when you have a case. A great lawyer will tell you when you don’t. One maritime law expert is advising passengers of the ironically named Carnival “Splendor” not to sue over the vacation from hell. Yes, it was unpleasant and yes, you didn’t get what you paid for, but an injury? Probably not. A personal injury attorney needs to look for an actual injury before filing any paper work, and the Carnival Splendor passengers are no exception, writes USA Today....

Counterfeit wine is becoming the toast of the fraudulent town. As a recent lawsuit reported by Wine Spectator shows, damages can skyrocket into the millions. If you’re a business owner in the food or beverage industry, you’ll want to do your due diligence to make sure you’re getting what you paid for. An insider’s guide to counterfeiting wine featured in Businessweek gives a rundown of the collectible scam. Here’s what to watch out for when it comes to five types of counterfeit wine:...

Whether you’re looking to open a recreational shop in Colorado, Oregon, or Washington, or a medical dispensary elsewhere, your marijuana retailer will be like any other small business – you’ll need insurance. Of course you’ll need standard workers’ compensation and theft protection policies, but there may be additional insurance coverage you haven’t thought about. Here are some liability insurance concerns for marijuana businesses. Every small business needs some level of general liability insurance coverage....

According to the AP, a Miami public health official has said that the luxury Epic Hotel is not the source of Legionnaires’ Disease. Legionnaires’ disease killed an international guest who was staying at the hotel. In addition, two other guests who stayed at the hotel also contracted the disease. We wrote about this story previously. According to the Center for Disease Control, the disease is caused by Legionella bacteria. The bacteria grows in a temperature range of 25-42 C (77-108 F)....

California is still figuring out how to address its prison problems. One part of the plan has been the early release of some inmates. Another way perhaps to ease its overcrowded prison system might be to send thousands of undocumented California inmates to specially built jails in Mexico. Early release of prisoners looks like it could reduce the prison population by about 6,500 inmates over the next year. Shipping some inmates to Mexico is the latest idea being floated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a cost-cutting measure, the Associated Press recently reported....

For a night out, do you hire a neighborhood kid to be your babysitter? Or, do you hire the boy next door to mow your lawn? How much do you pay them? Adults employed in the workforce enjoy certain protections such as minimum wages. Do kids get those same protections? If you occasionally hire a kid to babysit your child or mow your lawn, do you have to pay them minimum wage too?...

Over on FindLaw Answers, we get a lot of questions about marriage, immigration, and legal status. To help you get started on the spousal immigration process, here’s a quick primer on how to go about changing a spouse’s legal status. The United States’ immigration system is family-based, which means that a person who marries a U.S. citizen is given priority when filing for a permanent residency. This, however, is not absolute, so it’s important to pay attention to dates and filing requirements so as not to be denied entry or get deported....

A Philadelphia jury awarded $70 million to a boy who developed breasts after using antipsychotic drug Risperdal. The drug is manufactured by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and the jury found that the companies failed to adequately warn doctors and consumers about the risk of gynecomastia in male patients. This is the latest in a long line of decisions against Johnson & Johnson and Janssen based on Risperdal injuries, so here’s what you need to know about the drug and the litigation....

In the wake of the events of Newtown, Aurora, and 9/11, it is all too clear how tragedy has the capacity to bring us to our knees. Yet, it is often in these bleak lit moments that our finest and most noble virtues shine through. This was clear in Boston on Monday, where despite a hellstorm of confusion and injuries, many Bostonians were running to the rescue and into the melee....

You fought hard to gain custody of your children. But what happens if you won’t be able to care for them for an extended period of time? If you’re going to be separated from your children due to business travel or military deployment, or if you’re facing months or years of rehab treatment or incarceration, you may need someone to make some important decisions while caring for your children. But how do you make that happen without ceding custody?...