Deciding whether or not to invest in a franchise is a big decision that requires a lot of leg work. Franchise business plans are designed to lure you in and sell the virtues of the company, painting a picture of longevity and high revenues. It is thus important to make a thorough franchise evaluation that looks in between the lines. The following are the top 3 things you should consider when it’s time to evaluate a franchise....
Most employers strive to keep their offices clean and safe. Others, not so much. If your boss won’t do anything about your filthy workplace, a call to OSHA may be what’s needed to get them to act. The Occupational Safety and Health Act is a federal law that requires employers to maintain safe and clean workplaces. The law is enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA regulations apply to all states and failure to comply can result in fines, imprisonment, or both....
Happy National Pet Owners Day! Anyone who’s an animal guardian knows how rewarding a pet’s companionship can be. But just like your human best friend, your best animal buddy may also get you into some legal trouble if you aren’t too careful. So in celebration of National Pet Owners Day, let’s “paws” for a few moments to share our Top 10 legal reminders regarding pet ownership: So this National Pet Owners Day, keep these legal reminders in mind and enjoy the day with your furry (or feathered or scaly) best friend....
The Americans with Disabilities Act is perhaps the civil rights law that businesses fear the most. Stories abound of businesses that were sued out of existence for violating state disability access laws that mirror the federal law, and most of these stories focus on how a small business was “extorted” out of business by allegedly unscrupulous ADA plaintiffs and lawyers. Rarely do these stories explain that the ADA plaintiffs face discrimination when businesses fail to comply with the law and put in the legally required accessible features....
Some U.S. troops returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan are being evaluated for potential effects of traumatic brain injury, testing that provides a post-combat bookend for a Department of Defense policy requiring that soldiers undergo similar brain function testing shortly before their deployment. The DoD’s pre-deployment brain testing of soldiers, a system that has been in place since 2008, includes “basic math, matching numbers and symbols and identifying patterns to measure response time and accuracy,” and more than 150,000 service members across all branches of the armed forces have undergone those tests, according to the Associated Press....
The National Transportation Safety Board has had a busy week of addressing transit crashes. After recommending changes for Washington’s Metro, it issued its report on the May 2008 collision on Boston’s Green Line that killed the operator of one train. The verdict: a combination of the operator’s probable sleep disorder, leading to her falling asleep at the wheel, and a lack of adequate safety systems. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which operates the Green Line along with Boston’s other 3 subway lines, is not having a good year, safety-wise....
Body-painting model Zoe West’s NYC lawsuit over her naked arrest in Times Square has been settled, her lawyer tells the New York Post. Let us paint you a picture of what set off this dispute: West’s skin provided the canvas for a street artist who painted the 5-foot-2 model from head to toe in August 2011. Police moved in and busted West, 22, apparently for baring it all in public....
There are two ways taxes can go up: either through actual increases or the end of tax breaks and the latter is about to happen to employees. Every worker pays Social Security payroll taxes with every check that’s cut. But the current amount of those taxes is actually slightly lower than the real value. The reason is a payroll tax cut initiated by President Obama in 2011. The tax cut decreased workers’ shares of the Social Security tax from 6....
Twitter is reaching out to entrepreneurs with a new interactive guide on how to make Twitter work – and pay off – for small businesses. This somewhat bubbly graphical walkthrough takes business owners with any level of Twitter-savvy and attempts to teach them a thing or two. What Twitter leaves out of its helpful guide, however, are a couple of helpful legal tips. Super-jazzed that you just hired a social media manager for your company?...
Generally, when we think of medical malpractice with think of doctors making diagnostic, medication, or surgical errors. But we don’t tend to think of mistakes happening in a dentist’s office. Truth is, we trust dentists with our health just as much as cardiologists, orthopedists, or surgeons. And, sadly, mistakes in dental care can be just as costly. Here is a look at some of the common dental malpractice issues and how victims can use medical malpractice claims to recover for their injuries....
If you’re hitting the slopes this season, chances are you’re travelling to the mountains and staying in a resort near the ski area. And chances are also that you’ll have a good time and return home injury-free. But if you don’t, could the ski resort be liable for your injuries? That could depend on how and, possibly more importantly, where you were injured. Premises liability means that property owners can be legally responsible for injuries on their property....
When is a customer review defamation? And, should you even be suing your customers, the bread and butter of your livelihood, in the first place? The initial knee-jerk reaction of any business owner to a review posted on a national website that has negative content about their business is bound to be not so positive. But, initiating a lawsuit over the review is entirely different - and it may be side-stepping important steps to help resolve your customer’s problems in a less public and aggressive way....
Every state requires all drivers to carry auto insurance. And Obamacare now requires everyone to have health insurance. Facing these laws, many people’s first thought is to get the absolute minimum insurance required, in order to save money. While this may seem like the most fiscally responsible move in the short term, not having more than the minimum insurance coverage could end up costing you later. Covering More Than Your Car While terminology and penalties may vary, every state has laws requiring a minimum amount of auto insurance coverage....
You’re small. You’re just getting started. You may not even have many resources, let alone an entire human resources department. So you’re probably thinking you can keep any hiring pretty informal. No need for tedious forms, checked boxes, and extra paperwork, right? Not so much. While an employment application may seem antiquated in the days of LinkedIn, there are good legal reasons to have one, and one that suits your small business and the positions for which you’re hiring....
Protesting BART’s decision to jam cell phone service at underground stations in downtown San Francisco on Thursday, hacktivist group Anonymous is taking credit for Sunday’s BART hack, which left the transportation agency’s in-boxes flooded, and riders’ personal information revealed for the world to see. In addition to promising further hacks and technological mayhem, Anonymous has organized a large protest at downtown’s Civic Center Station during tonight’s evening commute. While it’s clear that Anonymous’ BART hack is illegal activity, can the same be said for BART’s Thursday response?...
A new law accommodating transgender students in California was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, making the state the first to expand transgender rights in public schools. Backed by numerous equality organizations, the law will allow transgender public school students in California to choose which bathroom to use and to participate in either “boy or girl sports,” reports Fox News. It goes into effect January 1, 2014. Supporters see this law as a good step forward for transgender equality, but its detractors argue that this is a move in the wrong direction....
As business owners become increasingly aware of social media’s potential impact on profits, a new form of “social media insurance” promises to protect companies from digital damages. Insurance broker Lockton has launched a new kind of policy for their business clients, an “Intangible Risk Policy” that offers coverage for “reputational harm,” even when caused by a negative spike in social media, reports MediaPost. Could social media insurance be the next “big thing” when it comes to business insurance?...
There are a few entities that require you to disclose your true legal name, but you may be surprised to know that Facebook is one of them. In a strange twist, Facebook has been deleting the profiles of drag queens in an attempt to enforce its “name change” policy. According to The Huffington Post, individuals operating on Facebook under pseudonyms and stage names (or anything other than a legal name) were treated to Facebook temporarily suspending their accounts....
When Kyler Prescott checked into the Gender Management Clinic at San Diego’s Rady Children’s Hospital, he was looking for help. The 14-year-old transgender boy was being bullied and harassed by teachers and peers regarding his gender identity, and was suffering from depression and anxiety. But instead of receiving sensitive care for “suicidal ideation” and “serious self-inflicted lacerations,” hospital staff repeatedly misgendered Kyler and actively denied requests that he be referred to as male....
If you have a legal issue, it’s only natural to ask the lawyer in the family some questions. Whether you want to hire family as counsel is another matter, however, and one to consider carefully. There are advantages to knowing your lawyer well and to having counsel that really cares about you. But family relationships can be complicated, and mixing it up is not always wise, even if it is allowed....
