The issue of whether to rent or own is just as important for small businesses and their office space as it is for potential homeowners. But in uncertain economic times, it’s hard to part with the 25% or more down payment in cash. The number of small business loans from big banks has been down for several years. In 2010, community banks starting stepping in to provide the loans big banks wouldn’t approve....
It’s summer! Do you give your employees paid vacations? No? Well, that’s too bad. Luckily, you don’t operate your business somewhere in Europe. The United States may be the second largest economy in the world, but we’re definitely the stingiest country for paid vacation days. If you give your employees paid vacation days, good for you. The law certainly doesn’t require you to do so. The United States is the only developed country that does not legally guarantee its workers any paid vacation days or holidays....
Despite celebrity-laden campaigns against bullying, the practice seems to go on unabated. Last week, a Texas high school freshman committed suicide after enduring years of bullying from a group of classmates dubbed the “wolf pack,” NBC reports. Ted “Teddy” Molina was a 16-year-old Flour Bluff High School student in Corpus Christi, Texas. He killed himself with a hunting rifle. Teddy, who is part Korean and part Hispanic, was taunted and received death threats due to his mixed race, his family says....
When facing divorce, mediation may be a fantastic alternative to an acrimonious adversarial proceeding. But what is divorce mediation? Mediation is a cooperative form of dispute resolution that attempts to bring divorcing spouses to the realization that by working together, the easier it will be for them to part. So what goes on in divorce mediation, and how does it work? Agreeing to Mediation A couple cannot legally divorce without filing the proper papers with a court, but the nuts and bolts of a divorce agreement can be entirely agreed upon without stepping foot in a courtroom....
Separate property and community property: If you live in a community property state, you’ve probably heard these terms before. But what exactly is separate property, and how is it different from community property? The simple explanation of the community property system is that anything you own before marriage is separate property, and anything you acquire after marriage is community property. If you divorce, you get to keep 100 percent of your separate property, and you get 50 percent of your community property....
The Supreme Court of Malawi has allowed Madonna to adopt her second Malawian child. The decision reverses a lower court ruling which held that the pop diva had not satisfied Malawi’s requirement that those seeking to adopt must reside in the country for 18 months. The judge looked past this requirement in light of Madonna’s large charitable contributions to the children of Malawi. When her application to adopt Chifondo (“Mercy”) James was initially rejected, we discussed Malawi’s residency requirement and the lower court judge who was willing to actually enforce it against Madonna....
Unlike criminal law or high-stakes corporate law, education law is not typically the subject of movies or television dramas. But education lawyers serve an array of important functions in the education world. For parents of school-aged children, an education lawyer can be essential to ensuring that a child receives the education that he or she deserves. What exactly do education lawyers do? Here are five things that an education lawyer can do (that you probably can’t):...
Almost every business needs a website, and Web design is one of many jobs that a small business owner can easily outsource. But with an army of potential Web designers vying for the job, you’ll want to keep these five tips in mind when drafting a Web design contract: One of the key features of any contract is what kind of work it actually calls upon the contract worker to perform....
The Justice Department has arrested 94 people and charged them in a heath care fraud crackdown involving Medicare and Medicaid. Authorities have called it the largest healthcare sting in U.S. history. The sting was held in five states and nabbed defendants who have been committing fraud against the government. Federal agents says that those arrested fraudulently received $251 million in false claims from Medicare and Medicaid. Many of the services were never even provided, others were unnecessary....
You need to work, so you are considering putting your kid in day care. But there’s something a little disconcerting that you see everywhere. Day care centers all demand that parents sign liability waivers, usually including an indemnity clause saying they are not responsible for children’s injuries while in their care. Should you sign? Does this really mean the caregiver is not liable? What are other parents doing? Many parents do sign liability waivers when they enroll their child in day care....
Almost one in every eight American women will develop invasive breast cancer at some point in their lives. And sadly, many of those women won’t find out they have breast cancer until long after they should. According to one medical website, a whopping 61 percent of all medical malpractice claims involving breast cancer patients are related to alleged delays in diagnosis. Misdiagnosis – whether diagnosing an issue that doesn’t exist or failing to diagnose one that does – is a form of medical malpractice, and doctors that fail to diagnose breast cancer can be liable....
Many of us get stressed at work. It’s an unavoidable hazard of having a job. However, some people suffer severe stress resulting in anxiety. Do you have anxiety? Is it affecting your ability to do your job and earn money? If yes, you may be able to get workers’ compensation for anxiety. The number one rule for all workers’ compensation claims: an injury must be work related to be eligible for workers’ compensation....
A class-action lawsuit against Home Depot claims the retailer used its policies to bully innocent customers wrongly accused of shoplifting. Plaintiff Jimin Chen alleges that while shopping at a Home Depot in San Leandro, California, he was accused of shoplifting because of an employee’s failure to ring up two items, reports ABC News. The accusation led to Chen and his friend being detained by Home Depot security officers, and later, a letter from Home Depot’s lawyers demanding $350 to avoid being sued....
If your small business serves food without a health inspection, what can happen? Health inspection laws are intended to prevent businesses from serving food in unsafe or unsanitary conditions, but there may be some circumstances where an inspection sticker isn’t necessary. So when is it legal to serve food without a health inspection? Health Inspection Generally In most states, you cannot legally operate a business that serves food for pay without a permit or license from the state or local health department....
Internet poker may be back to stay, at least in Nevada, where the first legal online poker website in years launched Tuesday. But those looking to play a hand or two of virtual Hold ‘Em may need to think twice before going all in, as the service is currently only available to Nevada residents, reports the Los Angeles Times. With new laws allowing for Internet gambling in certain states, what does the future hold for future chipholders?...
Many legal questions still need to be answered about how to handle Guantanamo Bay detainees. This dilemma continues to be a hot topic along with the 9/11 Trial Security Plans, as previously discussed. Recently, however, Judge Royce Lamberth weighed in on the Guantanamo Bay detainees when he spoke at an event organized by the American Bar Association. In his opinion, US courts have been used to try gangs more deadly than some Guantanamo Bay detainees....
Does “thou shalt not steal” apply to trademark laws? Sometimes, even heaven needs marketing help, or that’s what the producers of the ever growing varieties of Christian themed products seem to think. But in their bid to be a bit more relevant, producers of Christian goods may be violating the more secular side of the law. According to MSNBC.com, retailers in the U.S. sell about $4.6 million worth of Christian themed merchandise a year....
While police officials seek information in his medical records, Michael Jackson’s father Joe and sister Latoya have fueled speculation that the star’s death involved foul play. Los Angeles Police have so far refused to rule out homicide as the cause of death. They are looking into the care he received from his doctors and whether it involved the inappropriate supply of sedatives and other prescription drugs. LAPD Chief Bill Bratton said late last week that the department had not ruled out homicide....
A major publishing company has revised its mandates for unpaid interns, in an apparent response to recent unpaid internship lawsuits. Should your small business follow suit? Unpaid interns have sued Hearst Corporation and Fox Searchlight Pictures for allegedly violating wage and labor laws. The companies failed to follow federal standards for unpaid internships, the lawsuits claim. Now Condé Nast, a division of New York-based Advance Publications, has issued seven new mandates for its unpaid internships, The Atlantic reports....
Sister Mary Celine Graham now answers to a higher law after she was struck and killed recently by a speeding getaway car, but the two robbery suspects responsible for her death are facing criminal charges. William Robbins, 18, and Dyson Williams, 20, face second-degree murder and robbery charges, the CBS News reports. an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable “heat of passion” or a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender’s obvious lack of concern for human life....
