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When it comes to running a small business, health care costs often top the list of financial concerns. When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) goes into effect in 2014, businesses with more than 50 full-time employees will be legally required to spend this money. There has been much opposition to the ACA in the small business community for this reason. But a recent survey results suggest that small business owners are also unaware of the law’s potential benefits....

After thirty years of spying for Cuba, a retired State Department official will now spend life in prison after he and his wife pleaded guilty to plotting to commit espionage and wire fraud. Walter Kendall Myers, 72, and his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, 71, were charged with conspiring to act as illegal agents and with passing classified information to the Cuban government, according to the United States Department of Justice. They also were charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud....

A lawsuit has been filed against AT&T about pay for overtime being denied to employees because they have been misclassified as managers. The AT&T lawsuit seems to ring true to calls around the country claiming wage theft is on the rise. ABC News reports that employees filed the AT&T lawsuit because they claim that since AT&T misclassified them as managers, meaning they were exempt from receiving pay for overtime. The employees are from AT&T offices in San Francisco and Atlanta, so the AT&T lawsuit is actually filed in both California and Georgia....

As discussed in a recent post in FindLaw’s Decided blog, on November 9th, attorneys announced a settlement approved in U.S. Distritct Court in Santa Ana showing the government has agreed to major changes in its processing of applications for citizenship. What does this mean for the hundreds of applicants in Southern California and other regions who have been waiting for years to become naturalized American citizens? A lack of citizenship status can affect job applications, and the ability to vote in historic elections like last year’s presidential race, and can prevent family members from starting the process to re-unite with others in the family still abroad....

If you’ve suffered an injury, you may be tinkering with the idea of suing the party at fault. But where should you file your lawsuit? First, you should wait until you can take a deep breath, unclench your angry fist and consider whether filing a lawsuit is the right decision. If you’ve done that – or just want to pursue a lawsuit with an angry fist – the next step is to figure out which court is the most appropriate to hear your case....

Ridesharing has become so common in our daily lives that employers are getting in on the act as well. Company carpool incentive programs have been popping up more and more, including apps to match employees who live nearby to find the most efficient rides. But any new opportunity opens up new avenues for legal liability, as one case from the Texas Supreme Court recently showed. Amerimex Drilling was contracted to drill oil-and-gas wells in Texas and provided mobile bunkhouses for its crews located around 30 miles away from a drilling site....

Bezos is famous for his shareholder letters, in which he outlines his vision for the future. This vision always accommodates failure, and even expects it. Let’s consider three tips from this biz whiz. People talk a lot about taking risks but everyone wants to bet on a winner. Jeff Bezos has made billions by betting his way. Here’s what he says. Talk to a Lawyer If you’re concerned about any aspect of business operations, speak to a lawyer....

Businesses can do a few things to legally patrol the conduct of their customers, and some employers may be wondering how to make their workplace a “no-selfie” zone. Selfies are so ubiquitous that even monkeys are taking them, but the law can protect your business from becoming a chaotic breeding ground of chattering narcissists. Check out these ways your business can become a “no-selfie” zone: If you don’t mind a broad approach to stopping selfies, then simply institute a “no photography” policy....

The story of a kidnapped child recovered by police on July 15, has no happy ending. Amber Rose Nicklas, 7, was discovered living with a family in Phoenix, Arizona, the only family she can remember. She was kidnapped from foster parents by her aunts as a very young child and has been a member of her current family ever since. She is now back in Southern California. According to the Los Angeles Times, Amber was taken from her grandmother shortly after she was born and placed in foster care in Los Angeles County....

Asking whether hookah bars are illegal may seem like a silly question given the massive proliferation of such establishments in the last decade. However, you might be surprised to know that many hookah bars are, in fact, operating illegally under state, county, and/or city laws. With smoking laws varying between jurisdictions and local governments strapped for cash, the “legality” of hookah bars is a complicated question that ultimately depends on enforcement....

Determining whether you’re working as an employee or an independent contractor is about a lot more than just knowing what to call yourself. Although independent contractors and employees may often perform similar types of work, even working side by side, there are a number of legal differences between the two. How you’re classified can have a profound effect on employment benefits, taxes, and legal liability issues. How can you tell whether you’re an employee or an independent contractor?...

A Cabela’s lawsuit over a crossbow user’s severed thumb blames the outdoor retailer and the bow’s manufacturer for causing the man’s injury. Cyril B. Korte of Madison County, Wis., seeks at least $75,000 to cover medical costs, his physical impairment, and pain and suffering, Madison’s legal newspaper The Record reports. Korte bought a crossbow from a Cabela’s store in Missouri in 2009, after employees told him it was “the best and safest crossbow,” his lawsuit alleges....

California Governor Jerry Brown this weekend signed the Gender Recognition Act into law, allowing state residents to choose or change gender on a birth certificate to be female, male, or nonbinary. It is the first state do so, and is the third, along with Oregon and Washington, D.C., to allow gender neutral drivers licenses. While the bill applies to new birth certificates, it also eases the restrictions on birth certificate and drivers license changes, eliminating the requirement that a gender change applicant have undergone any treatment prior to the change....

You do a great business in your home state and are considering expanding to neighboring locations. But beware. Your business expansion plans can be thwarted with new legislation and prospective competitors might work very hard to guard their territory, lobbying lawmakers to keep your business out. That is what happened to Chicago’s Binny Beverage Depot. The Illinois liquor chain planned to expand to Indiana, where its competitors were “fat, happy and lazy,” according to company CEO Michael Binstein....

You may have heard about this in the news: A pastor in Missouri refused to pay a restaurant’s “mandatory tip for large groups. He wrote on the receipt, “I give God 10% – why do you get 18?” The unidentified pastor scribbled out the automatic gratuity, replaced it with a big “0,” and signed it “Pastor,” reports Gawker. While the pastor may have went a little overboard expressing his righteous indignation for auto-gratuities, at some point you’ve probably felt the same....

An unwed, pregnant Virginia woman was fired from her job at a church daycare after failing to marry her live-in fiance. Apryl Kellam said she received a phone call Monday informing her that she was being fired for violating church policy, Richmond’s WTVR-TV reports. Church officials had reportedly warned Kellam for several months that she needed to marry her fiance and father of her unborn child, James Coalson, in order to comply with the church’s moral code of conduct for employees....

A Utah man was hospitalized after chugging a quart of eggnog at his office holiday party. Ryan Roche was able to chug an entire quart of alcohol-free eggnog in 12 seconds, reports the New York Daily News. For his efforts, the 32-year-old Roche was crowned the winner of the contest. Unfortunately, he almost lost his life in the process. What happened to Roche and why should employers discourage these sorts of antics at office parties?...

A new FDA sunscreen warning encourages you to be careful about wearing sunscreen spray near flames. Ironically, your sunscreen spray could get you seriously burned. The Food and Drug Administration issued the warning after five people suffered significant burns that required medical treatment, according to the notice. The sunscreen spray burns occurred from lighting a cigarette, standing too close to a lit citronella candle, approaching a grill, and in one case, doing some welding....

“We treat it like a crime scene until we determine there’s no foul play,” Greeneville Police Detective Captain Tim Davis told the Times Free Press in August 2016. “We don’t know at this time what caused the accident.” There were no criminal charges filed after three people fell 30 to 45 feet from a Ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair in Tennessee last summer. But two federal lawsuits have been filed against the ride’s operators, Family Attractions Amusement Company, as well as the manufacturer, High-Lite Rides Inc....

It may be strange to read about a hot dog firing, but the case of Nolan Koewler of Evansville, Indiana is an incredible example of why you need to be clear with all of your employees, and post notices so everyone gets the message. Because, as a result of failing to do just that, a panel of three judges sitting on the Indiana Court of Appeals has determined that Mr. Koewler was not justifiably fired from a local Dillard’s department store....