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You don’t have to be in the pot business to be a pot-friendly small business. Maybe you’re located in one of the few recreationally legal states and you want to offer your employees awesome benefits. Or maybe you’re in a medicinal marijuana state and you don’t feel like firing a well-regarded, quadriplegic employee who has a prescription to treat his violent muscle spasms. Either way, if you’re considering a pro-pot policy at your small business, you should be aware that you might be wading into some legally murky waters....

The Yelp review site just got more notorious this week. The widely used website that allows users to write reviews in order to help people find great local businesses is under fire again. The New York Times reports that Yelp is involved in a class action lawsuit filed by two law firms on behalf of a veterinary hospital in Long Beach, California. The Yelp lawsuit details issues that have been plaguing the company recently....

Now that many Americans are sufficiently freaked out about the NSA’s domestic surveillance, a few new recommendations might help average citizens keep their cool. A White House advisory committee, perhaps catching a whiff of terror sweat from the American people, is officially recommending 46 changes to the National Security Agency’s surveillance tactics. Here are 10 of the most important recommendations: The NSA advisory board – offically called the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies – recommends that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which has been used to authorize surveillance on domestic soil, be changed to limit spying orders to instances when they are:...

Former Chief Judge Vaughn Walker’s court hearing over his sexuality might be leading to a strange precedent. It has probably been the first challenge over a gay judge’s ruling based on his sexuality. Walker presided over California’s Proposition 8 trial about the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. He declared Proposition 8 an unconstitutional violation of civil rights. In February, after Walker stepped down from his judicial post, he publicly revealed that he had been with his same-sex partner for 10 years, according to the AP....

Unicorns, at least in venture capital circles are very real. Defined as a startup that hasn’t actually brought a product to market, yet is somehow valued at more than $1 billion, unicorns have real employees, and thus real employee problems. And Magic Leap, “one of the most well-funded startups of all time,” looks like it has more real problems than most. Tannen Campbell, Magic Leap’s former Head and Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Brand Identity who was hired to make the company and its products more female-friendly, is now suing the company, claiming “hostile environment sex discrimination and retaliation....

If you’ve ever gotten a traffic ticket, you’ve probably been offered an option between having it go on your record or going to traffic school. But what is traffic school? The most common route for dealing with a ticket is paying the fine. If you have a good attorney you may be able to fight the ticket, but traffic school may be a better option. Unfortunately many people don’t take advantage of it....

These days violence has become so rampant on Chicago streets that lawmakers are questioning whether National Guard deployment will help fight crime. By calling on help from the National Guard, lawmakers are hoping to restore quell the recent surge in violence, according to the Associated Press. Democratic Reps. John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford say National Guard deployment can help combat the shootings, killings and crime sprees plaguing some Chicago neighborhoods. In addition, they say the police department’s resources are stretched thin....

MedBox, the company that promised to bring biometric medical marijuana vending machines into existence, was recently busted by the SEC for some rather deceptive practices, which surprisingly doesn’t involve the controversial substance. Rather, MedBox was busted for deceiving investors by using fake earnings generated by a secret affiliate and not MedBox to claim the company had substantial revenue and was a marijuana industry leader. The founder of MedBox, and the company itself, have settled the claims made by the SEC by agreeing to disgorge profits and pay fines, totaling over $12 million, and by the founder agreeing to not be a corporate director or officer of any public companies, and for him not to participate in any penny stock offerings....

Before your kids head back to school, you may want to have an honest chat with them about peer pressure and all the legal risks that come with it. They may look apathetic and roll their eyes at you – but rest assured, it’s important. If you take the easy way out and keep mum, consider yourself warned: In many states, parents can be held civilly liable for their kids’ actions....

Every employer wants reliable workers. But when hiring a telecommuter – someone who will work outside of the office – reliability is really critical. You cannot afford to pay someone who must be watched or wants a lot of guidance, so the ideal telecommuter is also independent. How do you find a person who will work dependably while needing little hand-holding? Recruiting Telecommuters First, figure out your needs. Before you can know what you want from another, first decide your priorities....

Dentists, like any other medical professional, are held to at least minimum standards of care for their patients. And it is comforting to know that performing a dental extraction on a patient while riding a hoverboard, filming the procedure, and then distributing the film with the quip “new standard of care” in fact falls far below that existing standard. But that’s not the only thing that got one Alaskan dentist in trouble, as he and his office assistant face a litany of felony charges....

Are commercial drones legal now, after an administrative law judge struck down the FAA’s rules on drones? In an appeal over a $10,000 fine to a videographer who used a drone to make an ad, a federal administrative judge ruled Thursday that the Federal Aviation Administration’s rule prohibiting commercial drones from being used was not valid, reports CNN. So as the dust settles on this case, can businesses legally use commercial drones?...

A Bob Marley drink being sold at a New Jersey middle school of all places is being blamed for sickening several students. Parents may be wondering why the school was selling the drink in the first place, as it is not intended for children. The drink called Marley’s Mellow Mood contains ingredients such as Valerian root and is designed to reduce stress and relieve tension of the consumer, reports New York’s WINS radio....

The Obama administration has taken an increasingly aggressive tone towards those responsible for the spill. The possibility of criminal charges is seen as the next rational step in a crisis that is beginning to overshadow President Obama’s agenda. Although this fact is occasionally lost in the focus on the damage the spill continues to create, it is important to remember that 11 people died in the rig explosion. The investigation is now looking into violations of the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as well as criminal charges, the New York Times reports....

CA Country Supervisor Arrested for Rape. That’s the headline coming out of Kings County, California. 40 year-old Richard Valle has been arrested and charged with the rape of an unidentified woman. According to the Fresno Bee, the victim called authorities around 3:30 a.m. to report the encounter. She accused Valle of performing oral sex on her while she was unconscious. The former marine is also charged with sexual penetration of an unconscious victim....

Earlier today, September 1, an armed man walked into the offices of the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland and took hostages. It has been reported now that the Discovery Channel attacker has been shot by police. The man is now confirmed to be James J. Lee. Lee was wearing several explosive devices when he entered the building about 1:00 p.m. local time. At least one of the explosives went off when he was shot....

Not everyone feels comfortable with the body in which they were born. And not everyone identifies as the gender assigned to them on their birth certificate. Therefore, many people choose to change the gender on their birth certificate and other official documents to more accurately reflect their gender identity. Unfortunately, making this change isn’t always as easy as it sounds, and can require a variety of legal documents and procedures. So do you need a lawyer to officially change your gender?...

Naturalization describes the process by which people not born in the United States or to U.S.-citizen parents can become citizens themselves, a process that can be long, extensive, and complicated. Given the language barrier, the numerous necessary documents, and the unfamiliarity with the naturalization process, many immigrants seeking citizenship never begin the process, get swamped in legalese, or have their applications denied. While there is no statutory requirement for you to hire an immigration lawyer to file for citizenship, you may want to have someone with some professional experience on your side to guide you through the naturalization process....

President Barack Obama signed two executive orders Tuesday to require federal contractors to let their workers to discuss wages more openly and to require contractors to submit detailed data to the government about how they compensate workers. The purpose of the executive orders, which the president signed on National Equal Pay Day, is to try and bridge the wage gap between men and women, according to The Washington Post. So what do the orders mean for your business?...

Would you be inclined to confuse Footzyrolls with Tootsie Rolls? In a bid to protect its brand, Tootsie Roll has filed suit against Rollashoe’s Footzyrolls. The company alleges that the names are so similar that the shoes are likely to cause consumer confusion and dilute the Tootsie Roll trademark. Even if you think this is a frivolous suit (a shoemaker and a candymaker?), such lawsuits are not at all uncommon. In fact, Chick-fil-A, which owns the trademark to the phrase “eat mor chikin,” has recently taken action against an artist who urges people to “eat more kale....