Posts

You already know that you can’t discriminate based on disability in your hiring process. And by now you should know that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) sets out the disabilities covered by federal anti-discrimination laws, and whether the ADA applies to your business. What may be difficult is keeping track of who qualifies as a disabled employee. For instance, is obesity a disability under the ADA? And if so, what qualifies as a reasonable accommodation?...

And while re-branding can be great for most companies, the public policy concern with making tobacco more appealing is very real. Especially considering that FDA found that 17-year-old smokers are three times more likely to smoke a flavored cigarette than smokers older than 25. Add to that flavors, colors, and repackaging and you may wonder whether you are reaching for a pack of gum or a pack of smokes. And the risk becomes all the greater when the person rolling through the checkout is a teenager, reaching for the same pack....

Prosecutors in Florida have decided to charge four teenage boys as adults in a case involving horrifying allegations of sexual assault against another teenage boy. Noteably, CNN’s story named all four boys, specifically because they were charged as adults. As a result, those boys may have to live with the stigma of the allegations for all their lives, regardless of what the eventual result in the case may be. This is probably even moreso in the Internet age where search engines put information on someone’s name just a few keystrokes away....

Shackling Pregnant Inmates Draws Lawsuits Former Washington state prison inmate Casandra Brawley had to go through tough labor while serving her prison time back in 2007, but it had nothing to do with her sentence. No, according to a lawsuit filed last week, Brawley was actually nine months pregnant during her 14-month stay in prison (she has a felony drug and theft record) when she went into labor. One might think that a nine-month pregnant inmate in the middle of active labor is not exactly the greatest flight risk, but Washington correctional authorities might have disagreed … at least back then anyway....

When starting a business, a major consideration is deciding where to incorporate. The state of Delaware is known as a somewhat magical place in the realm of business. Although it’s an incredibly popular place for businesses to incorporate, it doesn’t necessarily make a good fit for small business owners – especially if you only conduct business in your home state. Here are five issues you’ll want to consider if you’re thinking of incorporating in Delaware:...

Online privacy is a big issue for regulators, which means anyone building a mobile app needs to have a privacy policy so that users know where their personal information is going. For app makers, privacy policies are nothing new, as federal regulators have been requiring them for a while. But individual states also regulate Internet privacy by making regulations about where and how developers should post their privacy policies so consumers can be informed....

A lawsuit over the hormone drug Prempro manufactured by Wyeth and Pfizer has resulted in a $100 million dollar punitive damages award. Another lawsuit over the same hormone drug also resulted in punitive damages. Both lawsuits were decided in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that there are currently 1,500 of 10,000 similar cases that are pending litigation in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted Pfizer spokesperson Chris Loder as saying: “The company believes that neither the awards of punitive damages nor the liability verdicts were supported by the evidence or the law....

Nothing can ruin a nice holiday road trip to visit the folks like an out-of-state speeding ticket. According to USA Today, “[a]ll 50 states will be stepping up enforcement during the Thanksgiving travel season.” Regardless of when you get one, if you’re saddled with an out-of-state speeding ticket, here is a step-by-step guide to fighting them: While you pore over the offending piece of flimsy paper looking to see if the out-of-state officer who pulled you over spelled your name right, check the ticket for the county in which you were cited....

You may think an email message is the “smoking gun” in your case, and you’d like to use it as evidence. But legally, it isn’t always as easy as bringing a printed-out copy of an important email to court. The rules of evidence may require that the email be authenticated and to be introduced in a way that doesn’t violate the general prohibition on hearsay evidence. With these concerns in mind, here are a few tips on how to use email as evidence:...

Medical marijuana has new life in New Jersey thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday – a bill which lawmakers hope will assist sick children get to the drugs they need. The Garden State’s new medical pot law does away with a restriction that limited legal dispensaries to only three strains of cannabis. It also allows edible marijuana to be sold to eligible children, reports The Associated Press....

As the real estate market creeps back to life, many tenants may be wondering if they can break their lease if their landlord puts the rental property up for sale. After all, once the property is sold, a tenant could be faced with a lot of uncertainties – such as dealing with a new landlord who may have very different ideas about what he or she wants to do with the property....

Thanks to GPS communications systems and Onstar technology police have arrested Bryan Ashline, a young father, in connection to a double homicide in the Village of Bath New York. Bryan Ashline, 23, was arrested on Father’s Day and is a suspect in the slaying of a 25-year-old woman and their 3-month-old son, the Daily Star reports. Police converged on the rest area of Interstate 88 shortly after an OnStar technology signal from a 2010 Chevrolet Impala driven by the murder suspect was detected, Sgt....

Scarlett Lewis, Neil Heslin, and Leonard Pozner, the parents of Jesse Lewis and Noah Pozner, offered to settle their lawsuit against the town of Newtown over the children’s deaths in a horrific school shooting in 2012. The parents had sued the town, claiming Sandy Hook Elementary School’s security plan was inadequate. Now the parents are offering to accept an $11 million settlement in return for dropping all of their legal claims against the city....

The push for a New York medical marijuana law is heating up. State Senator Diane Savino (D-Staten Island) has plans to introduce a medical marijuana bill in the coming weeks, just months before the legislative session ends in June. But as far as Governor Andrew Cuomo is concerned, the medical marijuana bill is a bit premature. New York’s medical marijuana bill is not unique — the drug is legal in 16 states and Washington, D....

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a personal injury lawsuit stemming from a motorcycle crash in Joliet, IL yielded record settlement compensation of $6 million dollars. Mr. Richard Wright and his 15 year old daughter Kelly Wright were side struck by a man driving a Chevrolet truck while riding a motorcycle in Joliet. The truck driver John Martis was attempting to turn left at a stop sign in the suburban neighborhood when he hit the motorcycle with his truck....

Turning a successful business into a franchise is a great way to turn a good idea into a great company. But that success may also create the need for additional business insurance. With the rise in lawsuits targeting chain businesses, insurers are now offering new types of business insurance for franchisers covering a variety of legal actions, reports Businessweek. This type of policy may cover everything from customer disputes with individual franchisees that turn into lawsuits against the owner of the franchise to employment disputes....

With layoffs never far from the news, unemployment in double digits, and hiring slowed to a saunter, it is not surprising that as big businesses scale down, new start-ups and small businesses are springing up. In fact, a recent FindLaw survey showed that a majority of Americans have at one point started or considered starting their own business With potentially lower initiation and operating costs and ability to capitalize on unique skills and talents to target niche consumer markets, small businesses may be better able to brace the economic turbulence....

The love that binds is not enough to create a legally binding contract, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled. In a 6-1 decision, Ohio’s highest court affirmed a legal principle settled by Ohio case law in the 1800s: Love and affection are not consideration for a contract. The case involved a cohabitating couple and proceeds from the sale of their house, The Columbus Dispatch reports. A March 2005 contract gave Frederick Ormsby, 57, of Medina, Ohio, the first $324,000 in proceeds from the sale; the rest would go to his then-fiancée Amber Williams....

Injuries can happen, and ruin, any vacation. But there something about Spring Break that seems to increase the injury danger. If you’re injured while on Spring Break, you’re probably far from home and could use some tips on handling your case. Here are a few that you may want to keep in mind: Whether you’re headed to spring training, March Madness, or any of the arenas hosting NHL and NBA games in between, you should be aware that the stands aren’t always a sanctuary....

A federal appellate court has upheld Texas’ recently enacted abortion laws, including requirements for abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision overturns a lower court’s ruling which found that the Texas law was unconstitutional because it placed an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to legally terminate a pregnancy. What does this ruling mean for women in Texas and nationwide?...