In recent news, employees of Premium Protein in Nebraska have filed a class action lawsuit that claims that the company violated their rights under the federal Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act which is also known as WARN. What is the WARN Act? The WARN Act is a federal statute that has been enacted in order to protect workers and their families from mass layoffs or plant closings. What Does It Require?...
Most companies are aware that matching contributions for employee donations to charity is one of the best gifts you can give your employees. Matching your employees’ gifts can demonstrate that you care about the issues that they care about and it gives employees a voice in the company’s charitable efforts. But no good deed goes un-litigated, as they say, and employee gift matching programs can raise some legal concerns for small businesses....
A Metra passenger train struck and killed a man who reportedly drove his dump truck around downed crossing gates in Des Plaines, Ill., near Mount Prospect, Ill., reports the Naperville Sun. The collision occurred at about 8:40 a.m., on the Metra Union Pacific’s Northwest line. The intersection where the accident happened is a grade crossing, protected with gates, lights and bells, reports Patch.com. According to witnesses, the crossing gates were down, the warnings lights shone and the no left turn sign illuminated, reports the Naperville Sun....
So a lawyer walks into a restaurant … It sounds like the beginning of a lawyer joke and it could be; but this time, is the joke on the restaurant owners? Lawyers in Manhattan, one of the centers of the culinary universe, are after some very high-profile restaurant owners and chefs for what they say are illegal wage practices. Like big names Mario Batali and Bobby Flay, now other high-profile chefs are the subjects of suits claiming their employees are made to share tips, denied overtime and are not paid the minimum wage required....
The first proceedings for the Oscar Grant case are underway in Los Angeles. But the public will not be able to see what goes on during the trial as a judge has rejected courtroom cameras. The racially charged case involving former Bay Area Rapid Transit Officer (BART) Johannes Mehserle accused of a fatal shooting of an unarmed passenger on New Year’s Day last year was moved from Alameda County. The Los Angeles Times reports, Johannes Mehserle will stand trial for the murder of Oscar Grant before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert J....
What happens when you get an out-of-state speeding ticket? Many of us assume that if we’re driving in another state and get pulled over for a speeding ticket, it won’t follow us home. Unfortunately, that assumption is wrong. Getting pulled over for a speeding ticket in another state is, in most ways, just like getting pulled over in your home state. Here’s a general breakdown of what will typically happen if you get an out-of-state speeding ticket:...
If Kermit the Frog and Big Bird had a child, what would it look like? Why, the Phillie Phanatic of course. But if those icons of kindness (the frog and bird) were really his parents, they would no doubt teach the Phanatic some care and gentle manners. That way, perhaps he could stop getting sued all the time. The big, green “ungainly” mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies has been sued so many times the Philadelphia Daily News now calls him the “big green litigation machine....
Rite Aid has agreed to settle an overtime class-action lawsuit for $20.9 million. The company was accused of violating federal wage and hour laws when it classified approximately 6,100 assistant store managers as “exempt” workers. The lawsuit claimed these employees were misclassified, and that they should have been entitled to overtime pay and other benefits given to nonexempt employees, reports The Patriot-News. Nationwide, there were 15 lawsuits against Rite Aid, 14 of which were resolved with this settlement....
School liability waivers are so common that most parents sign them without thinking twice. They come up during sports, field trips, and other extracurricular activities where school officials are in charge. Not signing the waiver means your child can’t participate in the activity. Most parents consider that too unfair given the presumably low-risk of most activities. But signing the waiver doesn’t mean you have no legal recourse if something goes wrong....
You are going into business and you know you need some stuff – computers, a printer, maybe an office, definitely a website, and possibly some employees. Do you also need an attorney? And if so, how do you know whether to go with a big fancy firm or a small law office or even a solo practitioner? Much depends on what you are doing, your business, and what you hope to achieve....
You know that bully? The one who, rather than bring his own lunch to school, sits around, waiting to take other kids’ lunch money? And he uses the unoriginal, yet effective, “pay up or else” threat? The patent troll is kind of like the bully of the intellectual property world. And while today’s startups may not have the most lunch money on the playground, they are facing an increasing threat from these patent trolls....
You hoped it wouldn’t come to this. You encouraged and cajoled. You begged and pleaded. You offered them money to help them get settled elsewhere. You even drafted and delivered five eviction notices. And yet, your 30-year-old adult child refuses to move out of your house. What do you do? Well, you sue them in county court, of course. When all else fails, file a lawsuit. And “all else”, in the case of Christina and Mark Rotondo, meant a series of written notices, each increasing in their harsh criticism and hilarity, aimed at getting their son Michael out of the home....
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down aggregate campaign contribution limits for individuals, clearing the way for wealthy donors to support more candidates, political parties, and political action committees. In McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, the High Court ruled 5-4 that federal laws which placed a limit on the total amount an individual can contribute to federal candidates, parties, and PACs every two years – currently $123,200, according to USA Today – were unconstitutional....
Teen driver Ashley M. Sullivan was already in a heap of trouble after she was convicted of killing her boyfriend while drunk driving. The seventeen-year-old plead guilty to negligent homicide and DWI and was going to be charged as a minor. But during the months after the crash a judge found a Facebook photo the teenager posted on her Facebook web page captioned, “Drunk in Florida” and Sullivan’s legal troubles only got worse, the Buffalo News reports....
When most of us think of negligence and injury, the classic example is the simple car accident. We all owe a duty to drive carefully, someone breached that duty by driving irresponsibly or ignoring a traffic sign or signal, this causes a crash, and someone else is injured. Perhaps negligence and car accidents are so closely linked because so many lawsuits follow accidents. But as seemingly familiar as so many people are with accidents and the personal injury lawsuits that follow, we still have questions....
A real exchange of fire is happening at the company known for publishing the incredibly successful game series Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The two top executives of Infinity Ward, a development studio arm of Activision, were dismissed on Monday and by Wednesday, were returning fire via a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles. At stake is $36 million plus in royalties and some argue, possibly the entire structure of the game creation system....
A big part of the reason why the economy is sagging may lie in the difficulties facing the housing market. Now, many have probably heard reports about rising foreclosures, but could a chunk of the foreclosures going on actually come from homeowners making a “strategic” decision to, basically, throw their hands up and just stop paying? Well, according to a TIME article, that’s exactly what a study suggests may be going on in some places....
Parents can now add “cinnamon” to the list of things they should warn their kids about, a new study suggests. The so-called “cinnamon challenge” is a popular dare that involves swallowing a spoonful of ground cinnamon without drinking water. Pediatricians are worried, because a new study shows the “cinnamon challenge” has resulted in injuries and chronic health issues. But with all the peer pressure and health risks involved, could a “cinnamon challenge”-related injury lead to a heaping spoon of lawsuits?...
You are a teacher. Every day you stand before young people and try to prepare them for the world. But you were not prepared to come to work one day and face an assault or attack. Unfortunately, teachers are threatened and assaulted at work all around the country with some regularity. Let’s take a look at what rights teachers have when a student attacks or assaults them. Your Rights as a Teacher As a teacher, you do have the right to come to work and operate in a safe environment, among others unrelated to student attacks....
A federal judge in Northern California for the second time dismissed the Air France crash lawsuit on Wednesday, ruling that family members of those killed in the 2009 crash are not entitled to sue parts manufacturers in the United States. Citing the legal doctrine of forum non conveniens, the judge determined that France is a more appropriate venue for the dispute despite the fact that defendants are American companies. Even though the crash of Air France Flight 447 is still a bit of a mystery, family members are suing a variety of parts manufacturers, including Intel, Honeywell and GE, alleging that the crash was the result of a system malfunction, reports Reuters....
