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Noncompete clauses are fairly common in work contracts, but they have a habit of sneaking up on former employees. Take Colette Buser, a 19-year-old college student with years of summer camp experience, who was seemingly barred from working at any camp in Massachusetts because of her contract with her prior employer. You typically think of these sorts of contract issues affecting high-level managers and investment brokers, but as The New York Times reports, these noncompete clauses are increasingly required of employees in any industry....

“Sustainable,” “green,” and “organic” are all words businesses use to display their commitment to the environment. Or at least to greenwash their products and draw in eco-friendly customers. Even McDonald’s is getting into the game by calling the fish for its new Fish McBites and its classic Filet-O-Fish sandwich “sustainable.” They’re endorsed by the Marine Stewardship Council, NPR reports. But do you need some stamp of approval to call your business sustainable?...

Following up on the reports about a Michael Jackson will, it is now reported that indeed, Jackson’s will has been filed and that it purportedly transfers Michael Jackson’s assets to a trust, specifically, the Michael Jackson Family Trust. People may tend to “tune out” when they hear the word trust alone, maybe thinking trusts are complex and of value only to the fabulously wealthy. In reality, however, trusts can be useful tools for a wide variety of people....

A six-years long Stanislaus County, California murder case continues to wind its way through the justice system, and one thread is now in federal court. Georgia and Christina DeFilippo, the wife and stepdaughter of criminal defense attorney Frank Carson, claim the district attorney, sheriff’s office, and local police department “conspired to conduct a retaliatory, unconstitutional investigation and prosecution of Frank Carson and his family, solely based on their own disdain for Carson because of his successes against them....

21 year-old Michael Enright has been arrested in relation to stabbing a New York cab driver in what is believed to be an anti-Muslim hate crime. Ahmed Sharif picked up his passenger on Tuesday evening when Enright began to make anti-Muslim remarks towards his cab driver and then proceeded to stab him in the throat, face, and arm, reports the New York Times. The 43 year-old Sharif was able to stop the cab following the encounter and police arrested Enright on the scene....

Paleo blogger/cave man dieter Steve Cooksey, was told by North Carolina officials that he did not have a license to give dieting advice. As a result, Cooksey had the choice of either not blogging or steering clear of giving individualized advice. In this age of blogging and reaching out to consumers via social media, having a personal connection with a potential customer has been a key feature of marketing. As many small businesses have taken to blogging, the notice given to Cooksey is particular troubling as businesses may be left wondering what is, and is not, allowed....

More than seven years in the making, the California Department of Managed Health Care announced this week that over the next year, it will begin implementing new rules governing how long HMO patients in the state will wait to see a physician. A law passed in 2002 mandated timely access to health care for Californians served by HMOs, but the actual nuts and bolts were up to the regulators to decide, through lengthy negotiations with hospitals, doctors, HMOs and managed health care advocates....

A Texas teen who sued her parents for the right not to have an abortion has been granted an injunction that will last for the term of her pregnancy. The 16-year-old girl is 10 weeks pregnant. She and her boyfriend want to keep the baby and get married. But the girl’s parents allegedly wanted her to terminate the pregnancy. The lawsuit claimed they pressured her to get an abortion. The parents denied the allegations in the lawsuit but just in case, the court granted a long-term injunction based on the girl’s claims....

You just bought a shiny new laptop. You even bought the two year extended warranty. But, less than a year later, your computer starts spazzing out. It’s not working the way it should. So, you try to get it fixed. The store claims the problem with your computer isn’t covered by the warranty, and they won’t cover the cost to fix it. Why are you not surprised? What do you do if the store won’t honor a warranty?...

Figuring out the appropriate legal structure for a small business can be a daunting task, especially considering that each type of structure has trade-offs. It’s crucial to take your time and choose wisely because the structure you select will affect everything from paying to taxes to assigning liability, from raising capital to sharing profits. Here are the three most common legal structures for businesses – along with their major pros and cons:...

The BP oil spill is officially old news. What was once the top story for months is now largely seen as a footnote in an already challenging year. Now comes the announcement that the Obama administration has lifted the moratorium on deep water oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The moratorium is being terminated about 7 weeks earlier than the original plan of November 30. The moratorium came in the wake of the massive BP oil spill that killed 11 and unleashed millions of crude oil into the ocean....

California’s Proposition 8 won’t be heading to the Supreme Court just yet. Instead of appealing to the nation’s highest court, the Protect Marriage coalition has asked a larger panel of the 9th Circuit to review the court’s February 7th decision. When asked about the Prop 8 rehearing, the group’s general counsel explained that it would give “the entire 9th Circuit a chance to correct this anomalous decision by just two judges overturning the vote of seven million Californians....

When a person is killed due to the misconduct or negligence of another, a representative of the estate of the deceased may sue for wrongful death. But there are limitations on who can sue, and there is some confusion about who can receive damages if they are awarded. Not everyone who qualifies for inheritance under a state intestacy statute can collect wrongful death damages. Wrongful Death Generally Every state has a civil wrongful death statute, or statutes, establishing the procedures for a wrongful death claim....

There’s been a Cash Cab crash. One of the replica cabs used in the Discovery Channel’s oddball game show struck and killed a 61-year-old pedestrian in downtown Vancouver late Friday night. And while this may not be so surprising to those who have seen the show, the truth is that Friday night’s accident in Canada occurred after filming, while a producer was taking the cab back to a storage unit for safe keeping....

Sharon Bialek is the fourth woman to accuse GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment. Accompanied by attorney Gloria Allred, she held a press conference this morning and told the following story. In 1997, Bialek was employed by the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) education foundation. At this time, Herman Cain was the NRA’s president. Just prior to the incident, Bialek alleges that Cain offered to help her find a job with a state restaurant association....

For married couples who may be considering a divorce, another potential legal option is to seek an annulment. But not every couple is eligible. Like a divorce, an annulment dissolves a marriage. However, unlike a divorce – in which a marriage is still recognized as having been previously valid – when a marriage is annulled it is treated as if it never happened. Annulment is sometimes sought for religious reasons, but may also be requested for entirely personal reasons too....

FCC regulators have proposed new net neutrality rules after a vote Thursday, possibly opening the door to an Internet with content-dependent speeds. The debate over net neutrality is not new, but the FCC’s proposed rules have undergone many recent changes. 1. What Exactly Did They Vote On? The Federal Communications Commission is considering new proposed net neutrality rules, and voted 3-2 to move the proposal to public comment, reports Reuters. Just in case you were wondering, net neutrality deals with whether Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast and Verizon can block or discriminate against certain content....

If you thought that having employees based overseas might save you a few bucks come tax time, think again. As a general rule, U.S. social security and Medicare taxes still apply to any wages earned as an employee outside of the United States. There are, however, some exceptions to that general rule, and the IRS has recently issued an update to its FICA rules for employees of American companies working abroad....

Actor Antwon Tanner, who plays the character “Skills” on the CW show One Tree Hill apparently decided to put his money-making skills to the test via Social Security fraud, reports the New York Daily News. Unfortunately for him, the result was that he got caught in a sting operation and got slapped with a 2-count indictment for purportedly “selling bogus Social Security numbers and cards”. The fraudulent scheme was allegedly planned and carried out between 2005 and 2008, and the story described one take on Tanner’s involvement as having “supplied 16 Social Security numbers and three bogus Social Security cards to a middleman who sold them to an undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent”....

Burger King is facing a lawsuit after a man claimed he was attacked with a stun gun and a switchblade by a Burger King manager for complaining about cold onion rings. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month by a customer at a Burger King restaurant in Bloomfield, New Mexico, alleges that the restaurant’s manager became violent after the customer asked for a following a dispute involving cold onion rings, reports Albuquerque’s KRQE-TV....