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The gay rights movement seems laser focused on gay marriage, but what about gay rights in the workplace? NPR recently reported on the gay rights movement in the workplace with an interesting timeline. It brings about the question: What Are Your Rights Against Workplace Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation? There is currently no federal law that protects against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation in the private sector, but federal government workers are protected from being discriminated against....

If you owned haunted real estate and wanted to sell it, would you have an obligation to tell potential buyers of paranormal activity? It’s a difficult question to answer that will play out differently state by state. Most real estate laws require sellers to disclose “material facts.” But what is a material fact? Do they have to disclose a haunted house? Normally material facts include things like leaks, structural issues, age of items that wear down, mold and mildew and so on....

Does your state have a duty to report or help law? On your walk to Starbucks, you hear a scream! Around the corner you find a lady knocked out, bleeding from a cut wound to her arm, and a guy is running away with her purse. Do you help her? Do you run after the guy? Do you call the police? Can you just continue on your way and ignore the lady?...

The Internal Revenue Service is assisting homeowners. Although the effect of this help is really only marginal, it still helps those taxpayers who pay real-estate tax, whether state or local. A quick primer on real-estate tax, for the uninitiated: The real-estate taxes in question are the taxes paid by property owners to their county, state or municipality. Generally, these taxes are paid twice a year and could run in the range of 0....

The State of Ohio is in turmoil over motor vehicle registration laws. A recent crack-down by the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) has resulted in a suit by the League of United Latin American Citizens, who claim the BMV’s sudden move to require proof of identity to register a vehicle amounts to enforcement of the immigration laws by the state, circumventing the federal government’s primary role in immigration matters....

Do you know how to stop telemarketers from calling you? Adding your name to the National Do Not Call Registry is a simple and reasonably effective way to stop (or at the very least, significantly reduce) those pesky telemarketer phone calls. There are also a couple of other ways to prevent telemarketer calls. Here’s an overview of how to get on the National Do Not Call registry and other ways to stop telemarketers:...

I’ve been on a search for the perfect fried chicken sandwich, trying just about everything from Chick-Fil-A and Carl’s Jr. to local spots and food trucks. I have yet to make it to Church’s, but based on one ex-employee’s legal claim, maybe I need to give their “Pechu Sandwich” a try. Norberto Colón Lorenzana attempted to patent what I assumed was a classic staple of American cuisine, claiming he invented it in 1991....

Rollover accidents have always been a safety concern for owners of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), and a new SUV roof strength rating system was unveiled last week by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 12 small SUVs were evaluated in the first round of testing. So, which vehicles came through with flying colors? The Bad: On the other end of the spectrum in the first round of SUV roof test safety ratings, the Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson brought up the rear with “Poor” grades....

In today’s small biz world, many startups, especially Silicon Valley-based tech companies, are asking early employees to forgo high salaries in favor of shares in the company, essentially betting on their own future success. Such equity arrangements can be great for employees and entrepreneurs alike, but they may come with a snag: how can new employee-shareholders find out how much of the company they’re getting and how much their shares are worth?...

A Transocean Ltd. oil rig, contracted to BP, exploded off the coast of Louisiana and then sank, likely causing 11 deaths and significant environmental damage. On Friday, rescue workers called off the search for 11 missing workers. The lawsuit was filed in New Orleans last Thursday on behalf of a Mississippi man who worked on the rig and is one of 11 people missing after the oil explosion. The suit says Shane Roshto, of Amite County, Miss....

Divorce attorneys can be essential to getting you and your family to a resolution that brings you financial stability and closure, but it’s pretty likely to cost you something. There are a variety of ways to pay a divorce attorney’s fees, but specific quirks of family law make paying a divorce lawyer a bit different. Don’t be caught unaware about how to pay your divorce attorney, check out these five free factoids about attorney’s fees:...

When an employee or supervisor makes racist comments in the workplace, a small business can face costly legal consequences. What can employers and business owners do? The NBA today made a decisive move: suspending Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life after an investigation found that he’d made racist comments – one of which targeted Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, Reuters reports. What should your business do when addressing racist comments in the workplace?...

In news that probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, a Florida man who allegedly threw his former girlfriend’s baby out from a moving vehicle has been charged with first-degree murder. CNN reported on the disturbing story of 21-year-old Richard Anthony McTear Jr., who was apparently not related to 3-month-old Emanuel Wesley Murray, and described the allegations as follows: The boy’s body was found at around 4:30 a.m, and McTear was arrested a few hours later after a confrontation with police....

Ruby Tuesday workers sued the restaurant chain in a class action lawsuit over wages. The plaintiff class covers all Ruby Tuesday servers and bartenders who worked in all of the chain’s restaurants for the last three years, according to Grub Street. The workers say that they were forced to spend more than 20 percent of their time on side work while being paid on a tip-wage basis, which violates the law, and also were encouraged by the corporation not to report their side-work hours....

Every now and then a law comes around banning a thing you didn’t even know existed in the first place. Such is the case with New Mexico’s anti-school lunch shaming statute, which bars schools in the Land of Enchantment from forcing kids to throw away food, wear specific wristbands, or complete chores if they are unable to afford a meal. And if you were unaware that children as young as 5 or 6 needed a Hunger-Free Students’ Bill of Rights Act, perhaps it’s because you didn’t know what some schools have been doing to shame underprivileged students....

Adoption, apart from being one of the best things a person can do, can be emotional, time consuming, energy draining, will testing, and expensive. Before starting the process, individuals and couples often spend hours researching as it is a legally complex process, much like any family law matter. Below are 5 of the top legal questions people usually want to ask, but are a bit nervous or afraid about asking....

Silver Eagle Refinery in Woods Cross, Utah had a severe explosion that caused damage to ten homes in the area. The refinery is located five miles north of Salt Lake City. This is the refinery’s second explosion this year. The first occurred in January of this year. In that explosion, a fire had burned for 11 hours straight. The AP reports that this current blast started in a vessel called a diesel hydrotreater which removes sulfur compounds from diesel fuel....

The man charged with a string of murders in Milwaukee, whose DNA should have been on file since 2001, appears to be amongst 12,000 current and former inmates whose DNA samples got lost in Milwaukee’s system. Previously, we discussed the missing DNA sample of alleged Milwaukee serial killer Walter Ellis. In keeping with the state’s policy, in 2001 Wisconsin Department of Corrections purportedly sent a sample of his DNA to the state’s Department of Justice....

Contingency what? In addition to nearly impossible legal jargon, procedural issues, and procedural hoops, the various payment structures for an attorney is one more aspect that serves to confuse a layperson in trying to successfully maneuver through a legal issue. A contingency fee is the most common fee structure used in personal injury actions, but not necessarily the easiest to understand. Flat fees, referral fees, consultation fees, statutory fees. The type of fee agreement you enter into with your attorney can have an impact on your recovery....

Ask most Americans which of their five senses they would least like to go without, and chances are they will say, “Sight.” Our eyesight and vision is one of our most coveted aspects, and many consider blindness the worst thing that could happen to them. So it’s no surprise that we take eye health and care so seriously, and why optometrists are held to such a high standard of care. And if an optometrist fails to provide eyesight and vision care up to that standard, lawsuits are possible....