On February 7, 1962 – fifty years ago – President John F. Kennedy signed the Cuban Trade Embargo, strengthening a partial embargo that had existed since 1960. The new terms of the Embargo would end almost all ties between the two governments. It would cut off trade and travel to Cuba; freeze Cuban assets in the U.S.; and impose sanctions on nations that offer assistance. It would thoroughly weaken Fidel Castro’s Communist regime....
Fake reviews can give your company a quick short-lived boost, but steer clear from this sketchy and illegal practice that can ultimately leave your company bust. Reading online reviews of a restaurant before going out to dinner, checking user comments for a new gadget before clicking to buy it online, scanning a company’s website for testimonials before signing up for a service… online business reviews are a major way that consumers decide where to spend their green....
Nearly 80 percent of students are working at least part-time during the school year, according to a new survey by Citigroup and Seventeen magazine. The data included students in high school, community college, online colleges, as well as public and private colleges and universities. But is it legal for students to work? Generally yes; however, there are some legal limits employers need to know. Here are some general guidelines: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) governs child labor....
When you’re dealing with a major medical problem, either yours or a loved one’s, the last thing you want to worry about is work. Requesting FMLA leave can ensure that you’re given unpaid time off and that your job is still waiting for you when you return, but you need to give proper notice. So what do you need to do? Here’s a quick legal overview of how to request FMLA leave from your employer:...
If you offer your employees vacation time, you may be wondering whether and when you can deny a vacation request. To answer this question, you must understand that, while there may be state laws regulating how vacation time accumulates and is compensated, there is no law that requires employers to provide their employees with paid or unpaid time off. Vacation time is thus generally only subject to the limitations and conditions contained in employment contracts and workplace handbooks....
The first lawsuit has been filed against Samsung as a result of the exploding Galaxy Note 7s that were recalled last month. Surprisingly, the lawsuit is not over the phone explosion itself, but rather the economic damages that the recall notice caused to consumers. A judge still needs to approve the class-action status of the lawsuit. For the 1.9 million Samsung phones that were subject to the recall in the U....
33 year-old Elias Abuelazam has been arrested in an Atlanta airport after months of searching for the man connected to over 20 stabbings, mainly taking place in Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia. The serial stabber was attempting to board a flight to Israel on an expired passport when officials arrested the Israeli native. According to ABC News, the all-male attacks began May 24, with the most recent stabbing occurring on August 2 in Virginia....
As a business owner, should you change your registered agent? As you probably know, every corporation is required to have a registered agent. This person (or entity, in some cases) is the one who accepts important legal documents (such as lawsuits) on the business’ behalf. But after designating a particular person, company, or even yourself as your business’ registered agent, you may face a need to change that designation. Here are a few common scenarios when that might be necessary:...
More information is being discovered in relation to Wells Fargo’s recent scandal, showing that nearly 10,000 small businesses were also victims of the banking giant’s illegal and corrupt up-selling practices. Despite CEO John Stumpf claiming ignorance as to whether small businesses were affected when he testified before the House Financial Services Committee, Senator David Vitter has discovered that thousands of small businesses have been affected by the fraudulent practices. It may not be much of a relief, nor will most believe Wells Fargo, but the bank claims that the small business customers that were affected were included in the original count of the consumer retail accounts that were affected....
Palimony sure sounds an awful lot like alimony, and it also works in a very similar way. Alimony, of course, refers to spousal support payments made by one spouse to another as set out in either a settlement agreement following a divorce, or in a court order. By contrast, palimony refers to similar payments, but between two people who lived together as a couple but were never married. How does palimony work?...
Social media is a two-way street which adds to its benefits for small business. Sure, it’s great for advertising and attracting new customers. But it’s also a social experience, meaning interactive. Not only can you get a message to your customers, they can send one back to you. But we all know that talk is cheap. How can you reap the benefits of all that interaction? One good way is to encourage customers to contribute content about your business to your Facebook or Yelp page....
Whether you formed a Limited Liability Company or an S-Corporation, aside from the tax advantages, chances are you incorporated with the purpose of warding off personal liability in the event that your business gets sued. But did you know that the liability protection afforded by incorporation is not ironclad? If a plaintiff can show that a corporation exists for fraudulent purposes, or that it is indistinguishable from its owners, courts will “pierce the corporate veil” and hold those owners personally liable....
Gregory Hill, Jr., father of three children aged 13, 10, and 7, was shot and killed by two Florida sheriff’s deputies in the garage of his home in 2014. According to official reports, deputies went to Hill’s house in response to a noise complaint, and knocked on his front door at 3 p.m. After repeated knocking, Hill manually opened his garage door, then immediately put it back down. As the garage door closed, one deputy fired through the door, hitting Hill and killing him instantly....
Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” turned 50 this year, and business owners could learn a thing or two from how Willy Wonka runs his factory. From a legal standpoint, Wonka’s business is one giant lawsuit waiting to happen, and the whole thing is premised on inviting children into direct harm. But on top of being fictional, this business owner had some rather keen ways of keeping his business out of court....
Indiana’s new ‘religious freedom’ law has been garnering a lot of attention since Gov. Mike Pence signed it into law on Thursday. The bill would purportedly give legal protections to business owners who refuse service to LGBT customers on the basis of religious freedom. There are threats of business boycotts and boasts of discrimination, and voices from Apple’s Tim Cook to the NCAA have stated their concerns over Indiana’s new law....
Is it legal to monitor your employees? That really depends on what approach you take. As invasive as it may sound, monitoring your workers can actually make them more productive, according to The Atlantic. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should be a nit-picky, micromanaging stalker and watch your employees’ every move(s). But when the situation calls for it, you may indeed need to monitor your employees. Here are five legal ways to do it:...
You might know what happens if you get into a car accident, but what about an accident in a company car? Are you liable, or is your boss the one who’ll have to pay for the damage? Many jobs entail driving as either a primary or secondary task, or simply require that employees have a valid driver’s license to run the occasional job-related errand. So what happens if you get into an accident while driving a company-owned car?...
Your average slip-and-fall case is normally handled quietly by both parties and settled out of court with little fanfare. But your average slip-and-fall case doesn’t normally involve a Harvard Law School professor emeritus, zealous civil liberties advocate, and frequent television guest on prominent legal topics. In that case, a lawsuit might not end as quite as quietly. Alan Dershowitz is suing Boston’s TD Garden after a nasty spill in the bathroom during a playoff basketball game in 2012....
Black Friday will soon be here. The Black Friday buzz, and ads, have been everywhere for weeks advertising big discounts for the day after Thanksgiving. For those people looking forward to Black Friday shopping, the question really isn’t whether to shop but more appropriately, how to shop. With the hassle of the crowds, parking, and everything else that accompanies the early morning rush to the mall, is it better just to stay home and shop online for Black Friday 2010?...
Nurses in San Francisco are alleging discrimination for refusing to hire Filipinos. A class action suit has been filed against Sutter Health and the company’s California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Three former managers at California Pacific Medical Center made allegations in signed statements that between 2007 and 2009 they were told by supervisors not to hire Filipina nurses. The union also contends that the number of Filipina nurses dropped from 65% to 10%, The Los Angeles Times reports....
