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A recent lawsuit filed by a widower, and the deceased’s nephew, alleges that a Mississippi funeral home refused to provide agreed upon transportation and cremation services due to the sexual orientation of the deceased. Prior to the deceased’s passing, specific arrangements were made weeks in advance, and confirmed 24 hours prior to death. Specifically, the funeral home agreed to transport and cremate the deceased. However, it is alleged that once the deceased passed, and the funeral home received the paperwork, the nursing home where the deceased passed was informed that the funeral home “did not deal with their kind....

It’s perhaps fitting that the day before Equal Pay Day, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that employers may no longer consider salary history in setting an employee’s pay. And now that Equal Pay Day is here, you might be wondering how that court decision, and other local and state laws, affects your small business. A good rule of thumb is to pay all your employees equally for equal work at their positions, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or any other non-business factor....

Two new equal pay laws, enacted in New York and California, go into effect this month. They aim to make 2016 and beyond better for women workers, who are consistently paid less than men for the same work. The California law went into effect on January 1 and has been called the nation’s toughest fair pay legislation yet by the Los Angeles Times. The New York law passed with 7 others as part of the Women’s Equality Agenda and will come into effect on January 19, according to Newsday....

Yesterday, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was introduced in the US House of Representatives. It would prohibit employers from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity in a wide variety of employment decisions. Though similar legislation has been repeatedly introduced without success, increased support this year means businesses would be smart to prepare for compliance. Representative Barney Frank, along with others, has introduced ENDA just about every year since 1994....

In a case of a headline being ripped straight from an episode of The Good Wife, a company that manages for-profit colleges has agreed to forgive over $102.8 million in student loan debt. Education Management Corporation (EDMC) reached a settlement with 39 state attorneys general to rescind debt owed by more than 80,000 former students nationwide. EDMC was accused of using “high-pressure” recruitment tactics, giving inaccurate information about some of their programs’ accreditation, and misrepresenting its colleges’ educational benefits, job placement rates, and graduation rates....

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein turned himself in to New York City police this morning, and was arraigned on a criminal complaint containing two charges of rape and another charge of criminal sex. After a processing and a quick hearing, Weinstein was released after posting $1 million bail. Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct and assault by a multitude of women, and prosecutors told the judge that the investigation was ongoing....

Have you ever wondered how a defendant can be tried in both civil and criminal courts? Take, for example, the recent $3 million judgment against Arizona self-help guru James Arthur Ray. He is already serving time in jail after being found guilty of negligent homicide. The $3 million settlement was in response to civil lawsuits filed by some victims’ families. Civil and criminal cases do have marked differences. In certain situations, a civil case’s burden of proof is lower, making it more likelihood that plaintiffs prevail in civil court....

In the criminal justice system, oftentimes, the language that gets used by attorneys, judges, and court staff can be just as confusing as the process itself. This is evident not just when individuals have to deal with the justice system, but also when big news breaks about high profile criminal cases, which there seem to be a lot of lately (Manafort, Cohen, Cosby, etc.). One confusing criminal law term that the FindLaw team has seen being used more than usual lately is “an information,” which is and isn’t quite what it sounds like....

U.S. prisons are not known for their cleanliness. However, incarcerated people are entitled to certain reasonable minimum requirements. For example, there shouldn’t be rats running around biting peoples genitalia. But according to Peter Soloman, that’s just what happened while he was incarcerated in a Long Island jail, the BBC reports. U.S. District Judge Arthur Spatt is allowing his federal civil rights lawsuit to go forward. Solomon filed the civil suit arguing “deliberate indifference to his health and safety in failing to adequately protect him from rodents....

Small businesses are getting big attention from Washington these days. Obama’s latest attempt to help small businesses comes in the form of $200 billion in tax breaks for businesses that invest in new equipment and plants. The proposal allows business owners to write off 100% of the investment in just one year, rather than through a series of deductions over a number of years. The Small Businesses Job Act will also double the current expensing limit to $500,000....

Like any other relationship, not every attorney-client pairing is perfect. Even if you were as careful as possible trying to choose the right lawyer, mistakes can be made and things can change. From personality clashes to professional malpractice, here are a few reasons to ditch your attorney and find a new one: Malfeasance or Misconduct Obviously if you learn about any intentional professional misconduct by your attorney, you should fire and replace her or him....

The Inherent Hazards of Forensic Science, Expert Testimony However, an article on the The Crime Report by Maurice Possley suggests that soon-to-be-released research may be calling into question thousands of convictions based on diagnoses of SBS. Possley suggests this is particularly alarming because this is one of the areas of criminal law where a diagnosis can be the “basis for the prosecution”. To put it a different way, without a diagnosis of SBS, convictions in these types of cases may not have been secured....

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act came into being in April but companies are still waiting for the SEC to publish their eagerly awaited crowdfunding rules. A provision of the JOBS act allows startups to raise funds through funding portals by selling shares directly to investors. Traditionally companies were required to sell shares only through an established broker-dealer which left many small and new companies out in the cold. The JOBS act authorized it but until the SEC publishes its rules, companies have no way to register as funding portals....

The manufacturers of popular over-the-counter pain relievers like Bayer Aspirin, Advil, Aleve, and Motrin will need to revise their drugs’ labeling, to include warnings on health risks like internal bleeding and liver damage that have been linked to use of the medications. The labeling change, which was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), applies to all over-the-counter acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which includes aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and ketoprofen....

A teenager’s $1 million-dollar judo injury lawsuit has been thrown out by a New York judge. Anthony Morales Jr., now 14 years old, broke his ankle three years ago while in the middle of a take-down move at a martial arts academy on Staten Island, New York. Morales and his father alleged that because the younger Morales was partnered up with a heavier and taller adult, the academy should be found negligent and held liable for the injury....

As the jury in the corruption and fraud trial for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich enters its thirteenth day of deliberations, there is still no agreement on all charges. The jury has sent a note to the presiding judge, U.S. District Court Judge James B. Zagel, saying they have agreed to two counts, have not come to an agreement on 11 counts, and have not yet deliberated on the remaining 11 counts, which involve wire fraud....

While the phrase “fair market value” might seem simple enough to understand, legally, the phrase is rather significant. Fair market value generally refers to what services, or a piece of property, are actually worth, rather than what they cost. Fair market value matters quite a bit when it comes to legal matters. For example, in a car accident, a totaled car is not valued at the price when purchased new, but rather, at its fair market value....

The immigration debate continues: Senators Kerry and Lugar have reintroduced a startup visa bill into Congress. The bill, which has been modified since it first burst onto the scene last year, is designed to encourage partnerships between U.S. investors and immigrants in a way that benefits the national economy. The Senators hope that the Startup Visa Act will attract innovation and innovators to the country, creating jobs and propelling the United States back to the top in the realm of technological development....

The Trump administration is facing another legal challenge regarding its immigration policies. We’ve heard about plans to deport only violent criminals, or those convicted of serious felonies. But this latest lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Massachusetts, alleges that through ICE, the administration is illegally separating immigrant families by targeting the immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens for deportation. Targets U.S. Citizen Spouses At the center of the controversy is a conflict between the policies of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U....

After last year’s fake account scandal that rocked Wells Fargo, the bank still seems to be suffering from a public perception nightmare as they have faced several employment lawsuits, including whistleblower retaliation claims. The most recent claim, brought by Robert Trojan, the fired CEO of the Consumer Finance Association, claims that the day after he put his concerns, regarding a conflict of interest, in writing, he was fired by a Wells Fargo executive....