I Heart Boobies Bracelets A Free Speech Issue

The “I Heart Boobies” First Amendment case is back in the courts. The question before the courts: Vulgar sexual innuendo or constitutionally protected free speech? Breast cancer awareness bracelets with the slogan “I Heart Boobies” began making their way to the wrists of public school students across the country. Different courts came to different conclusions. Yesterday, a Philadelphia federal appeals court heard oral arguments in the case of two students at Easton Area Middle School....

December 29, 2022 · 2 min · 316 words · Leah Niemann

3 Lessons From Mcdonald S All Day Breakfast

After what seems like eons of customer complaints regarding an early breakfast cutoff time, McDonald’s has finally assented to serving breakfast all day. The shift is seen as a response to declining sales and increased competition from the likes of Starbucks and Taco Bell. But a peek inside the move reveals a few more details that can provide some valuable lessons to entrepreneurs and small business owners: Put Your Best Food Forward Some, including myself, have maintained that breakfast was the best thing on the McDonald’s menu....

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 456 words · Herbert Savage

5 Personal Injury Lessons From Disney Lawsuits

Today marks 59 years of operation for Disneyland, which opened its doors July 17, 1955. But over the ensuing six decades, the “Happiest Place on Earth” has been the setting for many personal injury lawsuits. In fact, over a five-year period from 2007 to 2012, Disneyland was sued for personal injuries nearly 140 times, according to a review of court records. Still, not all of those lawsuits were successful. Here are five lessons that can be learned from Disney’s long list of personal injury lawsuits:...

December 29, 2022 · 1 min · 207 words · Marlys Mcadams

5 Tips On Becoming A Wal Mart Supplier

To be one of the 57,000 suppliers peddling their goods to the Wal-Mart franchise may be a small business owner’s dream. But even in the excitement of the moment, it is prudent to take a good look at the vendor agreement and understand what you and your business are contracting into. Wal-Mart is known for its highly structured process of negotiating with suppliers and working to bring down the bottom line....

December 29, 2022 · 1 min · 182 words · Charmaine Motyka

Are You Required To Sign School Liability Waivers

For school kids, it’s as ubiquitous as pencils, paper, and notebooks. (Wait, do kids even use pencils, paper, and notebooks anymore?) The school liability waiver. For field trips, sports, and other extracurricular activities, schools say not signing the waiver means your child can’t participate. But do you really have to sign? And what does signing the waiver mean? What Does the Waiver Cover? Liability waivers are intended to prohibit lawsuits against the school for injuries to students....

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 470 words · Kera Kuykendall

Ca Oks Driver S License To Undocumented Youth

To complement Obama’s policy allowing certain undocumented youth to apply for work permits, California will also permit those youth to get a state driver’s license. Governor Jerry Brown approved the bill on Sunday which will allow hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver’s license in California. The state is the first in the nation to extend this privilege to youth newly eligible for work permits....

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 475 words · Kristin Kreutzer

Can Your Business Be Sued Over An Employee S Discriminatory Comment To A Customer

An Unruh Civil Rights Act lawsuit filed in Orange County, California, against an Albertson’s grocery store over a clerk’s statement to a customer should serve as a lesson to businesses small and large. That lesson is to train employees how to treat customers with respect and dignity. Implicit racial bias is a real problem that only education and training can help to prevent. The grocery store is being sued because a clerk asked a customer a rather loaded question about whether the customer planned to pay with food stamps....

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 513 words · Tammy Vaughan

Colo Wash Pot Regulations Compared

Colorado and Washington state have approved new pot regulations, nearly a year after voters approved measures to allow adults 21 and over to partake in the non-medicinal use of marijuana. Washington adopted rules for its “legal” marijuana industry last week, while Colorado adopted its rules last month, according to The Associated Press. The rules in both states are largely the same, but there are still some notable differences. Here’s a comparison of some of the new marijuana regulations in the two states that allow adult marijuana use – keeping in mind that marijuana remains illegal under federal law:...

December 29, 2022 · 2 min · 217 words · Matthew Nowak

Colo S Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down Appeal Pending

Colorado’s gay marriage ban was struck down by a state judge on Wednesday, but the ruling has been stayed to allow for an appeal. Adams County District Court Judge C. Scott Crabtree ruled that the state’s prohibition on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, violating constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection. The Denver Post reports that this ruling came weeks after a Boulder County clerk began issuing more than 100 marriage licenses, in defiance of state law, in late June....

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 460 words · Suzette Savoy

Deadline For H1 B Visa Applications Extended How H1 B Visas Work

The deadline for companies to petition to hire highly skilled foreign workers on H1-B visas ended this week, but has been extended. Due to lack of demand for new employees, the limit on H1-B visas has not been reached. The government issues a limited number of H1-B visas per year. The cap is 85,000 (including 20,000 for foreigners with graduate level training in the US). Businesses petition to be able to hire H1-B workers....

December 29, 2022 · 2 min · 424 words · William Perry

Do You Have Privacy Rights In An Elevator

Lots of private moments happen in elevators, but are they legally “private” at all? Jay-Z and Solange Knowles may be interested in this question after TMZ posted security footage apparently depicting the two in an elevator brawl, reports People. The footage set Twitter on fire. So what privacy rights, if any, do you have in an elevator? Cameras in Elevators Unless you have accessibility issues, you aren’t likely to have an elevator in your home....

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 469 words · Ruth Fisher

Filing Taxes Late What Are The Penalties

Just like not being tardy for the party, taxpayers shouldn’t be filing their taxes late because latecomers are subject to penalties. These penalties are monetary and fall under either the “failure to file” or “failure to pay” category, or both, the IRS says. Here’s what you need to know about late filing and payment penalties: According to the IRS, failure-to-file penalties are usually more than failure-to-pay penalties. The total late-filing penalty is typically 5 percent of the tax owed for each month or part of the month that your return is late....

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 474 words · Dianna Trinidad

Il Pedestrian Law Drivers Must Stop At Crosswalks

Stop. That’s what Illinois drivers will now have to do under the new pedestrian law requiring drivers to stop at crosswalks even when there are no traffic signals or stop signs, the Chicago-Sun Times reports. The fines for failing to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk range from $50 to $500. Illinois would become the 12th state in the country, along with District of Columbia, to enact a law requiring a complete stop at pedestrian crosswalks that lack traffic signals or stop signs....

December 29, 2022 · 2 min · 299 words · Amanda Grigsby

Is It Time To Update Your Employee Time Off Policy

It is a great time to be an employee. With low unemployment rates, companies are scrambling to find and retain the best employees. Job seekers can afford to take their time and choose their next role wisely, depending on their own criteria. While some are looking for a great title, and others for top compensation, a growing number of people are looking for a balanced quality of life with guaranteed time off....

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 564 words · Joshua Krans

Jpmorgan Hack 7M Small Businesses Affected

JPMorgan Chase has revealed that personal information connected to 83 million accounts may have been accessed by hackers in a data breach this summer. Included in the massive cyberattack were the names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and internal bank information of approximately 7 million small business account holders, reports ZDNet. According to JPMorgan Chase, hackers were not able to obtain account numbers, passwords, user IDs, dates of birth, or Social Security numbers; the bank reports that it has yet to see any instances of fraud linked to the data breach....

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 500 words · Shawna Huang

Katrina Lawsuit Pandora S Box Of Hospital Liability

The State Supreme Court of Louisiana ruled back in 2007 that a Hurricane Katrina lawsuit involving hospital liability and the care of Ms. Althea LaCoste was not a typical suit against a hospital – it was not about medical malpractice. Instead, it’s about whether or not the hospital’s emergency preparedness (or lack thereof) constituted negligence causing Ms. LaCoste’s death. The trial over Ms. LaCoste’s death opened this week, and with it, the possibility that hospital liability could be much larger than the caps that are placed on medical malpractice claims....

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 491 words · Neil Player

Legal Liability For The Zika Virus

The Zika virus began as a non-deadly mosquito-borne illness that caused only mild symptoms in adults. But with the recent discoveries that it can be transmitted through sexual contact and can cause devastating birth defects if contracted by a pregnant woman, Zika is threatening to turn into a global pandemic. And where sickness and injury arise, lawsuits are sure to follow. So who could be liable if someone is infected by the Zika virus?...

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 433 words · Joseph Cunningham

Marijuana Start Up 3 Things You Need To Know

It’s a brave new world. The District of Columbia and a majority of states have legalized the use of medical marijuana. In Oregon, Alaska, Colorado and Washington, you can now use marijuana for recreational purposes. With several more states considering legalizing marijuana, enterprising business people are lining up to get a piece of this growing and emerging market. So, you want to start a cannabusiness. Here are three things to know about a marijuana start-up:...

December 29, 2022 · 3 min · 582 words · Charles Fisher

Planning A Hawaiian Beach Wedding Just Got Pricier

Guest post by Jennifer K. Halford, Esq. Saying “I do” on the beaches of Hawaii still requires a permit, a federal appeals court ruled this week. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resource (DLNR) began requiring permits for commercial weddings in August 2008. Since then applicants have paid 10 cents for each square foot of beach requested up to $20. The permit limits the wedding to two hours and requires couples to purchase event insurance....

December 29, 2022 · 2 min · 402 words · Vernita Fogle

Plaza Hotel Chef Thrown In Trash By Her Boss

A former Oak Room pastry chef at New York’s Plaza Hotel has filed a $25 million lawsuit against former Executive Chef Eric Hara, claiming that, as her boss, he subjected her to sexual and physical harassment for the year she was on the job. There were a lot of strange allegations, including Melissa Rodriguez accusing Hara of throwing her in the trash, and dumping cream, chocolate sauce, and honey in her hair on a near-daily basis....

December 29, 2022 · 2 min · 336 words · Troy Sheneman