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CA Prison Inmates Paid $1 per Hour to Fight Forest FiresTwo years ago, as fourteen wildfires engulfed almost 250,000 acres in California during a historic drought, we wondered whether prison inmates should really be making up 30 percent of the firefighting force in the Golden State. This week, after 41 fatalities and almost 150,000 scorched acres in Napa, Sonoma, and...
Lawsuit: 'Violence in Charlottesville Was No Accident'A new lawsuit against neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and white nationalist groups in the wake of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia claims the antagonists brought "semi-automatic weapons, pistols, mace, rods, armor, shields, and torches" to the city, with "the purpose of inciting violence and instilling fear within the community of Charlottesville and...
Trump's Health Care Executive Order: A Quick OverviewAfter three failed attempts by Congress to repeal Obamacare, President Donald Trump took matters into his own hands last week, signing an executive order reshaping how people get insurance through work and threatening to end federal subsidies to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act. "I just keep hearing repeal-replace,...
Convictions Lost in Translation: Spanish-Language DUI Rights Form 'Unlawfully Coercive'When you're being read your rights and advised of the law, you want that information to be accurate; especially if English isn't your native tongue and you're relying on a translation of your rights. But a Massachusetts woman is claiming that a local police department "has for years used an...
Is Your Tiny House Violating Zoning Laws?There is a common misconception among some property owners that once you buy the land, you can do whatever you want with it. Those property owners often find local, state, and federal zoning laws a rude awakening. Even those people trying to live as off-the-grid or low-impact as possible may...
Civil Lawsuits for Sexual Assault, Harassment: Top 10 Cases and QuestionsIf there is anything positive to be taken from the horrific Harvey Weinstein revelations, it's that more victims of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment -- both male and female -- are coming forward with their stories. And as more stories are told, more lawsuits will follow. And that will...
Supreme Court Dismisses 1 of 2 Travel Ban CasesIn one of the two closely watched and highly controversial travel ban cases that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up on review this term, an order of dismissal has been issued. However, the dismissal only applies to Executive Order 13,780, a.k.a. travel ban 2.0, which had expired...
Former Weinstein Lawyer Translates Sexual Harassment to 'Workplace Misconduct'The attorney-advisor for Harvey Weinstein, of the Weinstein Company, and Hollywood producer fame, just quit. Lisa Bloom, who gave an interview to Good Morning America, has been credited with calling the actions of Harvey Weinstein "gross." Additionally, in response to questioning about whether the sexual harassment of Weinstein was...
Can You Sue Airbnb If You're Filmed Without Permission?The fact that an Indiana couple found hidden cameras in their Florida Airbnb rental, and that local law enforcement believes dozens of renters at the same location may have been illegally captured on video going back years, is distressing. But it's not new. Airbnb was sued two years ago after...
Top Insurance Tips After Fire DamageAs fires in Sonoma County, California rage on, the first concern is safety: getting residents out of harm's way and getting injured residents necessary medical treatment. And when the flames are out, people will turn to rebuilding and compensation for property lost to the fires. Most residential and commercial property...
Six Tips on Sexual Harassment at WorkBy all accounts Harvey Weinstein left a trail of sexual harassment, assault, and rape a mile and decades wide before being fired by his company's board of directors this weekend. The board claims it only just found out about Weinstein's behavior, but his excuse -- "I came of age in...
Watch Out for Bogus Charities After Las Vegas ShootingAfter a national tragedy, like the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, you may want to reach deep into your pocketbook to help the victims, or donate to related causes. However, before you decide to donate, you may want to confirm that you're...
Can a Student Be Punished for Peaceful Protest?The morning of Monday, October 2, 2017, Windfern High School Principal Martha Strother witnessed senior student India Landry sitting during the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance over the school's intercom. Landry had allegedly been sitting through the pledge since her freshman year, "around 200 times in class through six...
Federal Judge: Housing Tax Break for Clergy Violates Establishment ClauseChurches and religious organizations get some perks when it comes to paying taxes. In fact, 501(c)(3) organizations can be tax exempt, if they follow certain rules. And members of the clergy can get certain tax breaks as well. Or at least they could before a recent federal court ruling in...
Sheriff Indicted for Massive Warrantless High School Drug SearchMaybe Worth County, Georgia Sheriff Jeff Hobby watched Lean on Me one too many times. In that movie, high school principal Morgan Freeman violates fire codes and countless other laws in order to keep his students safe from drug dealers. Perhaps that's what Hobby thought he was doing when he...
Supreme Court Helps Consumers With Electronics WarrantiesLet's be honest, most of us aren't reading every word of our warranties, and we're certainly not doing it before we purchase a product. And while that might save us a ton of time, it may cost us our ability to take companies to court if their products don't perform...
Could Mandalay Bay Be Liable in Las Vegas Mass Shooting?Lawsuits seem to follow any tragedy. And when the person most directly responsible for the tragedy is no longer alive -- as is the case in so many mass shootings -- victims look for someone to hold legally accountable. Schools and movie theaters have been targeted with lawsuits after shootings...
Can You Fire Employees for Shopping on the Job?The majority of employment arrangements are at-will, meaning an employer can fire an employee for any reason or no reason at all. But there are exceptions to that rule, and some reasons for firing are illegal. And there may be some hoops an employer must jump through before firing a...
Top 3 Cases for Small Businesses at the Supreme Court This TermMost entrepreneurs have a laser focus on their companies, and that doesn't leave a whole lot of time to keep up with the latest legal cases. (After all, that's what they pay their attorneys for.) But small business owners are going to have a big interest in what's going on...
Pennsylvania Attorney General Sues Nation's Largest Student Loan ServicerLess than a year after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a federal lawsuit accusing the largest student loan servicing company in the country of "systemically and illegally failing borrowers at every stage of repayment," the Pennsylvania Attorney General followed suit, claiming loan servicing giant Navient "put their own profits...
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