Are business owners liable to employees or customers who get COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus, if the business was not complying with government requirements or best safety practices? The short answer is yes. Every state has different rules, but the general rule is that a business can be... Read More about COVID-19 Liability for Businesses
In 2018, Florida voted by a significant majority to allow convicted felons to vote once their sentence was completed. The law went into effect, but with restrictions on the voting rights of Floridian felons. The new law states that felons may vote, but only once they have paid all fines... Read More about US Supreme Court Leaves Florida Felon Voting Rights Law Stalled at the Appellate Level
Mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts have long been a topic of controversy. Private employers often include such provisions, and estimates suggest that around 60 million people in the United States have signed these clauses. California recently banned mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts. However, rather than going into effect... Read More about Mandatory Arbitration Ban in California Remains in Limbo
As of July 1, 2020, the new minimum wage in Los Angeles County is now $14.25 per hour for businesses with 25 or fewer employees and $15.00 per hour for businesses with 26 or more employees. Steady increases have been taking place every year since July 1, 2016. By July... Read More about Los Angeles County Minimum Wage Overview
From the beginning of his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump’s tough immigration stance was a pillar of his candidacy and later, his presidency. The Republican nominee highlighted tragedies caused by illegal immigrants who broke the law and left Americans dead in their wake. The villains, according to then-candidate and now... Read More about Supreme Court Declines to Hear Trump Administration Challenge to California’s Sanctuary Cities
In a recent Supreme Court decision, Chief Justice Roberts cast the deciding vote in a 5-4 decision striking down a law requiring Louisiana abortion clinic doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. In 2016, the Chief Justice had cast a dissenting vote when the Court struck down a nearly... Read More about Supreme Court Follows Precedent and Strikes Down Louisiana Law Requiring Doctors Performing Abortions to Have Admitting Privileges at a Nearby Hospital
In its ruling in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California in June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's bid to remove the protections shielding more than 650,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation. The court determined in a 5-4 vote that the White House failed... Read More about Supreme Court Keeps Hopes of Dreamers Alive, but for How Long?
Nearly 60 years ago, the U.S. Congress passed a monumental bill that had been championed by figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., and President John F. Kennedy. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 invokes comprehensive anti-bias law at the federal level, addressing voter equality and nondiscrimination. Based on the... Read More about Supreme Court Interprets Federal Law to Prohibit LGBTQ+ Discrimination
Public opinion on marijuana use and legalization has undergone a seismic shift over the past few decades. According to the Pew Research Center, about two out of three Americans now support the legalization of marijuana. In contrast, as recently as 1989, 81 percent of the population favored laws prohibiting the... Read More about California Marijuana Dispensary Takes IRS to Appellate Court Over Tax Laws
Gianelli & Morris files class-action lawsuit against Anthem alleging unlawful blanket denials of coverage for percutaneous neuromodulation therapy (PNT) device. On June 4, 2020, the California insurance law firm Gianelli & Morris filed a class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The case... Read More about Lawsuit Seeks Class Action Against Health Insurer for Alleged Improper Denial of Coverage of Pain Management Device
The University of Miami has agreed to pay $22 million to settle three lawsuits claiming the University’s hospital system administered medically unnecessary lab tests, knowingly took advantage of the Medicare program and forced one of their hospitals to inflate reimbursement claims. The lawsuits outlined three illegal activities by the University’s... Read More about University of Miami to pay $22 million to settle claims of defrauding federal Medicare program
Hazy days These days, it seems like marijuana laws are ever-changing. With an increasing number of states legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, decriminalizing its possession, and even some governors pardoning past convictions, it's becoming hard to keep up. Recent changes to Texas State law are not only becoming hard... Read More about A Leaf in Limbo: The State of Cannabis in Texas
It's not just the presence of unmanageable debt that sends people into bankruptcy; it's the constant harassment and collection efforts of creditors. Companies and bill collectors go to great lengths to get what they owe, including harassing phone calls, visits to your home or workplace, wage garnishment, property repossession, home... Read More about What is an "Automatic Stay," and Why is it So Important to a Person Filing for Bankruptcy?
A press release issued by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) in July 2018, called the Takata airbag recall the “largest and most complex vehicle recall in U.S. history.” That was a year and a half ago and already three years into a series of rolling recalls that continue... Read More about Over a million more vehicles join the largest vehicle recall in American history
The so-called “insanity defense” has been a staple of crime dramas on television, film, and in real life for decades. The sensationalized version is something like this: A person commits a terrible crime, such as murder. In court, they do not deny that they killed the person. Instead, their attorney... Read More about Is It Unconstitutional for a State to Abolish the Insanity Defense?