Telecommuters who regularly communicate proprietary data via mobile devices aren’t a security threat, say most government security officers. Many seem confident that, with adequate resources, they can keep mobile devices secure.
Social networking Web resources, like Twitter, can help organizations and government expand their communication networks during emergencies, says blogger W. David Stephenson. Major organizations like the American Red Cross are giving it a try.
Read the complaint from an international rights law firm, suing Chiquita Brands International, Inc., for paying nearly $2 million to paramilitaries to murder and intimidate individuals in Colombia’s banana growing region.
Bank customers cannot sue a bank for future damages that might occur due to lax data security, ruled a federal appeals court, because they had not yet suffered any damages.
The Government Accountability Office report questions the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to respond to indoor contamination in future disasters.
A real estate worker who took a list of renters with her when she left her company did not violate trade secret law, says a state supreme court, because the renter list was a matter of public record.
A construction company does not need to compensate workers for the time they spend traveling to a secure site and going through security screening at the site because these activities are not an integral or indispensable part of the work activities, ruled a federal appeals court.
Only “collective international public health action” will stem the spread of a future infectious disease pandemic, according to the annual World Health Organization health report. It warns that the threat of a “pandemic of influenza from this virus is still a matter of when, not if.”
A federal appeals court has ruled that a pharmacy did not discriminate against a pharmacist when it required him to refer patients and doctors requesting contraceptives to another pharmacist. The court ruled that the pharmacy had already accommodated the employee and that further accommodation would constitute an undue hardship.
Two bills (S. 1615 and H.R. 2882) introduced by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY), respectively, currently pending in Congress would require that all nursing homes install automatic fire sprinkler systems.
A bill (H.R. 3068) introduced by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) would prohibit a company owned, controlled, or operated by anyone convicted of a felony from providing contract security guard services for federal government buildings.
Three bills introduced in Congress would give immunity from civil liability to those who report threats of terrorism against transportation systems.
S. 1369 introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and H.R. 2291 introduced by Rep. Stevan Pearce (R-NM) are identical. The bills would limit liability for anyone making good faith reports about threats of terrorism against transportation systems or passengers and taking reasonable actions to mitigate the threat. The third bill (S. 1891) introduced by Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) is broader and would extend immunity to those who report their reasonable suspicions regarding any threats to transportation systems or passengers including threats of terrorism.
The Senate has agreed to consider a bill (S. 236) introduced by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) that would monitor government use of data mining. The bill has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A bill (H.R. 2015) introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity by employers, employment agencies, or labor organizations. The bill would not be applicable to religious groups or the armed forces. If passed, the bill would not preempt or alter existing state laws on the issue.
A bill (S. 1804) introduced by Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) would require that the government devise a strategy for addressing attacks on the nation’s agriculture and food supplies. The bill would direct the government to carry out vulnerability assessments of the agriculture and food system; implement mitigation strategies to protect critical production areas from diseases, pests, and poisons; ensure that the nation is prepared to respond to a terrorist attack, disease outbreak, or other disaster affecting the agriculture and food system; and assist states with food and agriculture protection activities. Under the bill, the Secretary of Agriculture would be required to develop a national veterinary stockpile, a national plant disease recovery system, a national plant diagnostic network, and a national food emergency response network.
A bill (S. 1594) introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-FL) would require that the U.S. Coast Guard establish an international committee to develop guidelines for the safe and secure handling and transportation of especially hazardous cargo to the United States. The bill would also require the government to establish a strategic plan to use assistance programs to assist foreign ports and facilities that lack effective antiterrorism measures in implementing port security antiterrorism measures.
A bill (S.B. 1349) has been introduced that would require the state government to devise regulations for the safe transport of hazardous materials in the state’s ports. The state would also be required to regulate the staffing and safe operation of escort vessels and equipment.
A bill (H.B. 1012) that would have allowed certain employers access to expunged criminal records has been defeated in the Arkansas General Assembly. The bill would have allowed companies to access the expunged criminal records of employees and volunteers having direct, unsupervised contact with children. The checks would have been repeated every two years.
A landlord is responsible for injuries incurred by a third party doing work on his property. In this case, a landlord authorized the tenant to prune the branches on a tree in his yard. A limb fell on the tenant’s daughter causing severe internal injuries. The court found that the landlord is liable for the daughter’s injuries because he should have taken more care in choosing his contractor.
Powered by: Phase2 Technology