Site Map - Legal Report

01/24/2012 - Courts rule on premises liability, privacy, and employment. Plus legislation on hiring, data security, crime prevention, and more.

12/20/2011 - A new law (formerly H.B. 803) recently enacted in Maine will prohibit the state from using biometric technologies in driver’s licenses or other state-issued ID cards. Under the law, biometric technologies include retinal scanning, facial recognition, and fingerprinting.

12/20/2011 - A new law (formerly A.B. 22) further limits how California employers can use credit reports to screen job applicants. Under the law, employers may only use credit reports to screen prospective employees in certain circumstances, such as for jobs in management or law enforcement, for example. Employers may also check credit history for those who have access to customer bank or credit card information or where a credit check is required by law.

12/20/2011 - A bill (H.R. 3173) introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) would alter the application and distribution process for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). Currently, transportation workers must make at least two trips to a TWIC enrollment center every five years to apply for and then pick up and activate their cards. Sometimes workers travel hundreds of miles to the nearest enrollment center.

12/20/2011 - A bill (H.R. 2124) introduced by Rep. Francisco Canseco (R-TX) would establish new reporting methods to help the government track violence along the U.S. border with Mexico. Under the bill, the government would devise metrics for reporting violence and would require that reports based on those metrics be submitted to Congress every 90 days.

12/20/2011 - A bill (H.R. 2619) introduced by Rep. Thomas Rooney (R-FL) would require the government to provide active shooter training to security personnel on military bases. The government would also have to establish policies and guidelines for better preparing law enforcement officers and others who would have to provide security in an active shooter situation, such as the one at Fort Hood in 2009.

12/20/2011 - A court rules that police officers acted unreasonably in using Tasers but they were protected under the law as it stood at the time of the incident.

11/29/2011 - California enacted a data-breach-notification law in 2002 requiring that companies notify consumers when a breach occurred. A new law (formerly S.B. 24) strengthens existing law by requiring that companies notify consumers in plain language of the name and contact information for the company holding the data, the types of personal information compromised, contact information for a major credit reporting agency, and whether notification was delayed due to a law enforcement investigation.

11/29/2011 - A new Indiana law (formerly S.B 411) prohibits employers from asking prospective or current employees questions about firearm ownership. Employers may not ask whether the employee owns, possesses, uses, or transports a firearm or ammunition unless these activities are required to fulfill the employee’s job duties.

11/29/2011 - A bill (S. 401) that would revise the criminal code to strengthen penalties for bribery and corruption convictions has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill will now be considered by the full Senate.

11/29/2011 - A bill (S. 1125) to amend the Patriot Act, which was passed in the wake of 9-11, has been approved by the Senate Judiciary. The full Senate has agreed to consider the measure.The bill would revise the requirements for government access to business records in counterterrorism investigations by requiring the applicant to present a statement of facts and circumstances that justify the government’s belief that the records are relevant to an investigation. Currently the law allows the government to presume that such records are automatically relevant.  

11/29/2011 - A woman who was sexually assaulted while she was a patient in a psychiatric facility may pursue her negligence lawsuit against the hospital. The case was previously thrown out because it was deemed a medical issue to be pursued under a medical malpractice claim. A Tennessee appeals court disagreed, ruling that the case should be considered under a general negligence claim.

11/19/2011 - The Washington Supreme Court has ruled that its medical marijuana law does not apply to private employers and does not protect employees from being fired for drug use. And OSHA issues a new directive on workplace violence.