It’s hard to believe that summer is over and I’m already following behind school buses on my way to work. Believe it or not, while fall has barely started, and it’s still almost 80 degrees outside, winter and the holidays are just around the corner. If you don’t believe me, just walk into your local CVS and see all the holiday displays! Fall also means one other thing: now is the time to start thinking…

Multiple new sources are reporting that the long anticipated bankruptcy filing for Sears Holding may happen this week. A $134 million dollar debt payment due this coming Monday may force the company into bankruptcy. On Tuesday Sears announced that The CEO of Drivetrain, an advisory firm for distressed companies had joined its Board. Sears Holding operates approximately 500 Sears and 360 Kmart stores. While in the past Sears’ CEO Eddie Lampert has provided funding from…

While 46 states have instituted laws permitting or decriminalizing cannabis or cannabis-based products in some way, prior events this year created an environment of legal uncertainty. Since 2013, cannabis companies have relied on guidance contained within a trio of memos from former deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole, which detailed the federal government’s concerns with preventing marijuana distribution to minors, gangs, or into states where the drug’s sale remains illegal, as well as preventing the…

Recently, U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz introduced the Medical Cannabis Research Act (the “Act”), which would facilitate and encourage federally-approved clinical trials testing the medicinal effects of chemicals found in the marijuana plant. The bill is notable because, if passed, it would bypass the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as it relates to marijuana research licenses and would put the task in the hands of Congress. Currently, the House Judiciary Committee, which is responsible for the…

Without doubt, the clear public policy of the State of New Jersey is – and always has been – to eradicate invidious discrimination from the workplace, and a central purpose of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”), N.J.S.A. 10:5-12, is the prohibition of discrimination in all aspects of the employment relationship. Recently, this purpose has been extended by way of a new state mandate to ensure equal pay to all employees for equal, or…

Reuters reports that Houston-based Mattress Firm, Inc. the largest U.S. mattress retailer with 3,000 stores is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by the end of this week. Additionally, Reuters cites that its South African parent company, Steinhoff International Holdings NV, is encountering debt challenges, as well. It is expected that the filing would be a shedding of unprofitable stores to attempt to secure the company, much like Payless did in its Chapter…