When laws are well-written, they’re really specific so everybody knows what you can and cannot do. For example, Title 21, Section 173.275(c) makes it a federal crime to use more hydrogenated sperm oil in food than necessary to accomplish the intended lubricating effect of the sperm oil. (Thanks @CrimeADay!) Some laws, on the other hand, leave room for interpretation. That’s when lawyers can get creative. A drapery hanger in Maryland filed a lawsuit alleging that…

Sheriff’s deputies in Washington County, Oregon, responded with guns drawn, expecting they were responding to a burglary in progress. A woman had called 911, saying that someone had broken into her house and locked themselves in the bathroom. She could hear rustling noises from behind the bathroom door, even though she knew she hadn’t allowed anyone into her home. The officers entered the home and heard it too. They demanded that the suspect come out…

Some monsters are scary. There’s Godzilla, who terrorized Tokyo and whose name in Japanese translates roughly to gorilla-whale. (Thanks, wikipedia!) There’s Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula (also Count Chocula), and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, which was filmed in terrorizingly implausible black and white 3-D. But on the other hand, some monsters are friendly and educational, like Cookie Monster, E.T., or, dare I say, Elmo. (“Kids look at these crayons… Kids look at …

  https://www.buzzfeed.com/tayloraowens/funny-things-from-this-week-august-16 I found this on buzzfeed, while doing academic research for this blog post. In the business world, it’s not quite as funny when good intentions are misunderstood. Which is why companies generally can’t offer healthcare benefits to independent contractors. Even if they would like to, they can’t. Good intentions would be misunderstood, and the effect of offering healthcare coverage to independent contractors would likely be that they are turned into employees. Why? The…

Damage can come from unexpected places. Earlier this year, Brock Holt of the Boston Red Sox landed on baseball’s Injured List after his two-year old son poked him in the eye. Baseball players accept the risk of injury, but that’s not a way you’d expect to get hurt. I think you see where I’m going here. Don’t let an independent contractor become Brock Holt’s son. Yes, a business can be liable for harassment by…

After the events of this past weekend, I don’t have to say anything about the risks involved in allowing dangerous people onto your premises. Before retaining an independent contractor who will have access to your business’s facilities, people, or information, it makes sense to know who you are inviting into your house. An employment-style background check is often appropriate, but there are a few important differences between background checks being run before hiring an employee…

After the events of this past weekend, I don’t have to say anything about the risks involved in allowing dangerous people onto your premises. Before retaining an independent contractor who will have access to your business’s facilities, people, or information, it makes sense to know who you are inviting into your house. An employment-style background check is often appropriate, but there are a few important differences between background checks being run before hiring an employee…