• Home
  • About Me
  • Disclaimer

The Researching Paralegal

~ Articles and Research for Legal Professionals

The Researching Paralegal

Category Archives: Government

Research Guides in Focus – Municipal Codes: A Beginner’s Guide, by Anna Price

30 Sunday Aug 2020

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Municipal Code

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress, Muncipal Code

https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2020/08/research-guides-in-focus-municipal-codes-a-beginners-guide/?loclr=eaiclb

I know what you’re thinking. Municipal codes? This has nothing to do with my job or the research I regularly need. Good point.  What if your house catches on fire and the fire hydrant across the street does not work? A fire truck loses one of its hoses on the main highway in town and causes an accident. Do you have a remedy? It’s in the municipal code. The police knock down the wrong door and the someone gets hurt – or worse, is killed? In each situation, the If you want to sue the city or town you live in, there’s a procedure just like state and federal courts, especially if you want to end up in state or federal court.  

I used to work for a municipality and have hundreds of examples of situations where something happened that caused someone wanted to make a complaint, complain about a neighbor, condemn a building, or sue the municipality.  If you live in any type of municipality, you are affected by the municipal code.

In your state statutes, you will usually find the municipal code under “Cities and Towns.” You can also find often find it simply by typing in the name of the town or city in your browser. This excellent beginner’s research guide tells you how to navigate it and more. I highly recommend a bookmark. -CCE

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Find Bills and Amendments and Who Sponsored Them.

25 Sunday Mar 2018

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Government

≈ Comments Off on Find Bills and Amendments and Who Sponsored Them.

Tags

Congress, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress, Legislation, Robert Brammer

How to Locate the Bills and Amendments a Member of Congress has Sponsored or Cosponsored in Congress.gov, by Robert Brammer, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

https://bit.ly/2I1mESZ

This looks handy. -CCE

One of the questions we are frequently asked is how to locate a bill or amendment that a member of Congress has sponsored or cosponsored. There are a few ways to do this on Congress.gov.

  1. Visit a member profile page

Locate a member you are interested in and open their member profile page. Next, you can use the filters on the left-hand side of the screen to narrow down your results. For example, if you are only interested in legislation that the member sponsored or cosponsored in the 115th Congress, under “Congress”, click on “115”. You can also use the filters in combination with one another to further narrow down your results.

If you are looking at a member profile page for a current member of Congress, note that you can click “get alerts” at the top, left-hand side of the screen to sign up to receive an email each time that member sponsors or cosponsors legislation.

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Say Goodbye to THOMAS.

15 Sunday May 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Congress.gov, Government, Research, THOMAS

≈ Comments Off on Say Goodbye to THOMAS.

Tags

Andrew Weber, Congress.gov, Government, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress, Research, THOMAS

Time to Turn off THOMAS: July 5, 2016, by Andrew Weber, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2016/04/time-to-turn-off-thomas-july-5-2016/?loclr=ealln

THOMAS appeared online on January 5, 1995: http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/1995/95-002.html?loclr=bloglaw. 

THOMAS will be retired on July 5, 2016, and replaced by Congress.gov, which was always the intent when Congress.gov came online in September, 2012.  Congress.gov was designed to replace THOMAS, and it has features that THOMAS did not, and never could, have.

You can find all posts at www.researchingparalegal.com about the additions and improvements made to Congress.gov since its inception here:

https://researchingparalegal.com//?s=congress.gov&search=Go.

Please take a NEW long look at Congress.gov here: https://www.congress.gov/.  There is much, much more to see.  -CCE

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Litgation Hold – Too Little Too Late.

25 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Cell Phones, Discovery, E-Discovery, Emails, Emails, Legal Technology, Litigation Hold, Municipal Law, Open Records Act, Preservation, Requests for Production, Sanctions

≈ Comments Off on Litgation Hold – Too Little Too Late.

Tags

Doug Law, E-Discovery, eDiscovery daily Blog, Emails, Litigation Hold, Police, Sanctions, Text Messages

Our Nation’s Largest City is Not Immune to eDiscovery Sanctions: eDiscovery Case Law, by Doug Law, eDiscovery daily Blog

http://bit.ly/1Rqmnc0

In Stinson v. City of New York, 10 Civ. 4228 (RWS) (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 2, 2016), New York District Judge Robert W. Sweet granted in part and denied in part the plaintiffs’ motion seeking sanctions for spoliation of evidence against the defendants for failure to issue a litigation hold, opting for a permissive inference rather than a mandatory adverse inference sanction against the defendants .

Case Background

In this civil rights class action against the City of New York, it was determined that the City did not issue any litigation hold until August 8, 2013, more than three years after the filing of the Complaint in this case and the litigation hold was not effectively communicated, and none of the officers who were named in the City’s initial disclosures acknowledged receiving it. . . .

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

FDA Finally Issues Stronger Requirements for Transvaginal Mesh.

05 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Government, Litigation, Product Liability

≈ Comments Off on FDA Finally Issues Stronger Requirements for Transvaginal Mesh.

Tags

FDA, Litigation and Law Blog, Max Kennerly, Product Liability, Transvaginal Mesh

The FDA Is Doing Too Little, Too Late About Transvaginal Mesh, by Max Kennerly, Esq.,  Litigation and Law Blog

http://bit.ly/1TBQ4qN

I’ve written about transvaginal mesh so many times I feel like a broken record. But it’s still an issue affecting tens of thousands of families and will continue to be an issue as long as that infernal implant keeps being sold and the manufacturers keep refusing to do right by the families that have already been hurt by them. . . .

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Could Lawyers Fix The Rising Cost of Medicine?

01 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Drug Promotion, Government, Health Law, Health Reform, Intellectual Property, Patent Law, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

≈ Comments Off on Could Lawyers Fix The Rising Cost of Medicine?

Tags

Cancer, FDA, Litigation & Trial, Max Kennerly, Medicaid, Medicare, Pfizer, Prescription Drugs, RICO, Schering–Plough

Send In The Lawyers: A Partial Fix For America’s Dystopian Prescription Drug Market, by Max Kennerly, Esq., Litigation & Trial Blog

http://tinyurl.com/nb82ky8

It’s hard to read any news about prescription drugs these days without wondering if you’ve somehow fallen into a Philip K. Dick novel. Just look at some of these titles over the past week:

  • ‘2 new studies show the FDA is rushing more drugs to market based on shoddy evidence’
  • ‘The True Cost of an Expensive Medication’
  • ‘U.S. drug company sues Canada for trying to lower cost of $700K-a-year drug’
  • ‘Outrage could lead to lowering price of high-cost drugs’

All of these stories are about different drugs, but the common theme among all of the stories is, of course, money. The Mayo Clinical Proceedings recently found ‘In the United States, the average price of cancer drugs for about a year of therapy increased from $5000 to $10,000 before 2000 to more than $100,000 by 2012, while the average household income has decreased by about 8% in the past decade. Further, although 85% of cancer basic research is funded through taxpayers’ money, Americans with cancer pay 50% to 100% more for the same patented drug than patients in other countries.’ . . .

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

“Release To One, Release to All” – A New FOIA Policy.

15 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Freedom of Information Act, Government

≈ Comments Off on “Release To One, Release to All” – A New FOIA Policy.

Tags

Adam Marshall, Department of Justice, FOIA, Privacy, Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press

Federal Agencies Announce Limited Trial Of “Release For One, Release To All” FOIA Policy, by Adam Marshall, Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press

http://tinyurl.com/nh9m5ky

With little public fanfare, seven federal agencies have announced a controversial trial program of publishing documents responsive to most Freedom of Information Act requests online.

Under the program, known as a “Release-to-One is Release-to-All” policy, any member of the public will presumably have access to the result of almost any FOIA request. . . .

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Who Has Your Back – Digitally Speaking?

04 Saturday Jul 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in 1986 Electronic Communications Act, Computer Forensics, Cybersecurity, Intellectual Property, Internet, Legal Technology, Public Domain

≈ Comments Off on Who Has Your Back – Digitally Speaking?

Tags

1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, beSpacific Blog., Cybersecurity, Government Surveillance, NSA, Privacy, Sabrina I. Pacifici

Report – Who Has Your Digital Back? by Sabrina I. Pacifici, BeSpacific Blog

http://www.bespacific.com/report-who-has-your-back/

Technology is changing literally all the time. Unfortunately, the law does not. Congress has yet to update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act. For example, there is no law that emails stored longer than 6 months has the same protection emails stored less than 6 months.

To date, there are no NSA reforms for surveillance of online communication. It is possible that Congress will go farther and mandate “back doors” to allow government to access more digital information. Reports of hackers accessing our financial and private information are no longer surprising. Although companies assure us that our information is secure, is it?

These matters go the heart of digital privacy issues for companies and individuals and FOIA requests. Some of you will be surprised how vulnerable we are. -CCE

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Are iPad Text Messages Protected Under Your State’s Wiretapping Laws?

30 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Admissibility, Appellate Law, Case of First Impression, Evidence, Government, Intellectual Property, iPad, Legal Technology

≈ Comments Off on Are iPad Text Messages Protected Under Your State’s Wiretapping Laws?

Tags

iPad, Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act, Privacy, Text Messages, The Democratic Underground.com, Wiretapping

iPad Texts Not Private Under Wiretap Act | The Legal Intelligencer*, The Democratic Underground.com

(The Legal Intelligencer requires subscription but is free for 5/mo articles.)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026893652

iPads are popular in the legal and business world. It would be a good idea to check your state’s wiretapping law and determine whether your client’s and your own text iPad messages have a reasonable expectation to privacy. -CCE

An iPad does not fall within the telephone exemption under the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act, and users of the device do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy when it comes to sending text messages, the state Superior Court has ruled in a case of first impression. . . .

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

PayPal Has A New Agreement.

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Consumer Law, Contract Law, FCC, Finance and Banking Law, Government, Telemarketing, Telephone Consumer Protection Act

≈ Comments Off on PayPal Has A New Agreement.

Tags

Contract Law, ContractsProf Blog, D. A. Jeremy Telman Valparaiso, Do Not Call, FCC, PayPal, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, User Agreement

PayPal’s New Agreement and the FCC, Editor: D. A. Jeremy Telman Valparaiso Univ. Law School, ContractsProf Blog

http://tinyurl.com/odzogfg

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission acted to approve a number of proposals that update the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act), popularly known as the  “Do Not Call” law that prohibits companies from interrupting consumers’ dinner time conversations with pesky telemarketing calls. . . .

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Why FCC Gives E-Readers Another Year to Exclude “Text To Speech” And Ignore The Disabled.

07 Saturday Mar 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Americans With Disabilities, FCC, Government

≈ Comments Off on Why FCC Gives E-Readers Another Year to Exclude “Text To Speech” And Ignore The Disabled.

Tags

ADA, Amazon, E-Readers, FCC, Kindle, Text To Speech

No Paperwhite Read-Aloud For You! FCC Again Lets Amazon And Friends Diss People With Disabilities, by David H. Rothman, posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici, BeSpacific Blog

http://www.llrx.com/features/fccrulingereaders.htm

Text to speech would cost a pittance to add to current E Ink readers like Amazon’s Paperwhite and the $200 Voyage. In fact, some earlier Kindles even came with read-aloud. No longer, though. With all the laws on the books, can’t Washington stop this dissing of people with disabilities?

In one form or another, the Kindle is so common that it’s become ‘The Official E-reader of the National PTA.’

Yet despite TTS’s potential benefits to millions of Americans, the Federal Communications Commission has just granted the e-reader industry another year’s exemption from the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010.

The waiver announced January 28 wouldn’t have necessarily guaranteed TTS. But long term, it still would have helped people ranging from vision-impaired 90-year-olds to school children with dyslexia. . . .

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

How A Dental Board Decision Could Affect The Business of Practicing Law.

07 Saturday Mar 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Federal Trade Commission, Government, Legal Ethics, Paralegals/Legal Assistants, Rules of Professional Responsibility, Supervising Support Staff, Unauthorized Practice of Law, United States Supreme Court

≈ Comments Off on How A Dental Board Decision Could Affect The Business of Practicing Law.

Tags

Anti-trust, Board of Dental Examiners, Federal Trade Commission, Forbes, Ken Friedman, LegalZoom Inc., Monopoly, Non-Lawyers, Unauthorized Practice of Law

Could Dental-Board Decision Unlock Lawyer Control Of State Bar Regulations?, guest post Ken Friedman, Forbes

(Mr. Friedman is the Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs for LegalZoom Inc.)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2015/03/04/dental-board-decision-could-unlock-lawyer-control/

Many state regulatory agencies are controlled by active members of the very professions they oversee. Last week, this fox-and-hen-house scenario was addressed by the United States Supreme Court, which ruled that such agencies are not immune to federal antitrust laws unless their actions are actively supervised by politically accountable government officials. While the case dealt specifically with dentistry (teeth whiteners everywhere, rejoice!), the ruling will have far broader ramifications for many professions, including how the practice of law is regulated.

In North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission, the Supreme Court upheld the FTC’s ruling that the Dental Examiners violated antitrust laws when they sent dozens of ‘cease and desist’ letters to teeth whiteners, claiming that they were engaged in the ‘unauthorized practice of dentistry.’ The letters and other strong-arm tactics worked – dentists in North Carolina established a monopoly over teeth-whitening services until the FTC intervened.

The Dental Examiners monopolistic campaign was modeled after a similar, if less successful, campaign engaged by the North Carolina State Bar.

The Supreme Court’s decision will have broad positive effects throughout the country. The Court’s ruling recognizes that letting professionals enforce their own monopolies creates a ‘real danger’ that they will act to further their ‘own interests,’ rather than the public interest. These practices increase prices to the detriment of consumers while decreasing consumer choice. The Court recognized that the problem is far worse when the boundaries of the state-granted monopoly are not ‘clearly articulated and affirmatively expressed as state policy,’ and the professionals are given the power to decide what is the ‘unauthorized practice’ of their profession.

This lack of clarity is not uncommon. For example, Rhode Island opens the door to this defining the unauthorized practice of law as the ‘doing of any act for another person usually done by attorneys at law in the course of their profession.’ They list a few examples, ‘without limiting the generality of the definitions.’

The active supervision concept is important. While the requirement is ‘flexible and context-dependent,’ the Court made clear that the ‘supervisor must review the substance of the anticompetitive decision, not merely the procedures followed to produce it.’ The supervisor cannot be a market participant and needs to have the power to veto or modify decisions. This will require significant interaction.

Regulating the practice of law is the classic example of active market participants protecting their monopoly. In its amicus brief, the NCSB states that its authority is vested in the State Bar Council, 65 of whose 68 members are lawyers.

The threat this poses is not idle. . . .

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Rhode Island Opens Records Law Not So Open.

28 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Criminal Law, First Amendment, Government, Open Records Act

≈ Comments Off on Rhode Island Opens Records Law Not So Open.

Tags

Access to Public Records Act, Access/RI, Criminal Law, Criminal Law.Com, MuckRock, Open Records Law, Rhode Island

Criminal Records Search and Background Checks, from Criminal.Com

http://www.criminal.com/revised-open-records-law-not-always-enforced-in-rhode-island/

A report released by Access/RI shows that in the two years since Rhode Island changed its open records law, enforcement of the law has been less than stellar.

Access/RI isan alliance of First Amendment advocates and MuckRock, a group that works with journalists to secure and analyze public records. They show execution of the updated rules is extremely rare. The report states what is really happening isdifferent than what policy makers had hoped would transpire when legislation went through.

When Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee signed the Access to Public Records Act into law in June of 2012 it was noted that employment contracts and other documents that had been sealed in the past would now be public and readily available.

Access/RI found that restructured law was not being followed when routine documents such as arrest reports and contracts were requested. Many school systems have been unwilling to comply with the law and instead give heavily redacted copies of employment contracts. . . .

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

New and Improved Congress.gov – Resource Section.

27 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Government

≈ Comments Off on New and Improved Congress.gov – Resource Section.

Tags

Andrew Weber, Congress.gov, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

Congress.gov: Removing the Beta Label and New Enhancements, by Andrew Weber, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://tinyurl.com/otfqt3s

The Library of Congress launched Congress.gov in beta two years ago. Today, I’m happy to announce we officially removed the beta label. That’s roughly three years quicker than Gmail took to remove its beta label, but we won’t give you the option of putting it back on Congress.gov. URLs that include beta. Congress.gov will be redirected to Congress.gov.

There are a range of new enhancements in this release. One of the exciting additions is a new Resources section. This section provides an A-to-Z list of hundreds of links related to Congress. If you are not sure where something is located, try looking through this list. I quickly jump through the list using Ctrl+F and searching. You can find the new Resources page in the navigation on the top right or in the footer on every page. . . .

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

10 Top Law-Related TED Videos.

20 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bad Legal Writing, Computer Forensics, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Computer Virus, Copyright, Criminal Law, Cybersecurity, Digital Millenium Copyright Act, Discovery, Encryption, Evidence, Finance and Banking Law, Fraud, Google, Government, Identity Theft, Intellectual Property, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Legal Writing, Legalese, Malware, Management, Patent Law, PC Computers, Plain Language, Presentations, Search Engines, Trial Tips and Techniques, Trojans, Video

≈ Comments Off on 10 Top Law-Related TED Videos.

Tags

Copyright, Crime, Eyewitness, Fashion Industry, Government, Internet, Legal Productivity Blog, Legalese, Patent Troll, Plain Language, TED, Tim Baran

Top 10 Legal TED Talks, by Tim Baran, Legal Productivity Blog

http://www.legalproductivity.com/op-ed/top-10-legal-ted-talks/

Have you heard of TED? It began in 1984 as a conference and now covers a wide range of topics in more than 100 languages.  Think of it as a massive brain trust that shares great ideas and information.

Each of the law-related TED talks listed in this article are worthwhile on their own: (1) four ways to fix a broken legal system; (2) eliminate legalese by using plain English; (3) how to beat a patent troll; (4) how the Internet will change government; (5) laws that choke creativity; (6) copyright law; (7) why eyewitnesses get it wrong; (8) how technology could make crime worse; (9) the Internet and anonymity online; and (10) how great leaders inspire. -CCE

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Latest Changes at the SEC.

06 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Securities & Exchange Commission

≈ Comments Off on The Latest Changes at the SEC.

Tags

SEC, Securities & Exchange Commission

What’s New on the SEC Website

http://www.sec.gov/news/whatsnew/wn-today.shtml

 This [link] provides a daily list of the most recent materials posted to the SEC website. Note that the official release date of a document may differ from the posting date, in which case, the release date is indicated in parentheses.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Cool Developments at Congress.gov, including THOMAS. Check It Out.

22 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Government, Legislation, Legislative History, References, Research, Statistics, THOMAS

≈ Comments Off on Cool Developments at Congress.gov, including THOMAS. Check It Out.

Tags

Andrew Weber, Appropriations Table, Congress.gov, Congressional Record, In Custodia Lexis: Law Librarians of Congress, Nominations, THOMAS

Nominations, Accounts, Saved Searches – Congress.gov Continues to Grow, by Andrew Weber, In Custodia Lexis: Law Librarians of Congress

http://tinyurl.com/o3zc7lt

There’s a lot of information here. Take your time, and give it a good look. I think you’ll find it worth it. -CCE

I have been looking forward to this Congress.gov release for several months.  There is now nomination information, accounts, the ability to save searches, an expanded About section, an FAQ section, easy access to Member remarks in the Congressional Record, and more.

With the new updates, you can locate nominations dating back to 1981.  The nominations section allows you to retrieve information via faceted navigation, just as you do throughout the rest of the site.

*  *  *

On THOMAS, individual accounts were a feature that the system could not support.  Now you will have the option to save your search so you can quickly run it again later.  This is especially useful for those highly complex customized queries.  Adding accounts will enable us to do new things with the system in the future.

*  *  *

The About section has been expanded with the aim of making Congress.gov more user friendly.  Also with this release, you can now access a Frequently Asked Questions section, which covers:

•Congress.gov Overview

•Learn Congress.gov and the Legislative Process

•Features, Updates and Technology (which includes a link to a page on how to embed the Congress.gov search box on your website)

•Congressional Record

•Committees

•Legislation

•THOMAS Retirement

I highlighted some of these Congress.gov enhancements during my presentation at the 2014 Legislative Data Transparency Conference.  Grant Vergottini, in his write up of the conference, stated that although it was ‘still in beta, this site has now essentially replaced the older Thomas site.’  I would have to agree.

These improvements build upon those added in February: Advanced Search, Browse, and the Appropriations Table. . . .

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Amazon And Other Firms Cited By OSHA For Worker’s Death.

22 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Anti-Retaliation, Bullying, Employment Law, Government, Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, OSHA

≈ Comments Off on Amazon And Other Firms Cited By OSHA For Worker’s Death.

Tags

Amazon, ESH, Josh Cable, OSHA, Safety Violations, Workplace Safety

OSHA Cites Five Firms After Temporary Worker Dies at Amazon Fulfillment Center, by Josh Cable, ESH Today

http://tinyurl.com/pcdgyuh

Please note the related article at http://tinyurl.com/mwj773o, Amazon Makes Shopping Easy … But at What Cost to Workers? by Laura Walter, ESH Today. -CCE

 

An OSHA investigation into the death of a temporary worker at an Amazon fulfillment center in Avenel, N.J., has prompted the agency to cite five firms for safety violations.

On Dec. 4, 2013, temporary worker Ronald Smith died after he was caught in between a conveyor system and crushed while performing sorting operations at the Amazon facility.

Based on its investigation into the fatality, OSHA has cited five companies for serious violations, including the contractor responsible for operating the facility, and four temporary staffing agencies. . . .

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

IRS Says It Did Not Back Up Email, But Relied on Employees To Archive Email On Personal Computers.

17 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Depositions, E-Discovery, Emails, Government, Internal Revenue Service, Legal Technology, Litigation Hold, Microsoft Office, Outlook, PC Computers, Preservation, Requests for Production

≈ Comments Off on IRS Says It Did Not Back Up Email, But Relied on Employees To Archive Email On Personal Computers.

Tags

Computer Backups, Computer Crash, Disaster Preparedness, Emails, Evidence, IRS, Lois Lerner, Outlook, POLITICOPro, Rachel Bade, Ways and Means

GOP: IRS Lost More Emails In Tea Party Affair, by Rachel Bade with contributions by Josh Gerstein and Brian Faler, POLITICOPro

http://tinyurl.com/k9ycgz6

This did not catch my eye because of the politics or that the involved party is the IRS. I was simply in awe that anyone in this day and age of litigation holds and e-discovery could – with a straight face – claim to have irretrievably lost so much computer data.  -CCE

Republicans on Tuesday charged that the IRS has lost emails of a half dozen of its employees involved in the tea party targeting controversy, including a top aide to the now-fired acting IRS commissioner.

In addition to losing two years’ worth of emails sent and received by Lois Lerner, the central figure in the scandal, the IRS ‘cannot produce records from six other IRS employees involved in the targeting of conservative groups,’ Ways and Means Republicans said in a release.

* * *

Ways and Means does not say how the emails went missing or what time specific time periods are involved, though they say it includes the period at issue. In the case of Lerner, for example, her archived emails between 2009 and 2011 were washed away in a 2011 computer crash, the agency says.

* * *

The IRS says that at the time they did not keep records of or back up all emails. Rather, they relied on employees to archive them on their personal computers after they ran out of storage space in their Outlook inboxes. . . .

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

New Net Neutrality Rules Postponed For Now.

17 Saturday May 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in FCC, Government, Internet

≈ Comments Off on New Net Neutrality Rules Postponed For Now.

Tags

FCC, Internet, Internet Service Providers, Net Neutrality, Open Internet

F.C.C. Backs Opening Net Neutrality Rules for Debate, by Edward Wyatt, Technology, The New York Times

http://tinyurl.com/px528bf

The outcry over the FCC’s new neutrality rules for the Internet got the FCC’s attention. Big players, like Amazon and others, jumped in and urged the FCC to give this more thought.

For those who have not followed this story, basically the FCC’s proposed new rules would have changed the Internet as we know it today, and turn it into something more like the cable service.  The short version is that it would have allowed Internet providers to influence the content that you would see when you ran a search – not that there’s a certain amount of that going on now. Some called it going from the “free” internet to being run by the highest bidder. -CCE

Federal regulators appear to share one view about so-called net neutrality: It is a good thing.
But defining net neutrality? That is where things get messy.
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to open for public debate new rules meant to guarantee an open Internet. Before the plan becomes final, though, the chairman of the commission, Tom Wheeler, will need to convince his colleagues and an array of powerful lobbying groups that the plan follows the principle of net neutrality, the idea that all content running through the Internet’s pipes is treated equally.
While the rules are meant to prevent Internet providers from knowingly slowing data, they would allow content providers to pay for a guaranteed fast lane of service. Some opponents of the plan, those considered net neutrality purists, argue that allowing some content to be sent along a fast lane would essentially discriminate against other content. . . .

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Keeping Medical Records Costs Down.

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in HITECH Act, Litigation, Medical Records, Motor Vehicle, Negligence, Personal Injury, Product Liability, Torts, Wrongful Death

≈ Comments Off on Keeping Medical Records Costs Down.

Tags

Doctors, Health Care Provider, Hospitals, Litigation and Trial Blog, Max Kennerly, Medical Records, Patient's Rights

Defeating The Medical Records Paper Copy Scam, by Max Kennerly, Esq., Litigation and Trial Blog (with hat tip to Evan Schaeffer, The Trial Practice Tips Blog!)

http://tinyurl.com/mmpm4sy

Mr. Kennerly explains why obtaining medical records need not be expensive, and provides a sample letter with citation to legal authority. -CCE

Hardly a day goes by without a letter from my office either requesting medical records or paying for them. Some days, I sign more than a dozen. It’s perhaps the most common thread among all my cases: the vast majority of my clients have been physically injured in one way or another, and at a bare minimum, I need the records from their doctors and hospitals to show the diagnoses they have and the treatment they have received.

Every patient has a right to receive their medical records, and by law should be able to obtain those records promptly at no markup, with no padded fees, and no unnecessary charges from the hospital or the records company. But if there’s money to be made, someone will try to make it, and over the past decade a whole cottage industry has developed around the “business” of trying to cheat patients trying to get their medical records. Sometimes health care providers outsource this ‘business’ to third-party companies, and sometimes the hospitals and health systems play the con game themselves. . . .

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Private Prison Corporation Sixth Largest U.S. Prison System.

14 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Campaign Contributions, Criminal Law, Department of Corrections, Government, Lobbyists

≈ Comments Off on Private Prison Corporation Sixth Largest U.S. Prison System.

Tags

AFCSME, Arizona, House Appropriations Committee, Lobbyists, Olivia Sandbothe, Prison System, Private Prisons, State Rep. John Kavanagh, Taxpayer, The GEO Group

Backroom Deals in Arizona Enrich Private Prison at Taxpayer Expense, by Olivia Sandbothe, AFSCME

http://tinyurl.com/lksp7ym

A private prison corporation already rakes in $45 million in taxpayer dollars each year in the state of Arizona, with a contract that virtually guarantees the company fat profits no matter how it actually performs.  But that wasn’t enough for the GEO Group, as a recent flap in the Statehouse reveals.

The GEO Group operates 59 private prisons across the United States, making it the nation’s sixth-largest prison system.  Last year the group turned $115 million in profits and paid its CEO nearly $5 million. But they didn’t get there through healthy competition or better business practices. . . .

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

What Are The Implications of DC Circuit Upholding Citation Against Seaworld?

12 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Appellate Law, District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, Environment Law, OSHA

≈ Comments Off on What Are The Implications of DC Circuit Upholding Citation Against Seaworld?

Tags

Environmental and Safety Law Update, General Duty Clause, Kerry Mohan, Killer Whales, Meagan Newman, OSHA, Seaworld, Seyfarth Shaw

DC Circuit Upholds OSHA Citation Against Seaworld: What Does This Mean For The Circus, Football . . . Healthcare Providers?, by Meagan Newman and Kerry Mohan, Seyfarth Shaw’s Environmental and Safety Law Update

http://tinyurl.com/lcsckk3

‘When should we as a society paternalistically decide that the participants in these sports and entertainment activities must be protected from themselves – that the risk of significant physical injury is simply too great even for eager and willing participants? And most importantly for this case, who decides that the risk to participants is too high?’ This is the question posed by Judge Kavanaugh in his dissent to the Court’s opinion in SeaWorld of Florida, LLC (‘SeaWorld’) v. Thomas Perez, (No. 12-1375), issued this morning.  . . .

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

Latest U.S. Supreme Court Opinion Rejects Campaign Spending Limits.

05 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Appellate Judges, Campaign Contributions, Government, Judges, United States Supreme Court

≈ Comments Off on Latest U.S. Supreme Court Opinion Rejects Campaign Spending Limits.

Tags

Campaign Finance, Citizens United, FRONTLINE, Lawrence Hurley, PBS, ProPublica, Republican National Committee, Reuters, Super PACs, U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court’s Rejection Of U.S. Campaign Funding Limits Opens Door For Big-Money Donors, by Lawrence Hurley, Reuters with additional reporting by David Morgan, Gabriel Debenedetti, Andy Sullivan and Jeff Mason; Editing by David Lindsey, Howard Goller and Dan Grebler

http://tinyurl.com/qhhqf9e

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a key pillar of federal campaign finance law by allowing donors to give money to as many political candidates, parties and committees as they wish.

In the latest in a series of decisions by the high court that have given big-money donors more influence in U.S. elections, the justices rejected the overall limits on how much individuals can donate during a federal two-year election cycle. . . .

And

Big Sky, Big Money, FRONTLINE in collaboration with PBS Election Marketplace (video) (related to Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission)

http://tinyurl.com/laou3aq

You will find additional links related to the post above by ProPublica and FRONTLINE on the same page. -CCE

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

OSHA’s Interim Final Rule for Whistleblowers.

05 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Dodd-Frank’s Consumer Financial Protection Act, Employment Law, Government, OSHA, Whistleblower

≈ Comments Off on OSHA’s Interim Final Rule for Whistleblowers.

Tags

Ada Dolph, Craig Simonsen, Dodd-Frank’s Consumer Financial Protection Act, Environmental & Safety Law Update, James Curtis, OSHA, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Whistleblower, Workplace Whistleblower Perspective

OSHA Issues Its Interim Final Rule On Whistleblowers Procedures Under Dodd-Frank’s Consumer Financial Protection Act, by Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Environmental & Safety Law Update

http://tinyurl.com/kn23fwt

You may have to go to the post to access its internal hyperlinks. -CCE

OSHA yesterday announced its interim final rule for “Procedures for Handling Retaliation Complaints Under the Employee Protection Provision of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010,” 79 Fed. Reg. 18630 (April 3, 2014).  These rules are in effect immediately, but could be revised by OSHA after the comment period.

James Curtis, Ada Dolph, and Craig Simonsen have prepared a Workplace Whistleblower Perspective that reviews and provides analysis of the new interim final rule. Check it out here.

The interim final rule is effective on April 3, 2014, with comments submitted to Docket No. OSHA–2011–0540 due by June 2, 2014.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts
Follow The Researching Paralegal on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Search

Sign In/Register

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Categories

Archives

  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013

Recent Comments

Eric Voigt on Top 20 Paralegal Blogs, Websit…
profvoigt on Research Guides in Focus – Mun…
Make Your PDF Docume… on Make Your PDF Document Edit-Pr…
madlaw291282999 on Using Hyperbole -Are You Riski…
How to Treat Bad Cli… on Why Do Bad Clients Deserve The…

Recent Comments

Eric Voigt on Top 20 Paralegal Blogs, Websit…
profvoigt on Research Guides in Focus – Mun…
Make Your PDF Docume… on Make Your PDF Document Edit-Pr…
madlaw291282999 on Using Hyperbole -Are You Riski…
How to Treat Bad Cli… on Why Do Bad Clients Deserve The…
  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • The Researching Paralegal
    • Join 454 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Researching Paralegal
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: