Sure, the label says California olive oil — but how do you know something else hasn’t crept in along the way, an oil of another sort? California is trying to prevent that adulteration from happening by instituting new standards for olive oil makers in the state. [More]
california
This Taco Bell Now Closed Afternoons After Becoming High School Fight Club
By 9.18.14
If I ran a Taco Bell or any other fast food restaurant, I’d do anything to keep my doors open during the afternoon hours to make money from customers grabbing late lunches, early dinners, and mid-afternoon snacks. But one Bell eatery in California says it can’t be open in the afternoons thanks to local high school kids who have turned the franchise into a fight club. [More]
Proposed Law Would Ban Penalties For Negative Online Reviews
By 9.17.14
Days after California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new state law outlawing the practice of using non-disparagement clauses to penalize consumers who complain about business transactions, a few members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced a similar piece of legislation that would ban this questionable practice in all states. [More]
Sushi Lovers May Be Facing Rising Prices As A Result Of The California Drought
By 9.16.14
For those who don’t live in California, it might seem like the drought is only a problem in that state — ‘Their lawns may be brown but mine’s not, so who cares?” an uncool citizen of the world might say. But you start jacking up the prices at sushi restaurants around the country and suddenly, it looks like it could be everyone’s problem. [More]
Complain All You Want, California! State Outlaws Silly Non-Disparagement Clauses
By 9.10.14
In the wake of lawsuits over online retailers that try to charge customers huge fees for allegedly violating “non-disparagement” clauses that prohibit customers from complaining about their transactions, lawmakers in California have approved a bill outlawing the ridiculous practice. [More]
Appeals Court: Yelp’s Ad Team Isn’t Extorting Small Businesses
By 9.4.14
For several years, some have accused online review site Yelp of strong-arming small businesses into paying for ads on the site, and a handful of these companies have even sued Yelp, hoping to prove their allegations. But this week a federal appeals court shot down extortion claims made against Yelp by California business owners, saying the site’s ad sales methods are just “hard bargaining.” [More]
Court: Domino’s Not Responsible For Sexual Harassment Of 16-Year-Old Employee
By 9.3.14
When a worker at a fast food franchise acts like an a-hole, it’s obviously his boss’s immediate responsibility to investigate and discipline that employee if necessary. But does the corporate office share any liability when things go wrong at the franchisee level? What about when people from company HQ are involved in the decision of whether or not to dismiss an employee? According to California’s highest court, the buck stops at the franchisee’s door. [More]
What Happens When One Mall Has Two Different Minimum Wages?
By 9.2.14
Normally, it wouldn’t be a huge deal to have one mall that sits on the border between two cities. There might be some small differences in laws or sales tax, but at the Westfield Valley Fair Mall in California, there’s a huge difference. It sits on the border between the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara, and San Jose recently raised the citywide minimum wage by $2. [More]
Possible Mini-Security Breach At California Target Store
By 8.29.14
Back in January, postal inspectors discovered a scheme to duplicate the credit cards of Target customers and rack up purchases on counterfeit cards. No… we don’t mean that Target credit card breach. So far, this appears to be a much smaller breach, though authorities can’t say for sure yet that it’s not at all related to the breach that shook up the retail business and all of our wallets earlier this year. [More]
California Becomes Second State To Require “Kill Switch” On All Smartphones
By 8.26.14
California officially became the second state in the U.S. to require smartphone manufacturers to include a “kill switch” function on all devices. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill into law on Monday, just two weeks after the measure passed the state senate. [More]
Macy’s Fined Nearly $1M, Will Undergo Safety Audit For 2009 Death Of Distribution Center Employee
By 8.13.14
Distribution centers and warehouses have been the scene of many employee deaths. While those cases remain tragic, they have also set the stage to ensure that working conditions are less dangerous in the future. Such is the case for Macy’s, as the company agreed this week to pay a hefty fine and undergo a safety audit as part of a settlement for a 2009 employee death. [More]
California Passes Law Requiring All Phones Come Equipped With “Kill Switch” By 2015
By 8.12.14
Nearly four months after California lawmakers shot down a bill that would require smartphone manufacturers to include a “kill switch” function on all devices, a similar version of the law is headed to the governor’s desk for signing. [More]
Scam Artist Tries To Play Landlord, Collect Rent For House He Doesn’t Own
By 8.7.14
A woman in California was about to put down a $1,500 deposit on the house she’d just been shown by a nice young man who was managing the rental property for his dad. Luckily, she told her real estate agent pal about her new digs before she was scammed out of her hard-earned cash. [More]
Topless Macy’s Shoplifter Puts On A Shirt, Turns Herself In
By 7.29.14
The department stores of California can rest easy: the woman who lost half of her clothing and her purse in a scuffle with Macy’s store security last week before fleeing the store and driving off has turned herself in. Police had her purse and identification, and an onlooker also wrote down her license plate number, so her identity and whereabouts were not exactly a mystery. She has been released on $20,000 bail. [San Marino Tribune] [More]
Spray-Painting Your Grass Green Is One Way To Avoid “Brown Lawn” Fees
By 7.21.14
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and things are desperately dry right about now in California. But what’s a homeowner to do, when the state is telling you not to water your lawn too often or get fined $500, and the city is demanding you not have a brown lawn or face the same fee fate? Grab a can of paint. [More]
California City Will Fine Couple $500 For Not Watering Brown Lawn, State Will Fine’em $500 If They Do
By 7.18.14
When you’re in a steady relationship, communication is clear. Because when mom says to do one thing, and dad says another, the kids get really confused. Such is the case in California, where the state has issued rules for homeowners to conserve water in the midst of extreme drought, with fines of $500 per day or violating those guidelines, but one city is threatening to fine a couple $500 — unless they water their lawn. [More]
Californians Facing $500 Fines For Violating Water Restrictions In Drought-Stricken State
By 7.16.14
When you turn on the hose outside to wash your car or set up the sprinkler so the kids can run through it on a hot day, what kind of price tag would you put on that water use? If you’re living in some parts of California, there might be a price tag of $500 floating in front of your eyes as residents face hefty potential fines for violating new water restrictions in the drought-stricken state. [More]
California Repeals Rubber Glove Law For Restaurant, Bar Workers
By 6.27.14
Earlier this year, a new California state law banned restaurant workers from touching food with their bare hands and required that bartenders and cooks wear rubber gloves. But following a backlash from the public and the foodservice industry, the state legislature has voted to repeal the ban, going back to rules that simply ask workers to minimize the touching of customers’ food. [More]
