Law and Daily Life

Battles continue to rage in schools throughout the country on whether students should be required to wear face masks. As of mid-September, eight states – mostly in the South – have banned mask mandates by schools. Elsewhere, angry anti-mask parents have been converging on school board meetings to proclaim “parental rights" to act on behalf of their children and ignore mask mandates.

As the nation is rocked by a new surge of COVID-19 cases, employers are taking extra steps to keep the virus out of the workplace. A number of big companies and state employers are requiring unvaccinated employees to get tested regularly. That has workers asking questions. Is it legal for a company to require employees to get tested for COVID-19 and share their results?

The moment that many eagerly awaited — or feared — arrived last week. In a closely watched address, President Joe Biden announced a sweeping new expansion of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The plan, which has a goal of covering about two-thirds of all American workers, involves using existing regulatory authority and not relying on Congress to pass any new laws. As expected, the announcement quickly drew the ire of people opposed to getting the vaccine and those philosophically opposed to vaccine mandates and presidential overreach.

The average person will have 12 jobs in their lifetime, a significant change from years ago when people stayed in one job their entire adult life. For many people, switching employers may be the fastest way to increase their earnings. When you are looking for a new job, you may wonder if a prospective employer can ask you about your salary at your current or previous jobs.

In most states, bars and restaurants can be legally liable for serving alcohol to people who have had too much to drink. It's called “social host liability" or “dram shop liability," and it means that if an intoxicated customer gets behind the wheel and causes an accident resulting in death, injury, or property damage, the bar or restaurant could be in legal hot water if there's evidence that the driver should have been cut off.

Drones are an exciting and fun way to get a bird's eye view of an area. This new hobby has taken off, but as a drone pilot, it's important to understand where your drone is permitted and where it's not before you accidentally pilot into troubled skies.