On September 14, 2020, New Jersey Governor Murphy signed important legislation that benefits all workers who contracted COVID-19 while working through the current pandemic. The legislation creates the presumption that the contracted illness is “work related.” Before this legislation was signed, only “public safety workers” such as police, fire, EMT, and medical personnel, were granted this presumption.

Continue Reading All Essential Workers Now Deemed “Eligible” for Workers’ Compensation Benefits Under New Legislation

May is Motorcycle Safety Month, which highlights the need for all drivers to be especially aware of motorcycles as well as all vehicles on the roads. With the recent beautiful weather, I’ve seen and heard more motorcycles in the last week than I have in months. Please be especially vigilant and respectful of others as you drive, whether you are on a bike, in a car, or truck.

Continue Reading May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month: Please Drive and Ride Safely

Carrying sufficient Uninsured and Underinsured coverage on your motorcycle and personal vehicles is less obvious, but just as critical, as having health insurance coverage.

After ensuring that your health insurance policy, will cover any medical treatment for injuries suffered in a crash, check your own vehicle policies to be sure you have sufficient liability, uninsured, and underinsured coverages on your bike and personal vehicles.

Continue Reading Uninsurance and Underinsurance for Motorcycle Riders

Motorcycle riders: please review your health insurance coverages!

Before we ride, we often do a safety check of our bikes. We check brakes, lights, signals, tires, and gas. We make sure the bike is safe before we, and our passengers get on.

What is just as important, but less obvious, are the insurance coverages you should have. I strongly recommend that you make sure you are well protected by your own insurance policies. Having excellent health insurance to cover any medical bills will ensure you are not left owing substantial bills you incur from treatment following a crash.

Continue Reading Health Insurance for Motorcycle Riders

During these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, most Americans are doing all they can to stay healthy and “flatten the curve” in order to return to their normal lives. Many worry about their own well-being, along with their family’s, – both physically and financially, as scores of people have been laid off, been told to stay home from work because they are immune-compromised, and/or have been diagnosed as having Coronavirus (COVID-19). What rights does an individual have when they have been diagnosed with Coronavirus, and they believe they contracted it in a way that is related to their employment?

Continue Reading Workers’ Compensation During COVID-19

Although the vaping company Juul has experienced significant fallout – both in terms of market value and public opinion – since information about their marketing tactics came out in 2019, vaping has yet to see a meaningful decline among teens, which rose a staggering 78% between 2018 and 2019 according to the American Cancer Society.

Juul has been identified as a catalyst for much of the current teen vaping habit, but teens have moved on from Juul pods to other products. According to Meredith Berkman, co-founder of the advocacy group Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes (PAVE), “Juul is almost old school … It’s no longer the teen favorite.”

Continue Reading Disposables are Making Vaping Harder to Detect Among Teens

In the face of approximately 300 sexual abuse lawsuits from former Boy Scouts, the Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Boy Scouts of America is the nation’s largest scouting organization and one of the largest youth organizations. Because Chapter 11 allows an organization to continue operations, scouting programs are expected to proceed at this time.

Continue Reading Boy Scouts File for Bankruptcy Amidst Wave of Sexual Abuse Charges

Miley Cyrus. Bella Hadid. Sophie Turner. These are just a few celebrities who are known for their vaping habits. But these habits aren’t just a personal choice – they fit into a larger picture of vaping companies using celebrities and influencers to appeal to young consumers.

Although the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 places strict regulations on how tobacco products can be marketed, the vaping industry has raised questions about marketing in the digital era.

Continue Reading JUUL’s Efforts to Recruit Influencers

Marketing to youth has long been part of the tobacco industry’s strategy to keep a steady influx of customers. However, since the Joe Camel lawsuit in 1997, tobacco companies have increasingly been under fire for targeting underage consumers. Most disavow these intentions, but from time to time, a company will draw attention to these kinds of tactics. Most recently, the vaping pioneer, JUUL, has been pinpointed.

Despite assertions that they had never marketed their products to children or teenagers, a recent New York Times article reports that JUUL purchased ad space on youth-centered websites like Nickelodeon, the Cartoon Network, Seventeen magazine, and educational sites for students as young as middle school.

Continue Reading JUUL Faces New Lawsuit Over Marketing Tactics