California Governor Jerry Brown  signed Assembly Bill 1884  on Thursday banning full service restaurants from automatically providing customers with plastic single-use straws for beverages. The bill allows restaurants to provide customers with plastic straws only on request by the customer. After notice of violation upon a third violation of the statute, restaurants are fined $25 [...]

Governor Ralph Torres of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on Friday signed HB 20-178  to legalize marijuana. In particular, the bill allows a person who is 21 or older to “possess and transport up to one ounce of marijuana, 16 ounces of marijuana products in solid form, 72 ounces of cannabis in liquid [...]

The Cardinal of the Archdiocese of New York on Thursday announced  that he has secured outside assistance from a former federal judge and prosecutor to investigate church policies surrounding sexual abuse allegations. Barbara Jones is a former judge who served on the bench for 16 years in the US District Court for the Southern District [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Tuesday filed  a complaint  with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Facebook for violating laws that bar employers from using gender-based discrimination in their employment advertisements. The ACLU, along with Outten & Golden  and the Communication Workers of America (CWA) , filed this complaint on behalf  of three [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Colorado  ruled  Wednesday that US officials may not deny the passport application of an intersex individual based on the individual’s refusal to select a male or female gender marker. In September 2014 Dana Alix Zzyym applied for a US passport. Instead of checking the [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday denied  an application to block a federal judge’s decision requiring more disclosure from super PACs. The decision vacates Chief Justice John Roberts’ order to stay the lower court ruling. The petitioner, Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, a conservative political action committee, submitted the application  to stay the district court’s order, arguing [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday overturned a district court judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by server and bartender employees alleging they were paid “tipped” wages for performing non-tipped duties in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) . Under the “dual jobs” provision of the FLSA, employers [...]

Judge Amy Totenberg of the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled Monday that Georgia will be permitted to go forward with the use of its electronic voting machines, despite security warnings from voting technology experts. The ruling comes in a 2017 lawsuit filed by Georgia voters and election security organizations who [...]

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh  announced  Monday that Maryland intends to appeal the decision  of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  to deny Maryland’s petition for relief for emissions from out-of-state plants contributing to ozone problems in Maryland. Maryland filed a petition in December 2016 asking for injunctive relief under Section 126 of the Clean Air [...]

Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, on Monday dismissed a lawsuit challenging Texas’ voter ID law, in light of the Fifth Circuit Court’s April decision  upholding the law as constitutional. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced  the victory for Senate Bill 5 , saying the law will [...]