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“Sport Utility Vehicles” (SUV’s) have become increasingly popular. It has been estimated that SUV’s comprise 25% or more of new car sales, as opposed to only 2% in 1985. Unfortunately, serious questions have been raised about the safety of SUV’s. The potential danger does not appear to have impeded the growth of SUV popularity, nor deterred many people from pur…

“Negligent hiring” is a legal doctrine that holds employers liable for unlawful acts committed by their employees. The issue arises when an employer hires a person that she knew or should have known could pose an undue risk of harm to others within the course and scope of employment. Under this doctrine, the employer has the responsibility for checking the background and referen…

In most states, an individual who is injured by an employee’s negligent acts can generally sue the employer, if the negligent act was committed in the course of employment duties. Until 1946, however, “governmental immunity” prohibited individuals from suing the U.S. government for injuries committed by federal government employees. This changed with the enactment of the F…

The doctrine of “sovereign immunity” protects the U.S. and other governments from lawsuits. In 1946, Congress adopted the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), which created a limited waiver of that immunity. The Federal Tort Claims Act Under the FTCA, individuals may bring suit against the U.S. government for money damages for injury to or loss of property, personal injury, or wrongf…

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that awards of back wages to employees are subject to federal taxation according to the year in which the wages are actually paid, not the year in which the wages should have been paid or were actually earned. This holding appears to reconcile what had previously been an area of unsettled controversy between taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS);…