Working Conditions Laws: Global Report

Minimum wage and other working conditions are hot topics in the media lately.  Those looking for an international view of comparative working conditions laws, including wage, hour, maternity and annual leave laws in more than 150 countries, have an excellent resource for research papers and legal practice, as well as for business development, in Working Conditions Laws Report 2012: A Global Review. This report, released in 2013 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, draws from the latest data in ILO's Working Conditions Laws Database.  It provides a wealth of statistical information summarized by region and outlined country by country with numerous graphs and charts.

The ILO maintains many other valuable databases of worldwide labor laws, standards, and working condition and employment statistics.  In addition, the ILO website provides other downloadable reports and working papers on specific labor and employment issues. 

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Chocolate Law

Unlike my fur-based brethren, as a virtual cat I can indulge in chocolate on Valentine's day (and every other day).  But, like my fellow fur-based felines, I am finicky and want to know that my chocolate is of the highest quality.  Like many, I prefer dark chocolate for both the flavor and health benefits.  Interestingly, there is no legal definition of "dark" chocolate (see chart and link below) .  For a great primer on chocolate, see You Say Cacao, I Say Cocoa on WebMD.

Here are the relevant legal guidelines for chocolate-loving lawyer's on Valentine's Day.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the naming and ingredients of cocoa products:

Product	Chocolate Liquor	Milk Solids	CFR section in Title 21
Milk Chocolate	≥ 10%	≥ 12%	163.130
Sweet Chocolate	≥ 15%	≥ 12%	163.123
Semisweet or Bittersweet Chocolate	≥ 35%	≥ 12%	163.123(a)(3)
White Chocolate	≥ 20% cacao fat	≥ 14%	163.124

Enjoy  and Happy Valentine's Day !!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Law Library Will Open at 10:00 A.M.

Due to weather conditions, the University will delay opening until 10 a.m.today, Friday, February 14. The law library will remain accessible to law faculty and students via swipe access. 

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Law Library Closed

Due to weather conditions, the University will be closed today, Thursday, February 13.  The law library will be accessible to law students and faculty via swipe access.

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New Open Access Resource Center Launched by Copyright Clearance Center in Partnership with the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers

"Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), a not-for-profit organization creating global licensing and content solutions that make copyright work for everyone, has launched an Open Access Resource Center in partnership with the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP)."

"The resource center includes links to the latest open access news, reports, whitepapers, webinars and websites. Users can complete the feedback survey to add suggestions for what they would like to see included going forward."



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2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Online

If the time change in Russia or your punishing class schedule hasn't allowed you to see your favorite Olympic sport, you can catch up on all the coverage from Sochi so far here at NBCOlympics.com.

To watch live feeds online of the Winter Olympics, you can see the athletes competing here.

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Richard Susskind - Tomorrow's Lawyers and his 2014 Predictions

Professor Richard Susskind OBE is an author, speaker, and independent adviser to major professional firms and to national governments. His main area of expertise is the future of professional service and, in particular, the way in which the IT and the Internet are changing the work of lawyers.

In his latest book "Tomorrow's Lawyers:..." , he claims that legal institutions and lawyers are poised to change more radically over the next two decades than they have over the last two centuries.

Luman Legal spoke with Susskind recently about his book, to get his take on what the near future holds for the legal services marketplace in the U.S. You can find his predictions at Richard Susskind Shares His 2014 Predictions. 

Samples of what you will find:

1.  The power of efficiency and collaboration in the legal marketplace.
2.  The disruption that technology will cause and some of the “disruptive legal technologies.
3.  Liberalization is a part of this formula of working differently.


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