This is Part 1 of a 6 Part Blog Series on “How to Make a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) Request“. Please stay tuned for the other blogs for the full picture! Step 1: Decide If It Is Necessary To File a FOIA Request Not all agency records require a written FOIA request. In 1996, Congress passed the Electronic Freedom of Information …
Overview of FOIA for Food and Agriculture Businesses in New York
You may find a time when you want to see the documents available to the public about yourself or your food or agriculture operation. There are two main federal statutes that guide the process of obtaining information from the federal government: (i) Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and (ii) Privacy Act (“PA”). In New York, requests can be made to …
Podcast Appearance on Book Publishing with Legal Marketing Studio
Super pumped for Michael Meyer, corporate photographer extraordinaire,for his new podcast called the “Legal Marketing Studio“, available via SoundCloud and iTunes. The podcast was just released and I’m in Episode 3 on book publishing. I talk about my New York food and agriculture book (my first child) and my recently published book on New York divorce and family law (both …
Alleged Violation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)? Seeking a Civil Monetary Penalty in Lieu of Permanent Disqualification
Accepting SNAP benefits allows a retailer to provide staple foods to members of the community who would be otherwise unable to afford basics. Being licensed to accept SNAP benefits also comes with the responsibility of ensuring that all SNAP regulations are followed. This includes ensuring that employees do not allow customers to use SNAP benefits for unauthorized items, such as …
The What, Where, and How of Collecting Personal Information in Your Website’s Privacy Policy
Ensuring that your website has an effective privacy policy includes providing users with detailed information regarding: (1) what information will be collected, (2) how the information will be collected, (3) where the collected information will be stored, and (4) how the information will be protected. What Information is Collected The type of information collected by a website will differ based …
Lawline Lecture: Overview of New York Animal Welfare Law
I gave this Lawline lecture last December on New York farm animal welfare law. I first talk about animal welfare laws from the national perspective and then move into New York specifically. I think it helps to see the forest for the trees and better understand where New York fits in nationally with these issues. I discuss both misdemeanor and …
Alleged Violation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)? Creating an Effective Training Policy for Retailers Accepting SNAP Benefits
One of the most important parts of becoming an authorized retailer that accepts SNAP benefits is to ensure that employees are properly trained in the policies of accepting food stamps. The United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) requires that all SNAP authorized firms be able to demonstrate that there is an established training policy in place as well as a …
Important Information to Include in Your Website’s Privacy Policy
A Privacy Policy is important to every website regardless of the purpose of the website. It creates transparency on the part of the website about the information they collect which in return provides trust on the part of the users of the website. In order to create a competent Privacy Policy, the website owners should be sure to include (1) …
Recording Available for Food & Ag Law Insurance CLE
One of the most common questions that I get from food and farm clients has to do with insurance. It affects every kind of business (including law practices!). It’s important for food and agriculture lawyers to have a cursory understanding on the breadth of issues that can arise with insurance in dealing with food and agriculture clients. Because of this, …
Recording Available for ABA Webinar on Intellectual Property for the Food and Ag Lawyer
For those of you who missed it, the recording of the intellectual property (“IP”) webinar that I moderated for the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee last November is now available for purchase. Even though I love participating in the live webcasts in case I have a question to ask, recordings are …
Lawline Lecture: Overview of New York Farm Animal Welfare Law
Brrrr… There is a blizzard here in New York City right now so I’m blogging away! I will be Tweeting (@CariRincker) and Snapping (CariRincker) about the NYC snowstorm once I venture outside! Stay warm… hot chocolate time! Here is the video for the Lawline presentation that I gave in December regarding livestock animal welfare law in New York. I first …
Alleged Violation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)? Compliance Policy for SNAP Regulations
Any business licensed to accept SNAP benefits must have a training policy in place to teach employees appropriate procedures for accepting food stamps. Having a good training policy is only helpful if SNAP authorized retailers also have a compliance policy in effect to ensure that the regulations are being properly followed. Compliance policies that the United States Department of Agriculture …