Australian lawyer sets up 1.2 million Christmas lights to break world record

A Christmas-crazy lawyer has bagged a world record for setting up the largest ever festive LED light image display. Dad-of-three David Richards strung up almost 1.2 million tiny bulbs in the shape of three gifts in the downtown Canberra CBD mall, reports News.com.au. If laid out in a straight line on the ground, the awe-inspiring show would stretch for 75 miles. The incredible effort was enough to land Richards a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. "It's not just a bunch of twinkle lights, it is a light show," he told the Associated Press. A small army of volunteers helped Richards set up the free-to-see display, which is being powered by electricity donated by a local power company and will last until New Year's Eve. He also revealed he set a similar world best last year for having the most Christmas lights on a residential home. Richards plastered his Canberra home with 502,165 bulbs. But he vowed not to repeat the spectacle because of the amount of traffic it caused around his neighborhood. "I couldn't do it again to my neighbors or my family," Richards said. It prompted the move to the city center, where he hopes to raise cash for the Canberra Sudden Infant Death Syndrome counseling and support service. Richards' started setting up the lights and raising money for the charity after he lost a baby boy in 2002, reports the Herald Sun. The previous world record was held by a family in Shurtan, southern Uzbekistan. Richards' 1,194,380 bulbs beat it by 181,540 lights. The standard he set last year may be under threat, however, by Lagrangeville, NY, Christmas-fan Tim Gay. He is hoping to secure back the title he lost in 2013 by placing more than 600,000 lights on his home. IJ Lawyer Scott Bullock Lists Three Ways to Fight Civil Asset Forfeiture Attorney Scott Bullock heads up the Institute for Justice (IJ) initiative against civil forfeiture. In September, he told Reason about IJ's plans to push back against the overuse of laws that allow unfair confiscation of property by law enforcement. Here are three ways how IJ is fighting the abuse of these procedures. View this article.

Toronto Employment Lawyer, Nicole Simes, Comments on Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

There has been much discussion in the news about the prevalence of sexual harassment in Canada since the Jian Ghomeshi story broke. Nicole Simes, a Toronto employment lawyer, provides her recommendations on how to reduce sexual harassment in the workplace. (PRWEB) November 29, 2014 Since the Jian Ghomeshi story broke (see New York Times article published on October 27, 2014: http://nyti.ms/1vj9uWt ), Toronto human rights lawyer, Nicole Simes, acknowledges that there has been much discussion on the prevalence of sexual harassment in Canada. However, she finds that suggestions on how to reduce harassment and increase the reporting rate are missing from the conversation. As an employment and human rights lawyer, Simes provides her recommendations: 1. Require Employers to Develop and Post a Human Rights Policy, Train All Employees on Human Rights and Implement a Complaint Process Simes states that “sexual harassment is an affront to a person’s dignity and self-respect. It is also bad for business because harassment can result in lower employee productivity and higher rates of employee absence.” She states that employers in Ontario are already required to implement various workplace policies and workplace training. Simes recommends that the Ontario Human Rights Code be amended to include similar obligations on employers regarding human rights policies and training. She further suggests that there be “a mandatory investigation process which includes requiring the employer to take a complaint of sexual harassment seriously, respond promptly and sensitively, ensure the accused is provided details of the allegations and an opportunity to respond, and provide both the accused and the accuser with the outcome of any investigation and the employer’s proposed remedy.” 2. Changes to the Federal Human Rights Complaint Process Simes recommends changes to the Canadian Human Rights Act (“the Act”). She states that “removal of the Canadian Human Rights Commission as a mechanism which vets complaints and allowing individual to proceed directly to a hearing, would improve the accessibility of the system.” Simes recommends that the Act also be amended to eliminate the $40,000 cap on general damage awards in connection with sexual harassment and other complaints filed under the Act." 3. Increases on Human Rights Awards Finally, Simes argues that the awards against employers in sexual harassment cases have been too low. She states that “increasing what an employer pays if they breach an employee’s human rights would encourage employer engagement in preventing sexual harassment and increase the likelihood that employees would report incidents and pursue their legal rights, if necessary.” Nicole Simes is a lawyer with MacLeod Law Firm, a Canadian Labour and Employment Law Firm. MacLeod Law Firm has represented 1000s of employees over the past 25 years. MacLeod Law Firm's practice includes human rights claims, wrongful dismissal claims, employee terminations, severance packages, employment contract review, employee resignation advice, and workplace safety. For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/11/prweb12359417.htm