New York Paralegal Blog

Geremias Hernandez was walking home from a friend’s house when he was approached by a man armed with a handgun who demanded money. When Hernandez resisted, the man struck him in the head with a handgun. Hernandez then attempted to run to a nearby house and was shot in the right side of his buttocks, with the bullet exiting through his groin. Hernandez, 30, of 60 Leonard Place, Copiague, was transported to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow where he was listed in stable condition.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a stipulated order of dismissal to resolve its lawsuit concerning conditions of confinement at the Erie County Holding Center (ECHC), a pre-trial detention center in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Erie County Correctional Facility (ECCF), a correctional facility in Alden, N.Y.

SEATTLE — Mason County Forest Products, which operated a saw and wood planing mill in Shelton, Wash., agreed to pay $900,000 to two female workers to settle a federal lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, sex discrimination and retaliation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has obtained an agreement for Maryland's Prince George's County Public Schools system to pay $4,222,146 in back wages due 1,044 workers to resolve violations of the H-1B temporary foreign worker program. Investigators from the department found that PGCPS illegally reduced the wages of the H-1B workers by requiring them to pay fees that the school system was required to pay. The H-1B program allows employers to hire foreign professionals in certain specialty occupations to work temporarily in the U.S. Workers hired under the H-1B program must be paid at least the same wage rates and benefits as those paid to U.S. workers doing the same job in the same area, so that the wages of similarly employed U.S. workers are not adversely affected. "The Labor Department has the responsibility for ensuring that employers who use the H-1B program follow the law and do not place U.S. workers at a disadvantage to H-...

DALLAS - Hill County Farms, doing business as Henry’s Turkey Service (“Henry’s Turkey”) subjected a group of 31 men with intellectual disabilities to severe abuse and discrimination for more than 20 years, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged in a lawsuit filed today in Davenport, Iowa. The company is based in Goldthwaite, Texas, but the work and abuse occurred in West Liberty and Atalissa, Iowa. According to the lawsuit, No. 3:11-cv-0004 CRW-TJS , filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Henry’s Turkey exploited these workers, whose jobs involved eviscerating turkeys, because their intellectual disabilities made them particularly vulnerable and unaware of the extent to which their legal rights were being denied. The affected men lived in Muscatine County, Iowa, where they worked for 20 years as part of a contract between Henry’s Turkey and West Liberty Foods, an Iowa turkey processing plant.

UPDATE: Prince George’s County Public Schools agrees to pay $4.2 million in back wages for violations of H-1B temporary foreign worker program Thursday, July 07, 2011 WASHINGTON — An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found Maryland's Prince George's County Public Schools system in willful violation of the laws that govern the H-1B temporary foreign worker visa program. Investigators found that PGCPS illegally reduced the wages of 1,044 foreign teachers hired under the H-1B program by requiring the payment of $4,224,146 in fees. The Labor Department is responsible for ensuring H-1B workers are paid in accordance with the law and that employers do not misuse visa programs in ways that adversely affect U.S. workers. The H-1B program allows employers to hire foreign professionals to work temporarily in the U.S. So that the wages of similarly employed U.S. workers are not adversely affected, workers hired under the H-1B program must be...

Allegedly Solicited and Received Bribe Payments in Exchange for Obtaining Millions in Government Housing Funds and Other Benefits GREENBELT, MD—A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging former Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson, age 61, of Mitchellville, Maryland, with conspiracy, extortion, and bribery related to the performance of his official duties, and tampering with a witness and evidence. The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Sparkman of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

ALBANY, N.Y. (October 6, 2008) – Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a settlement agreement with a retired Saint Lawrence County Attorney who was improperly listed as an employee of four public sector entities, including the Village of Canton, the Saint Lawrence-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services (“BOCES”), the Colton Pierrepont School District, and the Lisbon Central School District. John D. Elmer retired in January 1998 and began receiving a small annual pension through the New York State Employees’ Retirement Fund (“ERS”). Under the settlement, Elmer will pay the State of New York $42,000, will cease receiving state-funded pension benefits of any kind, and will forfeit any claims to monetary contributions he may have made to ERS in connection with his purported “employments.” At various times between 1974 and 1998, Elmer was listed as an employee of four public sector entities: the Village of Canton (1974 to 1980), Saint Lawrence-Lewis BOCES (1974 to 1998)...