New York Paralegal Blog

Firefighter Tormented by Sexual and Religious Harassment & Disciplined in Retaliation for Participating in Another Firefighter’s Discrimination Proceeding LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Fire Department will pay $494,150 and implement widespread anti-harassment training to settle federal charges of discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

Daniel Phillips Sentenced to 10 Years In Prison For Setting Major Fire in Residential Building Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the sentencing of DANIEL PHILLIPS, 32, to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years post-release supervision, as well as $10,000 in restitution. On November 1, 2010, the defendant was convicted at trial on charges of Arson in the Second Degree, Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree, and Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree, for starting a fire at 410 West 48th Street, a six-story apartment building with approximately 71 residents.

NEW YORK – Amid growing concerns that Indian Point has failed to meet federal safety requirements, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today filed a petition with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) urging it to take enforcement action against the plant for its failure to comply with fire safety regulations. Following his lawsuit last month pressing the NRC to study the safety impact of storing spent nuclear fuel on site, today’s action is the latest in a series the Attorney General has taken to promote comprehensive, transparent and vigilant reviews of the Buchanan plant before decisions are made on whether to extend its operating license for another 20 years. In a petition filed today with the NRC, Schneiderman wrote that compliance with fire safety requirements was necessary to ensure that the facility would be able to safely shut down during and after an emergency. Indian Point is currently in violation of established fire safety regulations and in seeking more tha...

Long Island Fire District Had Barred Firefighters Over 65 From Receiving Service Credits in Retirement Benefits Program, Agency Charged NEW YORK – The Incorporated Village of Mineola, N.Y., and the Mineola Fire Department will pay $237,072 to settle a class age discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The damages will be made in retroactive payments to a group of 25 firefighters who had been discriminated against based on their age and provide increased monthly pension amounts going forward to several firefighters. The EEOC’s suit had charged that the fire district refused to let volunteer firefighters over age 60 accrue credit toward a “length of service award” (LOSAP), the equivalent of a retirement pension, because of their age. As a result, senior firefighters lost pension amounts after they turned 60, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), a federal law that protects worke...

(NYDA) Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the results of the investigation into the August 18, 2007, fire at the Deutsche Bank building, located at 130 Liberty Street, in which Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino lost their lives. Three individuals and one company have been indicted for manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in the deaths of the firefighters. Those indicted are: JEFFREY MELOFCHIK, the Site Safety Manager for the project’s construction manager, Bovis Lend Lease LMB, Inc. (“Bovis”); MITCHEL ALVO, the Director of Abatement, for Bovis’ subcontractor, THE JOHN GALT CORP. (“GALT”) and SALVATORE DePAOLA, a GALT foreman. GALT has also been indicted on the same charges. More...

One year ago today two of New York’s bravest were killed in the line of duty, while responding to a fire at Deutsche Bank. The tragic deaths of Joseph Graffagnino and Bobby Beddia were, and are still, a reminder of the dangers faced by our uniformed first responders each and every day. Today, in memory of Mr. Graffagnino and Mr. Beddia, we suspended the work being done by the 400 men and women cleaning the Deutsche Bank building. The greatest tribute to the sacrifices made by these firefighters will be to complete the work on this building safely. My thoughts are with the families and loved ones who still endure the pain of these sudden losses, and my thanks go to their comrades who continue to keep New York safe.