New York Paralegal Blog

On April 22, 2011, an administrator working for the Federal Trade Commission mailed 3,162 refund checks to borrowers allegedly harmed by Golden Empire Mortgage, Inc. and Howard D. Kootstra. The refund checks stem from a lawsuit the FTC filed against Golden Empire and Kootstra, alleging that they illegally charged Hispanic consumers higher prices for mortgage loans than non-Hispanic white consumers – price disparities that could not be explained by the applicants’ credit characteristics or underwriting risk. A settlement order imposed a $5.5 million judgment that was suspended when the defendants paid $1.5 million for consumer redress. The settlement order bars the defendants from discriminating on the basis of national origin in credit transactions and requires Golden Empire to establish and maintain a policy that restricts loan originators’ pricing discretion, a fair lending monitoring program, a program to ensure the accuracy and completeness of their data, and empl...

Older Applicants Passed Over for Cashier Positions in Favor of Younger Candidates, Federal Agency Charged FRESNO — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)announced on 01/20/2011 the settlement of its lawsuit against Timeless Investments, Inc., doing business as EZ Trip Golden State Convenience and Auto/Truck Plaza, resolving claims that the Fresno, Calif.-based company failed to hire older job applicants for its convenience store due to age discrimination. The allegations date back to 2004, when a group of older job seekers in their 60s applied for jobs as cashiers at the EZ Trip Golden State convenience store in Fresno. According to the EEOC, the older applicants were separately instructed to write their ages on the top corner of their respective employment applications. They were ultimately denied employment in favor of other candidates under the age of 35, two of whom had no prior cashier experience. The EEOC asserts that the older applicants were ultimately deni...