New York Paralegal Blog

  In a Long Island nursing home, a certified nurse aide (CNA) we'll call "Sue" was fired after a serious patient injury. While this might seem like a straightforward case of a worker being held accountable, it actually reveals a disturbing, systemic issue: the nursing home's own policies were being routinely ignored, and management was aware of it. The Unspoken Rule The nursing home had a clear, written policy for using the Hoyer lift, a mechanical device designed to safely move patients with limited mobility. The policy, a standard practice in healthcare, required two staff members to be present for every patient transfer using the lift. This rule exists for a crucial reason: it prevents falls and injuries to both the patient and the staff member. However, the blog's scenario explains that Sue, along with other CNAs, would routinely use the lift by themselves. This wasn't a secret. The staff was under pressure to work quickly, and management, awar...

The dedicated individuals who provide crucial home health care – helping our elderly, disabled, and ill loved ones live independently – are once again at the center of a federal policy debate. The current administration, through the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), has proposed a rule that could significantly alter their pay and protections, with potential far-reaching effects. What's On the Table? At the heart of this proposal is a move to roll back a 2013 regulation that extended federal minimum wage and overtime protections to home health and personal care aides employed by third-party agencies. If the new rule is finalized, it would reinstate a broader "companionship services" exemption, essentially meaning many home care agencies would no longer be federally required to pay these workers the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour) or provide overtime pay. The Trump administration's DOL argues that this change is about deregulation. They contend it will: Redu...

WASHINGTON—A Dallas-area home health services company owner today admitted his role in a $374 million home health fraud scheme in which he and others conspired to bill Medicare for unnecessary services that were never performed. Cyprian Akamnonu, 64, of Arlington, Texas, entered his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay in Dallas federal court.

Home Depot Agrees To Pay $100,000 As Part Of Settlement Agreement SYRACUSE — As part of National Consumer Week, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a settlement with Home Depot USA, Inc. for selling trailers that did not comply with NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law. Specifically in 2011, Home Depot sold overweight 6' x 12' trailers without any brakes, in violation of New York State Law. The law requires trailers that weigh more than 1,000 pounds be sold with an adequate braking system. Home Depot sold trailers that weighed more than 1,000 pounds without any brakes, while misrepresenting to the public that the trailers only weighed 995 pounds. As part of the settlement, Home Depot agreed to pay $100,000 in penalties, fees and costs.

A former employee of Countrywide Home Loan was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution Wednesday in connection with a large-scale data breach, announced André Birotte Jr., the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, and Steven Martinez, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.

NASHVILLE – Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc. will pay $120,000 and provide other relief in a settlement of a religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

BOCA RATON, Fla. – A Baca Raton nursing and rehabilitation facility violated federal law by firing an employee over Sabbath-keeping issues, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

BALTIMORE – Johns Hopkins Home Care Group, Inc. (JHHCG), a full-service home health care provider, violated federal law when it fired an employee because of her disability and because she challenged the company’s failure to accommodate her, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it announced today.

Jose Ramos Sentenced to Maximum Prison Term, Speech-Impaired Victim Used Letter Board and Translator to Testify Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the conviction and sentencing of JOSE RAMOS, a nursing aide at Amsterdam Nursing Home in Morningside Heights, for sexually abusing a disabled and speech-impaired 61-year-old resident of that facility. Today RAMOS was sentenced to seven years in state prison on one count of Sex Abuse in the First Degree, one and one-third to four years in state prison on one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Vulnerable Elderly Person in the Second Degree, and one year in jail on one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Physically Disabled Person, to run concurrently. Upon his release, RAMOS will be under post-release supervision for ten years and will be required to register as a sex offender. “The defendant preyed upon a helpless victim,” said District Attorney Vance. “Much trust is placed in the hands of those that ta...

NEW YORK, N.Y. (December 17, 2009) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell today announced a settlement with three home health agencies resolving Cuomo’s lawsuit against one of them and three whistleblower lawsuits that alleged the agencies defrauded the Medicaid program. This is the largest settlement Cuomo’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has reached with the home health industry in New York State. The settlement arises from the agencies’ use of hundreds of home health aides who had received little or no required training. The agencies sent these aides daily into the homes of New York’s elderly, frail and indigent to provide sensitive medical care. As a result, these aides caused Medicaid to be billed for millions of dollars for services they were not qualified to provide.

Home Improvement Giant Subjected Young Workers to Physical and Verbal Abuse, Retaliation SEATTLE - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a major settlement of a discrimination lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act against Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, Inc. for $1.72 million and significant remedial relief on behalf of three employees in their twenties who were subjected to a pervasive sexually hostile work environment and retaliated against for complaining about it. The former employees, two young men and one woman, were subjected to widespread and repeated sexual harassment by male and female managers and coworkers at a Lowe's store in Longview, Wash., according to the EEOC. The sexually hostile workplace, which endured for more than six months, included physical and verbal abuse which culminated in one instance of sexual assault. Among the many allegations in the litigation (Civ. No. CV08-331 JCC in U.S. District Court for t...

DENVER - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that Atlanta-based Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc., will pay $84,750 and furnish other relief to settle a retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC's lawsuit (Case No. 06-cv-01950-LTB-CBS in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado) charged that Home Depot fired an employee from its Evergreen, Colo., store in retaliation for her filing a sex discrimination charge with the EEOC in 2004. Home Depot settled that original lawsuit in that year. In addition to the monetary settlement, the company has agreed to post its anti-discrimination policy and provide training about federal anti-discrimination laws to all supervisors and employees. The company will also make periodic reports to the EEOC. Over a third of the charges of discrimination the EEOC received during 2008 alleged retaliation. Retaliation is a serious issue. We commend Home Depot, however, f...

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that his office has reached settlements with six New York-based home heating oil companies serving the Hudson Valley, Catskills, Southern Tier and North Country for various violations over the past year, including improperly adding surcharges for credit card payments and failing to provide required notifications to consumers. The agreements with Paraco Gas Corporation, Depew Oil Company, Inc., Vaincourt Fuels, Wilson Oil, Kuno Oil and Russo Fuel end various deceptive practices and provide refunds to more than 500 consumers who were wrongfully charged, as well as penalties and costs to the state. “Home heating costs account for a substantial portion of most hard-working New Yorkers household budgets, and any illegitimate or surprise costs added to the bill are unacceptable,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “It is particularly disturbing when companies take advantage of consumers purchasing such a basic and needed service. I continue to urge ...

WASHINGTON - For the first time in more than 30 years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today issued long-anticipated mortgage reforms that will help consumers to shop for the lowest cost mortgage and avoid costly and potentially harmful loan offers. HUD will require, for the first time ever, that lenders and mortgage brokers provide consumers with a standard Good Faith Estimate (GFE) that clearly discloses key loan terms and closing costs. HUD estimates its new regulation will save consumers nearly $700 at the closing table. In announcing HUD's final changes to the regulatory requirements of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), HUD Secretary Steve Preston said that changes in the housing market and increases in home foreclosures demands action. (Read Preston's remarks) .