New York Paralegal Blog

BALTIMORE – Telecommunications giant Verizon Communications will pay $20 million and provide significant equitable relief to resolve a nationwide class disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The suit, filed against 24 named subsidiaries of Verizon Communications, said the company unlawfully denied reasonable accommodations to hundreds of employees and disciplined and/or fired them pursuant to Verizon’s “no fault” attendance plans. The consent decree settling the suit, which is pending judicial approval, represents the largest disability discrimination settlement in a single lawsuit in EEOC history. The EEOC charged that Verizon violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing to make exceptions to its “no fault” attendance plans to accommodate employees with disabilities. Under the challenged attendance plans, if an employee accumulated a designated number of “chargeable absences...

WASHINGTON - Verizon Communications Inc. has paid the United States $93,525,410.96 in order to resolve allegations that the company overcharged the General Services Administration (GSA) on invoices dealing with government-wide voice and data telecommunications services contracts, the Justice Department announced today. Verizon subsidiary MCI Communications Services Inc. dba Verizon Business Services is alleged to have invoiced GSA for a variety of federal, state and local taxes and surcharges in violation of the contracts or applicable regulations in connection with the FTS2001 and FTS2001 Bridge contracts. The department’s joint investigation with GSA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that Verizon and MCI submitted false claims under the contracts for the reimbursement of property taxes, common carrier recovery charges and unallowable surcharges, charges that are not directly reimbursable under the FTS2001 contracts.

(openPR) - Cavalier Telephone, trusted provider of DSL and telephone service in 15 states including the District of Columbia, sued Verizon Virginia for misuse of 911 customer data. RICHMOND, VA - Cavalier Telephone, an integrated provider of telecommunications and data including local and long distance telephone services and DSL high speed Internet, has sued Verizon Virginia, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The lawsuit is based on Verizon's unlawful use of the Virginia 911 database. Verizon has relied heavily on the Virginia 911 database to support certain petitions filed by Verizon before the Federal Communications Commission and the Virginia State Corporation Commission. Cavalier's complaint seeks injunctive and declaratory relief. "The 911 database is a public asset and Verizon has violated the public trust by subverting it to private gain. The 911 system was created to assist law enforcement and emergency services and to facilitat...