New York Paralegal Blog

OAKLAND, Calif. - New United Motors & Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI), California’s last auto plant, has agreed to contribute to a $6 million settlement fund as part of a class settlement resolving complaints that the company violated federal law when it denied severance benefits to employees on medical leave, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that he has signed into law a measure extending federally-funded unemployment insurance benefits through 2011. Without this new law, the state would not be able to continue to pay a total of 93 weeks of benefits and would have forfeited $620 million in federal payments to the unemployed, negatively impacting approximately 166,000 New Yorkers. "This measure will ensure out-of-work New Yorkers will continue to have a federally-funded safety net to help them weather this prolonged economic downturn," Governor Cuomo said. "Re-entering the workforce can be daunting and time consuming. This law provides basic relief for the thousands of job-hunters across the state."

More Than $300,000 Stolen From City and State; Several Cases Involve Public Employees Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the arrests of 37 individuals on charges related to the theft of unemployment benefits from New York State and low-income housing subsidies from New York City.[1] The arrests follow investigations conducted in partnership with the New York State Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”). At least eight more arrests are expected this week, with the total cost to taxpayers estimated at $360,000. “Our City and State are struggling to balance budgets while providing critical public services,” said District Attorney Vance. “Unemployment benefits and low-income housing subsidies are lifelines for those in need. These funds cannot be fraudulently siphoned away from the New Yorkers who rightfully qualify for assistance. I thank the Department of Investigation and the Department of Labor for their a...

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the arrests of 30 former and current New York State employees who allegedly obtained unemployment benefits illegally while on State payroll. The individuals were arrested as part of the Attorney General’s statewide sweep over the past week, targeting abuses of the financially strapped New York State unemployment system. In New York’s current fiscal crisis, the unemployment insurance fund provides much-needed financial relief to thousands of New Yorkers who have lost their jobs. According to complaints filed in New York, Bronx, Kings, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk, Nassau, Albany, Dutchess, Rockland and Westchester Counties over the past week, these 30 defendants stole thousands of dollars from New York State by falsely certifying that they were qualified for unemployment insurance benefits through the Department of Labor’s electronic certification process. “New York’s unemployment insurance fund was created to help hard-working individuals w...