New York Paralegal Blog

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a settlement with Equinox Group, LLC (Equinox Group), which offers fitness services under Equinox, Equinox+, and SoulCycle, for making it hard for New Yorkers to cancel their membership. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that Equinox Group failed to clearly disclose its subscription terms, provide consumers with the subscription acknowledgment required by New York law, and offer cost-effective and easy-to-use online cancellation mechanisms. As a result of today’s settlement, Equinox Group must pay $600,000 in penalties, change its subscription practices, and offer refunds to subscribers who tried to cancel their membership but could not. “New Yorkers should be able to cancel a membership they no longer use or want without breaking a sweat,” said Attorney General James. “The Equinox Group made it challenging for customers to end their membership, costing them time and money. As a result of my office’s settl...

DENVER -- Interstate Distributor Company will pay $4.85 million and provide other significant relief to settle a nationwide class disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC's suit said the nationwide trucking firm unlawfully denied reasonable accommodations to hundreds of employees and fired them pursuant to Interstate's maximum leave policy.

HOUSTON - Sandia Drilling Company, Ltd, L.L.P. and Sandia Drilling of Texas, L.L.C., Bossier City, La., oil drilling companies, violated federal anti-discrimination laws when their supervisors and other employees subjected two African-American and a Hispanic worker to a racially hostile work environment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today. The companies also fired one discrimination victim in retaliation for complaining, the agency said.

A federal jury in Central Islip today convicted the owner of a Long Island medical supply company of a $10.7 million Medicare fraud and wrongful disclosure of private patient information.

Global Health Care Company Abbott Laboratories Inc. has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.5 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of the prescription drug Depakote for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Justice Department announced today.

TRENTON—A former research chemist with global pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis (sanofi) was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for stealing sanofi’s trade secrets and making them available for sale through Abby Pharmatech Inc. (Abby), the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese chemicals company, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

JONESBORO, Ark. – AT&T d/b/a Southwestern Bell Telephone Company (AT&T) violated federal law by discharging Antonnett Johnson because of her sex (female), race (black), and in retaliation for her complaints of discriminatory treatment by co-workers and customers, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

Staffing agencies seem to forget that equal employment laws apply to them too. I have noticed a trend in New York, especially in the healthcare profession, how hospitals and nursing homes are using temporary employment agencies as a way to discriminate against those who they view as undesirable because of race, religion, gender and sexual orientation. It is good to know that the EEOC is working hard to unmask those who try to circumvent civil rights laws by using third party employment agencies.

WASHINGTON – The Dow Chemical Company has agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty to settle alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act at its chemical manufacturing and research complex in Midland, Michigan, the Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

McALLEN, TX—A total of 20 South Texas residents indicted for their roles in a scheme to defraud the American Family Life Assurance Company (Aflac) of millions of dollars by filing thousands of false injury claims under Aflac’s accident-only insurance plan have been convicted this week, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Cavalier Telephone Company Inc. will pay $1 million and furnish other significant relief to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

El Paso Café Refused Reasonable Accommodation and Fired Barista Due to Dwarfism, Federal Agency Charges EL PASO — Starbucks Coffee Company violated federal law by denying a reasonable accommodation to a barista with dwarfism at its El Paso café and then firing her because of her disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today. According to the EEOC’s suit, Elsa Sallard has a physical impairment, dwarfism. She was hired by Starbucks to work in a customer service position July 2009, but was only allowed to train for 3 days before she was fired. The job description for the barista position stated that no prior experience was required. Soon after being hired by Starbucks, Sallard asked to use a stool or small stepladder to perform the essential functions of preparing orders and serving customers at the counter. Starbucks disregarded Sallard’s request and refused to consider her use of a stool or stepladder, the EEOC said. On the s...

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that P4 Production LLC, a mining and phosphorus processing company wholly-owned by Monsanto and operating near Soda Springs in southeast Idaho, has agreed to pay a $1.4 million civil penalty for alleged Clean Water Act violations at its South Rasmussen Mine. In addition to the penalty, P4 will spend an estimated $875,000 on monitoring and to prevent pollutants from entering local waters. “The Justice Department and the EPA are committed to enforcing the Clean Water Act to reduce pollution from mining and mineral processing operations,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “Clean water is essential for human health, as well as for healthy livestock, fish and wildlife. Today’s settlement agreement will make Idaho’s waters cleaner by preventing selenium and other hazardous pollutants gen...

NEW YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a multimillion dollar settlement with two energy companies that used deceptive marketing tactics to mislead thousands of New Yorkers. Under the agreement, Columbia Utilities LLC and Columbia Utilities Power LLC (Columbia) will pay $2 million to refund New York consumers, $200,000 in state penalties, and an additional $750,000 suspended penalty if it fails to comply with the terms. In addition, Columbia will observe new restrictions on its marketing practices to prevent future fraudulent sales conduct. “Consumers were lured by Columbia’s false promises for huge savings and other deceptive practices, only to become burdened by more costly energy bills,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “These are difficult economic times, and predatory companies that exploit New Yorkers looking to save their hard-earned money will be held accountable. This settlement puts energy providers on notice that such consumer abu...

SIOUX FALLS, SD—U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Florida man charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud was sentenced on Monday, April 18, 2011, by U.S. District Judge Lawrence L. Piersol. Vij Misir, age 46, was sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $1.5 million to Midland National Life Insurance Company of Sioux Falls and $495,000 to West Coast Life. Just before Misir’s sentencing, his ex-wife and co-defendant, Rajmatee Kapadia, also appeared before Judge Piersol and pled guilty to the same charge. Rajmatee Kapadia entered her guilty plea to the same count, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years along with a potential maximum fine of $250,000. In her plea agreement, Kapadia accepted joint and several liability for the insurance restitution amounts imposed upon Misir. Misir and Kapadia were indicted for conspiracy to commit mail fraud by a fe...

Company Fired Black Employee Because of His Race, EEOC Charges WINSTON-SALEM , N.C. – A Winston-Salem, N.C. –based, family-owned and operated electric company discriminated against a black electrician when it fired him because of his race, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today. According to the EEOC’s suit, around Dec. 17, 2007, Salem Electric Company terminated Rodney Tonkins’ employment as a journeyman electrician, alleging that he was responsible for a crew of employees who damaged light fixtures on a light installation project. The EEOC contends in the suit that as a journeyman electrician, Tonkins did not supervise work crews and therefore was not responsible for the damaged light fixtures. Instead, according to the EEOC’s complaint, the company’s superintendent and foreman, both white, were in charge of the project and the crew workers. Neither of those individuals, nor the non-black employees who actually caused the damage t...

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that his office has intervened to stop a Rochester-based payroll company that defrauded hundreds of area businesses out of millions of dollars through an elaborate scheme where the owner kept money intended for taxes, using it instead for business and personal expenses. As part of the filing of a lawsuit, Cuomo obtained a court order freezing the assets of Paybooks, Inc. and its president, Jeffrey Sykes of Lime Kiln Road in Wayland. The order also appoints a receiver to operate the company and determine customer tax liability. An investigation by the Attorney General found that Sykes used his customers' money for personal and operating expenses when he should have been forwarding to governmental agencies as payroll tax payments. In total, Paybooks currently owes in excess of $2 million in late taxes, plus interest and penalties. The Attorney General's lawsuit against Sykes and Paybooks seeks restitution for customers and penaltie...