New York Paralegal Blog

The recent $16.75 million settlement reached by New York Attorney General Letitia James with DoorDash is more than just a large financial penalty; it's a powerful statement about consumer protection and worker compensation in the gig economy. At its core, this case reveals how an allegedly deceptive business practice can run afoul of New York state law and the significant legal consequences that follow. The Core Allegation: Deception and Misleading Practices The essence of the DoorDash investigation focused on the company's payment model used between May 2017 and September 2019. The Attorney General alleged that DoorDash misled both customers and delivery workers ("Dashers") regarding the handling of tips. 1. The Tip-Subsidization Scheme In this model, DoorDash guaranteed Dashers a minimum payment for a delivery. The deception was not that tips were withheld entirely, but that they were used to subsidize DoorDash's own pay obligations: The Customer...

WASHINGTON – Caterpillar Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.55 million civil penalty to settle alleged Clean Air Act violations for shipping more than 590,000 highway and non-road engines without the correct emissions controls, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.   Caterpillar also allegedly failed to comply with emission control reporting and engine-labeling requirements.   Engines operating without proper emissions controls can emit excess nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter and other air pollutants that impact people’s health, potentially causing respiratory illnesses and aggravating asthma.  

WASHINGTON - Comverse Technology Inc. (CTI), a New York City headquartered corporation, has agreed to pay a $1.2 million penalty for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. CTI, through its main operating subsidiary Comverse Inc. and Comverse Inc.’s subsidiaries, is a global provider of software and software systems for communication and billing services. According to the non-prosecution agreement, CTI has accepted responsibility for violating the books and records provisions of the FCPA arising from and related to CTI’s failure to record accurately certain improper payments that were made between 2003 and 2006 by employees and a third-party agent of Comverse Inc. subsidiaries to individuals connected to OTE, a Greek telecommunications provider, in order to obtain purchase orders. The payments, totaling approximately $536,000, were inaccurately characterized as legitimate agent commission...

WASHINGTON – JGC Corporation has agreed to pay a $218.8 million criminal penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for its participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced today. With today’s resolution, each of the four companies in the TSKJ joint venture, the former chairman of the U.S. joint venture partner, and several other individuals have now been held accountable for a massive conspiracy to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain lucrative construction contracts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The approximately $1.5 billion in criminal and civil penalties that have been imposed on the members of the joint venture far exceed their profits from the scheme. Foreign bribery is a serious crime, and as this ca...