New York Paralegal Blog

NEW YORK, NY (August 31, 2009) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that his office reached an agreement with Dreamland Amusements, Inc. (“Dreamland”), a New York-based traveling carnival operator to pay workers back for unpaid wages as well as to change its policies and procedures to ensure compliance with labor and civil rights laws. Today’s announcement comes as a result of an extensive investigation into allegations of labor and civil rights violations. Attorney General Cuomo’s investigation began after his Office received complaints from ride operators who are primarily Mexican workers who Dreamland recruited through a temporary work visa program, which is referred to as the H2B program. The complaints alleged that the workers were denied minimum and overtime wages and subjected to substandard living conditions, while other workers who were not Mexican received preferable conditions. Under the agreement, the company must pay its workers $325,000 in back wages, ensu...

If your relative leaves unpaid debts when he or she dies, do you have to pay? According to the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, surviving relatives usually have no legal obligation to pay the debts of a family member who has died. Generally, that person’s estate is responsible for paying his or her debts. But if there isn’t enough in the estate to cover the debts, they typically go unpaid. After a relative dies, debt collectors may contact family members and ask them to pay their loved ones’ debts. The rights of surviving relatives are covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which the FTC enforces. The FTC has developed a new consumer alert about this issue titled Paying the Debts of a Deceased Relative: Who Is Responsible? To learn more, go to: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt159.shtm. The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide informatio...