New York Paralegal Blog

WASHINGTON – U.S. District Court Judge Samuel B. Kent, 59, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Houston for allegedly attempting aggravated sexual abuse and for abusive sexual touching of a clerk’s office employee, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich announced. The indictment, returned today in the U.S. District Court in Houston, charges Kent with one count of attempted aggravated sexual abuse on March 23, 2007, and two counts of abusive sexual contact, which is alleged to have occurred on Aug. 29, 2003, and March 23, 2007. More...

The Federal Trade Commission has charged the marketer of a work-at-home business opportunity with violating federal law by falsely promising Spanish-speaking consumers substantial income for stuffing envelopes. The Commission seeks to prevent further violations and to obtain redress for affected consumers. In another matter, the remaining defendants in a similar scam have agreed to settle FTC charges for allegedly misleading consumers. According to the FTC’s complaint in the first case, the defendant marketed a fraudulent envelope-stuffing scheme to consumers throughout the nation, including Puerto Rico, via classified ads in Spanish-language newspapers and on a Web site available in Spanish and English. A typical print ad, translated from Spanish, stated that consumers could earn up to $1,500 and directed consumers to the Web site. More...

Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez joined President George W. Bush in announcing and congratulating the 2007 laureates for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nation’s highest honor for technological and scientific achievement. President Bush will present the six individuals and two corporations with their medals at a White House ceremony on September 29, 2008. “America leads the world in technological innovation because of men, women and cutting-edge corporations like those we honor this year,” Gutierrez said. “Their contributions to our society have impacted all of our lives and they serve as both an inspiration and as role models for future generations of American innovators.” More...

WASHINGTON — A former employee of the New York Power Authority (NYPA) pleaded guilty today to charges that he accepted approximately $167,000 in kickbacks and bribes from a vendor while he was at the purchasing department at the NYPA. Edward P. Goldblatt of Melville, N.Y., a former purchasing warehouse assistant at the NYPA, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn to conspiring to defraud the NYPA in a bribery scheme where he accepted kickback payments from a vendor. According to the information, Goldblatt also caused NYPA to pay fraudulent overcharges, which he then shared with that vendor. More...

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department today announced that on Aug. 26, 2008, it will monitor elections in the towns of Bayou La Batre and Marion, Ala., as well as in Seminole County, Fla., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). The VRA authorizes the Justice Department to ask the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to areas that are specially covered in the statute or by a federal court order. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Marion, Ala., based on the special coverage provisions. More...

By: Joel Irving A three hundred thousand dollar racial discrimination lawsuit was filed against JP Morgan Chase on August 8, 2008 in the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois (CASE #: 1:08-cv-04493). In the civil complaint the plaintiff, Rochelle M. Martin is alleging, among other things that JP Morgan Chase & Company, discriminated against her when it came to promoting her to a position that she was qualified for based on her 17 years of experience with JP Morgan chase. The plaintiff also alleges that the position she applied for was given to a newly hired white employee (who was trained by the plaintiff) who did not have the training or the qualifications outlined in the job posting.

WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice announced today that it has settled its employment lawsuit on behalf of Tracey Marshall, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, against the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Hillsborough County, Fla.The Department’s complaint, filed last October in the U.S. District Court in Tampa, alleged that the Clerk’s Office violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). The Clerk’s Office failed to reemploy Marshall in her prior position as supervisor of the Clerk’s Court Clerk II Section of the Circuit Criminal Division when she return from active duty in October 2005. In addition, it is alleged that the Clerk’s Office retaliated against Marshall after she took action under USERRA, by transferring her from the Clerk’s Circuit Criminal Division to the Clerks Traffic Department, which offered a lower pay rate. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the Clerk’s Office will reinstate Marshall to Manager of the Court Cl...

(NALA) - The data is based on analysis of the responses to the 2008 National Utilization and Compensation Survey report which was collected by a web based survey from October 15, 2007-February 15, 2008. There were 1434 responses received and utilized for this report. 5% of the population are males; 95% are females. The average age of survey participants is 45. 66% of the participants are members of NALA; 67% have received the Certified Legal Assistant/ Certified Paralegal credential. Respondents are from a diverse geographical area. Forty-eight states, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia are represented by the population. Among the regions of the United States, the Southeast region was represented by 42% of the respondents; Southwest region was represented by 20%; Far West was represented by 11%; Plains States was represented by 14%; Great Lakes was represented by 5%; Rocky Mountain states were represented by 4%; and New England/Mid East was represented by 4% of t...

(BLS) - Earnings of paralegals and legal assistants vary greatly. Salaries depend on education, training, experience, the type and size of employer, and the geographic location of the job. In general, paralegals who work for large law firms or in large metropolitan areas earn more than those who work for smaller firms or in less populated regions. In May 2006, full-time wage-and-salary paralegals and legal assistants had median annual earnings, including bonuses, of $43,040. The middle 50 percent earned between $33,920 and $54,690. The top 10 percent earned more than $67,540, and the bottom 10 percent earned less than $27,450. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of paralegals were: Federal Government $56,080 Management of companies and enterprises 52,220 Local government 42,170 Legal services 41,460 State government 38,020 In addition to earning a salary, many paralegals receive bonuses, in part, to compensate them for sometimes having to work l...

(FTC) - Airborne Health, Inc., the Bonita Springs, Florida maker of the popular Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, an effervescent tablet marketed as a cold prevention and treatment remedy, has agreed to pay up to $30 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it did not have adequate evidence to support its advertising claims. The FTC’s lawsuit also names Victoria Knight-McDowell, the former schoolteacher who invented Airborne, and her husband Thomas John McDowell. If the settlement is approved by the court, it will prohibit the defendants from making false and unsubstantiated cold prevention, germ-fighting, and efficacy claims. The monetary judgment will be satisfied by the defendants’ adding $6.5 million to the funds they have already agreed to pay to settle a related private class-action lawsuit, bringing the total settlement fund to $30 million. “There is no credible evidence that Airborne products, taken as directed, will reduce the severity or duration of colds,...