February 2013 Archives

Because  the number of consumers dying in debt has grown in recent years,  the FTC has gotten numerous complaints from people who are  being pursued by debt collectors regarding their loved ones’ debts.

The lawsuit alleges that Caribbean Cruise Line made unsolicited robo-dial calls to consumers on their cell phones, in violation of Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (TCPA).  According to the plaintiffs, the robo-calls were made under the guise of conducting a political survey. However, in reality, the survey was a ruse to gain the opportunity to sell cruises to consumers.  Caribbean Cruise Line submitted a motion to dismiss, containing 3 arguments, each of which the judge rejected.

According to the lawsuit WMS Solutions violated state and federal employment laws by making employees pay for job-related equipment and training out-of-pocket, as well as failed to pay them for time spent in required training courses.

The lawsuit alleged that Merrill Lynch required associates, who assisted financial advisors, to work more than 40 hours a week but failed to pay them overtime.  The lawsuit was filed by Nancy Martignago, a Merrill Lynch employee since 1985, on behalf of herself and other non-exempt client associates. (No. 11CIV03923)

Aimee Mansell, former Director of Patient Access Business Services for Kaiser Permanente won her wrongful termination lawsuit against them. According to Mansell she  was terminated after reporting what she believed was patient fraud.   She says in her complaint that she blew the whistle on her boss, Lisa Morrison, who had "devised a policy where Emergency Department employees, including Ms. Mansell, would collect an additional 'triage' charge from Emergency Department patients, or include the triage charge on that patient's invoice for services."

Plaintiff, Charles Brewer, a former California employee of GNC, claims that employees who worked the closing shifts at GNC retail stores were not properly paid for certain tasks they completed after clocking out for the day.   “At a certain point during the night, GNC retail store employees log off the cash register and clock out. But they are still required to perform closing duties, including making offsite bank deposits, which leads to overtime violations.” In other words, taking the deposit to the bank after clocking out constitutes overtime. (Case No.: 11-CV-03587 YGR).

The criminal complaint, filed January 23, 2013, has charged the owner, general manager and two supervisors of Wilshire West Car Wash with conspiracy to cheat employees out of their wages. The complaint accuses the defendants of violating California labor laws by prohibiting workers from taking rest and meal breaks, and “coercing employees into signing declarations which falsely stated that they had received paid breaks,” according to city prosecutors. It also accuses the defendants of falsifying and altering employees’ time cards to make it appear as though they worked fewer hours than they actually did.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Ford Motor Company for allegedly selling trucks with engine defects and concealing the problems to avoid paying for the repair costs under warranty. Six consumers brought the lawsuit on behalf of all current owners of 2004-2008 Ford trucks equipped with 5.4L engines having less than 80,000 miles. Jason Schmidt et al. v. Ford Motor Co.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel has agreed to pay $2 million to settle an overtime class action lawsuit filed by 1,500 current and/or former employees in California who allege they were not paid overtime wages. The 1,500 plaintiffs claim they were denied meal breaks, overtime and full pay for accrued vacations and paid time off days. Plaintiffs also allege that Ritz-Carlton denied them overtime pay if they did not receive prior authorization for working overtime.

When you have been hurt in an accident, your world can quickly turn upside down.  Dealing with the physical effects of an accident is traumatic enough, now you have to deal with medical bills, insurance companies and lost wages.  For many people it all becomes very overwhelming.

Considering how much Oprah Winfrey helps less fortunate people through her organizations such as, Oprah's Leadership Academy for Girls, one might be surprised to learn that her network, Own is being sued, following allegations of sex and pregnancy discrimination.