Feb 9, 2022 | Blog, Product Liability
Home Easy Recalls Geek Heat Personal Heaters Due To Fire Hazard
The recall involves the Home Easy Geek Heat DH-QN06 personal heaters. The Geek Heat logo is printed on the top of the heater near the vent and the model number is printed on the underside of the heater. The heater measures 20 inches in length, 13 inches in width and is sold in white.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled heaters and contact Home Easy for a full refund. Consumers should destroy the recalled heaters by unplugging the heater prior to cutting the electrical cord making the product inoperable and then prominently mark on the product “defective” before disposal, following local disposal guidelines. Consumers should take a photo of the cut electrical cord for submission to Home Easy at [email protected]. Home Easy is contacting all known purchasers directly.
Home Easy has received three reports of the toggle power switch causing a fire. No injuries or property damage have been reported.
For more information, please click Personal Electric Heaters.
BFG North Carolina Recalls Chest Of Drawers Due To Tip-Over And Entrapment Hazards; Sold Exclusively at Rooms To Go
This recall involves River Street Five-Drawer Chests, sold in mocha and graphite colors. The River Street chests measure about 46.25 inches tall, 35.15 inches wide and 16.9 inches deep. “INDD 2425-6 CHEST,” “Made in Brazil.” SKU number 32624252 (mocha) or “INDD 423-6 CHEST,” “Made in Brazil,” SKU number 32624238 (graphite), and the manufacture date (“Prod. Date”) – in month/day/year format (MM/DD/YYYY) – are printed on a label on the back of unit along with the words “Manufacturer – Industria de Moveis Rotta Ltda.” The recalled chests were manufactured between December 2018 and October 2021.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled chests and contact Rooms To Go for a free in-home repair by trained technicians, free replacement, or a full refund of the purchase price in the form of a Rooms To Go store credit, including free pick-up of the chest. Rooms To Go is contacting all known purchasers directly.
No incidents or injuries have been reported.
For more information, please click River Street Five-Drawer Chests.
Source: CPSC.gov
Individuals Harmed By Defective Or Misleading Consumer Products And/Or Product Recalls
If you have been the victim of a defective or misleading consumer product and/or product recall, please contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C., [email protected], for a free, confidential consultation and no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims.
Feb 9, 2022 | Data Breach
Recent Data Breach Notifications – National Math and Science Initiative / AccelHealth / Injured Workers Pharmacy / Morley Companies, Inc.
Information compromised from the data breach of this company, which processes information for health plans, that may have been subject to unauthorized accessed included name, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number, and health information.
For more information about the data breach, please click Morley Companies, Inc. Data Breach Notification and Morley Companies, Inc. Data Breach Notification Update.
On February 10, 2022, a class action lawsuit was filed in United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Northern Division, against Morley Companies, Inc. “on behalf of individuals whose sensitive personal information was stolen by cybercriminals in a massive ransomware type malware attack on Defendant Morley beginning July 20, 2021, and first observed August 1, 2021.”
Information compromised from the data breach of this education organization that could have been subject to unauthorized access included name, address, and Social Security number.
For more information about the data breach, please click National Math and Science Initiative Data Breach Notification.
Information compromised from the data breach of this healthcare organization which could have been subject to unauthorized access included name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number, financial account information, health insurance information, medical record number, and treatment/diagnosis information.
For more information about the data breach, please click AccelHealth Data Breach Notification.
Information compromised from the data breach of this healthcare company which could have been subject to unauthorized access included name, address, and Social Security number.
For more information about the data breach, please click Injured Workers Pharmacy Data Breach Notification.
Source (except for lawsuit information): Office of The Maine Attorney General, Data Breach Notifications.
Have You Been Harmed As A Result Of A Data Breach Which Has Exposed Your Private Personal, Protected Health Or Personally Identifiable Information?
If you have experienced actual or attempted harm or been the victim of fraud, due to the illegal or unauthorized exposure of your private personal, protected health or personally identifiable information, please contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C., [email protected], for a free, confidential consultation and no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims.
Feb 9, 2022 | Blog, Shareholder & Investor Protection
SEC Proposes New Rule To Enhance Private Fund Investor Protection
On February 9, 2022, the SEC announced that it voted to propose new rules and amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”) to enhance the regulation of private fund advisers and to protect private fund investors by increasing transparency, competition, and efficiency in the $18-trillion marketplace.
Among other things, the proposed rules would increase transparency by requiring registered private fund advisers to provide investors with quarterly statements detailing certain information regarding fund fees, expenses, and performance.
For more information, please click either Proposed Rule or Fact Sheet.
SEC Proposes Cybersecurity Risk Management Rules And Amendments For Registered Investment Advisers And Funds
On February 9, 2022, the SEC announced that it voted to propose rules related to cybersecurity risk management for registered investment advisers, and registered investment companies and business development companies (funds), as well as amendments to certain rules that govern investment adviser and fund disclosures.
The proposed rules, among other things, would require advisers and funds to adopt and implement written cybersecurity policies and procedures designed to address cybersecurity risks that could harm advisory clients and fund investors. The proposed rules also would require advisers to report significant cybersecurity incidents affecting the adviser or its fund or private fund clients to the SEC on a new confidential form.
For more information, please click either Proposed Rule or Fact Sheet.
SEC Issues Proposal to Reduce Risks in Clearance and Settlement
On February 9, 2022, the SEC announced that it voted to propose rule changes to reduce risks in the clearance and settlement of securities, including by shortening the standard settlement cycle for most broker-dealer transactions in securities from two business days after the trade date (T+2) to one business day after the trade date (T+1). The proposed changes are designed to reduce the credit, market, and liquidity risks in securities transactions faced by market participants and U.S. investors.
In addition to shortening the standard settlement cycle, the proposal includes rules directed at broker-dealers and registered investment advisers to shorten the process of confirming and affirming the trade information necessary to prepare a transaction for settlement so that it can be completed by the end of trade date. Further, the proposal includes a new requirement to facilitate straight-through processing, which would apply to certain types of clearing agencies that provide central matching services. Central matching service providers help facilitate the processing of institutional trades between broker-dealers and their institutional customers. The proposed rule would require new policies and procedures directed to straight-through processing and require an annual report on progress with the process.
For more information, please click either Proposed Rule or Fact Sheet.
Source: SEC.gov
Feb 9, 2022 | Overtime & Wages
DOL Investigation Results In Indiana Home Health Care Provider Being Ordered To Pay Back Wages & Damages To 171 Caregivers
An Indianapolis employer assigned home healthcare workers to shifts at two related companies, but failed to combine the hours, denying them earned overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours per week for the same employer.
Under terms of a consent judgment, a federal court ordered Timothy Paul, owner of both Heal at Home LLC and TPS Caregiving LLC – operating as Comfort Keepers – to pay $215,859 in overtime back wages and an additional $216,938 in liquidated damages and interest to 171 workers. In the decision issued, Jan. 20, 2022, Judge Sarah Evans Barker also enjoined the employer from violating the Fair Labor Standards Act in the future.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the employer violated the FLSA when it issued workers separate checks at “straight time” for hours worked at each facility when it should have combined hours and paid overtime at time and one-half employee’s rate of pay when employees exceeded 40 hours a week.
Victims Of Employer Wage And Hour Violations
Employees who have been harmed by wage and hour violations have the right, under the FLSA, to file a private lawsuit to recover back wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.
If you believe you were not paid proper wages or overtime, misclassified as exempt from overtime or harmed by other employer wage and hour violations, please complete the form above on the right or email [email protected] to request a free, confidential consultation and no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims.
Feb 9, 2022 | Overtime & Wages
Federal Court Orders New Jersey Company & Executives To Pay Over $700K To Workers Denied Overtime
A federal court in New Jersey ordered an electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning company based in Union, NJ and its two co-managers, to pay 89 electricians, electrician helpers and HVAC technicians after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the defendants deliberately denied overtime.
In a consent judgment a federal court ordered FTR Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Inc. – operating as FTR Electrical & HVAC Services – the company’s part-owner, President Antonio Goncalves, and company Vice President Francisco Carmo to pay $711,694 in back wages and liquidated damages to the affected workers. The court also ordered the employer and its co-managers to pay $16,450 in civil money penalties and interest to the Department of Labor for their willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The court’s action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division into the employer’s pay practices and litigation by the Office of the Solicitor. The Wage and Hour Division found that the defendants willfully violated the FLSA when they did the following:
- Paid employees straight-time for hours worked over 40 per week.
- Required employees to work off the clock and did not pay them for all hours worked.
- Required employees to clock in when they started work each workday, but directed them not to clock out when they finished working at the end of each workday.
- Paid employees for a maximum of eight hours each workday, regardless of how many hours employees actually worked each day.
- Failed to pay additional wages to employees who regularly worked more than eight hours each workday, resulting in workweeks longer than forty hours.
- Failed to maintain accurate records of employees’ hours worked and total wages paid.
Victims Of Employer Wage And Hour Violations
Employees who have been harmed by wage and hour violations have the right, under the FLSA, to file a private lawsuit to recover back wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.
If you believe you were not paid proper wages or overtime, misclassified as exempt from overtime or harmed by other employer wage and hour violations, please complete the form above on the right or email [email protected] to request a free, confidential consultation and no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims.
