Jul 13, 2020 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
American Medical Technologies Reports Potential Data Security Incident Possibly Involving Personal Information
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that American Medical Technologies (“AMT”) submitted a “breach notification sample” letter to the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, which, among other things, stated that “[o]n or about December 17, 2019 [AMT] discovered suspicious activity within an employee’s email account.” According to AMT, “[a]fter an extensive and comprehensive investigation and data mining process, on May 14, 2020, [AMT] learned that [one’s] personal information may have been available to the attacker during the incident.”
Of significance, AMT reported that its investigation disclosed that “. . . Social Security number, medical record number, diagnosis information, health insurance policy or individual subscriber number, medical history information, HIPAA account information, driver’s license/state identification number, or taxpayer ID number, may have been impacted by this incident.”
Have You Been Impacted by A Data Breach?
If so, please either contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C., Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], complete the form on the right or e-mail [email protected] for a free, no-obligation case evaluation of your facts to determine whether your privacy rights have been violated and whether there is a basis for a data privacy class action.
Examples of the type of relief sought by data privacy class actions, include, but are not limited to, reimbursement of identity theft losses and of out-of-pocket costs paid by data breach victims for protective measures such as credit monitoring services, credit reports, and credit freezes; compensation for time spent responding to the breach; imposition of credit monitoring services and identity theft insurance, paid for by the defendant company; and improvements to the defendant company’s data security systems.
Data privacy class actions are brought on a contingent-fee basis; thus, plaintiffs and the class members do not pay out-of-pocket attorney’s fees or litigation costs. Subject to court approval, attorney’s fees and litigation costs are derived from the recovery obtained for the class.
Jun 18, 2020 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
FTC Sends Additional Warning Letters To 30 More Marketers Nationwide To Stop Making Unsubstantiated Claims That Their Products And Therapies Can Treat Or Prevent COVID-19, The Disease Caused By the Novel Coronavirus
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on June 18, 2020, the FTC announced that it has sent a seventh set of warning letters to 30 more marketers nationwide as part of the FTC’s ongoing efforts to protect consumers from health-related COVID-19 scams. In total, thus far, the FTC has sent similar letters to 250 companies and individuals.
Most of the letters sent by the FTC target “treatments” the FTC has warned companies about previously, including intravenous (“IV”) Vitamin C and D infusions, supposed stem cell therapy, vitamin injections, essential oils, and CBD products. Other letters sent recently challenged claims that infrared heat, oral peroxide gel, and oxygen therapy can treat or cure COVD-19. However, currently there is no scientific evidence that these, or any, products or services can treat or cure the disease.
The FTC’s most recent letters announced on June 18, 2020 were sent to the companies and individuals listed below, and the recipients are grouped based on the type of therapy, product, or service they pitched as preventing or treating COVID-19.
CBD
Essential Oils
Infrared Heat
Intravenous (IV) Vitamin and Ozone/Oxygen Therapies
- Arlington Integrative Medical Center (Arlington, Texas)
- Dr. Miguel Gonzalez (Thousand Oaks, California)
- Joyce Palmer (Tucson, Arizona)
- Koi Wellbeing (La Jolla, California)
- NewSkin Laser Center (Northridge, California)
- Taylor Medical Wellness, Weight Loss and Aesthetic Group (Atlanta, Georgia)
- The Grossgold Clinic (Clearwater, Florida)
- The Remedy Room (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Utopia Wellness (Oldsmar, Florida)
Oral Peroxide Gel
Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy
Stem Cell Treatments
Supplements, Vitamins, and Colloidal Silver
- Dr. Laura E. Koniver (Fort Mill, South Carolina) and Intuition Physician, LLC (Haymarket, Virginia)
- Herbal Arc (Langhorne, Pennsylvania)
- Encode Nutrition (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Fussy Body
- Huber Personalized Medicine, LLC (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- Integrative Medicine Center of Western Colorado (Grand Junction, Colorado)
- Joy Wellness Partners (San Diego, California)
- Loudoun Holistic Health Partners (Leesburg, Virginia)
- The Herb Doctor (Fountain, Colorado)
In the letters, the FTC states that one or more of the efficacy claims made by the marketers are unsubstantiated, because they are not supported by scientific evidence, and, therefore, violate the FTC Act. The letters advise the recipients to immediately stop making all claims that their products can treat or cure COVID-19, and to notify the FTC within 48 hours about the specific actions they have taken to address the agency’s concerns. The letters also note that if the false claims do not cease, the FTC may seek a federal court injunction and an order requiring money to be refunded to consumers. In April, the FTC announced its first case against a marketer of such products, Marc Ching, doing business as Whole Leaf Organics.
Source: Federal Trade Commission – FTC.gov
Jun 15, 2020 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Action Filed Against Rite Aid of New York and Rite Aid Corporation To Recover Overtime Compensation For Non-Exempt Hourly Positions
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making employees aware that on June 12, 2020, a class action complaint was filed against Rite Aid of New York, Inc. and Rite Aid Corporation (collectively, “Rite Aid”) in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to recover overtime compensation and other damages for non-exempt hourly positions (e.g., security guards, asset protection agents, cashiers, pharmacy technicians, stockers) who work or have worked for Rite Aid.
According to the class action complaint:
Defendants are liable under the FLSA [Fair Labor Standards Act] for, inter alia, failing to properly compensate Plaintiff and the FLSA Collective for their overtime hours worked.
Consistent with Defendants’ policies and patterns or practices, Plaintiff and the FLSA Collective were not paid the proper premium overtime compensation of 1.5 times their regular rates of pay, including earned bonus pay, for all hours worked beyond 40 per workweek.
The lawsuit also alleges claims on behalf of certain hourly workers who worked for Rite Aid in New York to remedy alleged violations of New York Labor Law.
Do You Believe Your Wage and Hour or Overtime Pay Rights Have Been Violated?
If you believe your wage and hour or overtime pay rights have been violated please either contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. Partner Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], complete the form on the right or send an e-mail to [email protected] for a free, no-obligation case evaluation of your facts to determine whether your wage and hour or overtime rights have been violated and whether there is a basis for a class action lawsuit.
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. prosecutes wage and hour class actions on a contingent-fee basis; thus, plaintiffs and the class members do not pay out-of-pocket attorney’s fees or litigation costs. Subject to court approval, attorney’s fees and litigation costs are derived from the recovery obtained for the class.
Jun 15, 2020 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Evidence of Unauthorized Access to Files With Personal Information
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that MaxLinear, Inc. filed a data breach notification with the State of California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, regarding “a security incident affecting some of [MaxLinear’s] systems.”
The breach notification stated, among other things, that MaxLinear’s “. . . investigation to-date has identified evidence of unauthorized access to [its] systems from approximately April 15, 2020 until May 24, 2020[,]” and the company’s “. . . investigation has also identified evidence of unauthorized access to files containing personal information . . ..”
MaxLinear stated in the notification that “[t]he information contained in these documents may include your name, personal and company email address and personal mailing address, employee ID number, driver’s license number, financial account number, Social Security number, date of birth, work location, compensation and benefit information, dependent, and date of employment.” [Emphasis added.]
Have You Been Impacted by A Data Breach?
If so, please either contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C., Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], complete the form on the right or e-mail [email protected] for a free, no-obligation case evaluation of your facts to determine whether your privacy rights have been violated and whether there is a basis for a data privacy class action.
Examples of the type of relief sought by data privacy class actions, include, but are not limited to, reimbursement of identity theft losses and of out-of-pocket costs paid by data breach victims for protective measures such as credit monitoring services, credit reports, and credit freezes; compensation for time spent responding to the breach; imposition of credit monitoring services and identity theft insurance, paid for by the defendant company; and improvements to the defendant company’s data security systems.
Data privacy class actions are brought on a contingent-fee basis; thus, plaintiffs and the class members do not pay out-of-pocket attorney’s fees or litigation costs. Subject to court approval, attorney’s fees and litigation costs are derived from the recovery obtained for the class.
Jun 10, 2020 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
FTC Alleges Kohl’s Violated Fair Credit Reporting Act By Refusing To Provide Victims of Identity Theft With Complete Records of Questionable Transactions
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that an FTC complaint against Kohl’s Department Stores alleges Kohl’s violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) by refusing to provide victims of identity theft with complete records of questionable transactions – a right the FCRA guarantees to victimized consumers.
According to the FTC, if, for example, a consumer notices unauthorized charges or lines of credit suggesting they are victims of identity theft, the consumer will need copies of documents from the businesses where those transactions occurred. Once a consumer asks for those documents, Section 609(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives businesses 30 days to provide the records. The law allows businesses to require proof of identity (like a driver’s license) and proof of the identity theft (like a police report and affidavit), but the whole idea behind the provision is to avoid re-victimizing consumers by tying them up in red tape.
Kohl’s original practice, according to the FTC, was to provide records to victims within 30 days, subject to proper verification. In February 2017, Kohl’s changed its policy and would share information identifying the identify thief only with law enforcement or with a victim’s attorney – not with the victimized consumer.
In August 2018, Kohl’s changed its policy again and gave customers with a Kohl’s charge account a more expansive list of business and transaction records – for example, statements, receipts, and applications. Kohl’s, however, still refused to give them information identifying the alleged thief (including the address and phone number listed on a fraudulent application or the shipping address used for fraudulent orders). Kohl’s also stopped providing that information to victims’ attorneys, which left victims with only one recourse: a direct request from a law enforcement agency.
According to the FTC’s complaint, the company’s revised policies left consumers with no practical way to get the documentation they needed to establish the charges were not theirs. Additionally, individuals whose lives had already been turned upside down by identity thieves now found themselves at odds with Kohl’s. Even when consumers complained to Kohl’s and sent the company copies of Section 609(e) of the FCRA and accompanying FTC guidance documents, the FTC’s complaint alleges that Kohl’s stonewalled them.
According to the FTC, it wasn’t until April 2019 that Kohl’s finally revised its policy to provide victims with the credit application and transaction records for which they asked. The FTC’s complaint charges that Kohl’s violated the FCRA by failing to provide consumers with the records they had a right to under the law. The FTC also says the company violated Section 609(e)’s 30-day requirement. In addition to a $220,000 civil penalty, the settlement requires Kohl’s to provide identity theft victims with business transaction records related to the theft within 30 days. Kohl’s also must post a notice on its website advising victims how to get those records and must certify that it reached out to victims who were unlawfully denied access to those records in the past.
Source: Federal Trade Commission – FTC.gov
Jun 10, 2020 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Lawsuit Alleges Moneygram Payment Systems, Inc. Caused Thousands of Unsolicited Text Messages To Be Sent To Cell Phones
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on June 9, 2020, a class action lawsuit was filed against Moneygram Payment Systems, Inc. (“Moneygram”) in United States District Court, Western District of Washington, for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
According to the class action complaint, Moneygram, sent unsolicited text messages, which promoted Moneygram’s goods and services, to the Plaintiff’s cell phone from 620-57. The unsolicited text messages the Plaintiff received were, according to the complaint, as follows:
The complaint alleges that “[u]pon information and belief, Defendant caused thousands of unsolicited text messages to be sent to the cellular telephones of Plaintiff and Class Members, causing them injuries, including invasion of their privacy, aggravation, annoyance, intrusion on seclusion, trespass, and conversion.”
Do You Believe You Are a Victim of Illegal Robocalls, Text Messages, “Junk” Faxes or Telemarketing Sales Calls?
If you have received illegal robocalls, text messages, “junk” faxes or telemarketing sales calls, you may be able to recover at least $500 for each illegal call, text or fax you received and, possibly, as much as $1,500 for each illegal call, text message or facsimile that was made either willfully or knowingly in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
To help evaluate your potential legal claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, please complete KLF’s confidential Robocall Questionnaire or, if you prefer to speak with an attorney, please complete the form above on the right, e-mail [email protected] or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., [email protected], (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your potential legal rights.
