Thursday, January 5, 2012

Breakings News!!! --- PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS FOR CONSUMERS AND LABOR RELATIONS

President Barack Obama has made 4 recess appointments, on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012, to his Administration: including 3 new members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the first person to head the brand new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) --- Richard Cordray.

The three newly-appointed NLRB members are Sharon Block, Terence F. Flynn and Richard Griffin.

Richard Cordray was, from 2008 to 2010, the Attorney General for the State of Ohio. He will lead the new CFPB with enforcement of Federal rules aimed at reining in abusive mortgage servicers, student lenders and payday-loan companies, among others.

[Also see, "Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets", Charles Jerome Ware, iUniverse Publishers (2011)]

Monday, January 2, 2012

NEWS LAWS IN 2012: PART 2

[Part 1 was posted on Friday, December 30, 2011 as "2012: NEW LAWS UPDATE"]

About 40,000 new state laws are now in effect as of January 1st, 2012.

(6) There are new laws about getting abortions in New Hampshire: girls seeking abortions must tell their parents or a judge first.

(7) Employers in California cannot use consumer credit reports to evaluate job candidates, except for some exempted positions or when employers obtain prior consent from job applicants.

(8) In Delaware, civil union or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples are now legal.

(9) In Georgia, municipalities with 911 call centers require retailers who sell prepaid cellphones to charge fees to support the emergency systems.

(10) In Illinois, motorcyclists who are stopped at a red light may proceed through the light if it fails to change to green after a "reasonable period of time".

(11) In Nevada, a statewide emergency alert system is established for vulnerable elderly persons, very similar to the Amber Alert system for abducted children.

(12) The California Dream Act expands eligibility for private scholarships to students brought to the U.S. illegally when they were infants.

(13) Eight (8) states have now raised the minimum wage: Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Colorado, Ohio, Vermont and Florida.

[See also: "The Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases", by former U.S. Immigration Judge Charles Jerome Ware; and "Understanding the Law: A Primer", by Attorney Charles Jerome Ware]

"VERIZON RIP-OFF" Rescinded

Following up on our Verizon blogs and tweets on Friday, December 30, 2011, Verizon has now "blinked" and will not go ahead with its plan to charge a $2 fee pre transaction to customers for paying their Verizon bill with a credit card. 

The public outcry against Verizon for proposing this onerous plan was, and continues to be, most dramatic.