By Steve Kardell | Published August 13, 2020 | Posted in Employee Rights, Whistleblower Litigation | Tagged Tags: covid-19, nysna, workplace safety | Comments Off on New York Nurses Union Sues Over Poor COVID-19 Working Conditions
New York Nurses Union Sues Over Poor COVID-19 Working Conditions
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) filed three lawsuits, alleging failures on the part of several healthcare entities to protect nurses in COVID-19 wards. The defendants in the suit were the New York State Department of Health and a pair of New York hospitals: Westchester Medical Center and Monteflore Medical Center. The three lawsuits Read More
Read More
Wells Fargo Accused of Unfair Methods of Processing PPP Applications
A company filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo on behalf of small business owners, alleging the bank took unfair actions against small businesses seeking COVID-19 relief through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP was implemented as a means of incentivizing small businesses throughout the United States to avoid worker layoffs and offer up to Read More
Read More
COVID-19 Fraud Cases are Coming: What To Expect
Healthcare fraud costs American taxpayers billions of dollars every year. With the widespread coronavirus pandemic, it is expected that much of the fraud in 2020 will be related to the COVID-19 crisis. But what will COVID-19 fraud look like? What we’re already seeing This spring, the United States Department of Justice put out a press Read More
Read More
Long Island City Council Creates New Law for Greater Whistleblower Protections During Pandemic
Members of the City Council for Long Island City developed new legislation to offer greater protections for whistleblowers who speak out about workplace safety issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to keep all essential workers safer and to hold employers liable for the working conditions they maintain. About the legislation Under the new Read More
Read More
Employees Take Legal Action Against Smithfield Foods, Alleging Negligence During Pandemic
Meat packing plants across the nation have been in the news throughout the spring for the challenges they’ve faced in staying operational while also keeping their employees safe from the COVID-19 pandemic. One of these plants, Smithfield Foods in Milan, Missouri, is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by an employee who alleges the Read More
Read More
Employers Now Have Expanded Whistleblower Liability Under OSHA Rules
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced some changes to its whistleblower system that will result in employers having greater liability in whistleblower cases. OSHA has had a massive increase in the number of whistleblower complaints filed in recent years, and it is expected this number will only continue to grow. The number Read More
Read More
Florida Attorney General Goes After Third-Party Vendors for Gouging Prices on Amazon
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced subpoenas issued to 43 third-party vendors in the state that are alleged to have gouged prices of essential items on Amazon.com to take advantage of greater demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state announced it would coordinate with Amazon itself to ensure proper price enforcement. The vendors were accused Read More
Read More
Amazon Worker Fired After Leading Protest Against Poor Working Conditions
Chris Smalls, an assistant warehouse manager for Amazon, was recently fired after organizing a walking protest over working conditions at the company’s facility on Staten Island. The incident quickly made national news and has drawn harsh criticism for the massive online retailer, including from Mayor Bill de Blasio, and the New York attorney general. Case Read More
Read More
Chicago Nurse Claims She Was Fired for Warning About COVID-19 Mask Inadequacies
A nurse in Chicago is claiming wrongful termination after she warned colleagues the masks they were given by Northwestern Memorial Hospital were insufficient protection against the COVID-19 virus. The nurse, Lauri Mazurkiewicz, says she emailed colleagues and supervisors the day before she was terminated, saying N95 face masks are safer than the masks that the Read More
Read More
Monetary Rewards Make Good Incentive for Whistleblowers, but Aren’t the Only Reason They Report Wrongdoing
Over the last decade, a variety of programs have started up in federal agencies that incentivize whistleblowers to come forward with tips about wrongdoing within their companies or organizations, and potentially share in the money recovered through sanctions. The most well-known of these programs is the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) whistleblower program, but several Read More
Read More
