Nearly a year after rumors began swirling that Google could face a record-breaking fine in order to put a six-year long European antitrust investigation related to its search behind it. European regulators are ordering the tech giant to pay up, to the tune of $2.7 billion. [More]
pay up
United Facing $435K Fine For Allegedly Flying A Plane That Wasn’t In Airworthy Condition
By 6.1.17
United Airlines may have to fork over $435,000 to the Federal Aviation Administration after the agency accused it of flying an aircraft that wasn’t in airworthy condition almost two dozen times. [More]
Charter Disconnects Some Former TWC Subscribers Mid-Day, Demands More Money
By 5.19.17
When Charter bought up Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in 2016, customers who suddenly found themselves paying Charter bills knew they were in for a few big changes. One of those was an inevitable price increase, which for some customers began even before the merger was formally approved or completed. But even though you might expect your cable bill to creep inexorably upward, you probably don’t expect it to happen in the middle of the afternoon with a sudden channel blackout. [More]
Jewelry Store Worker Ordered To Pay $34.5K For Posting Fake Yelp Review Of Rival
By 4.6.17
While it might be tempting to trash a competing business online, faking a Yelp review can be costly, as one Massachusetts jewelry store employee recently found out. [More]
Jury Awards Burglary Victim $1.3M After Insurance Company Rejects $134K Water Damage Claim
By 4.3.17
It’s upsetting enough to have strangers break into your house and steal a bunch of your stuff, but one California homeowner also had to deal with more than a hundred thousand dollars’ worth of water damage caused when burglars filled up the bathtub and left the tap on. But when his insurance company wouldn’t fork over the cash to cover the damages, he took his claim to court. [More]
State Claims Hilton Paid Woman Less Than Male Coworkers, Including Her Son
By 2.10.17
New Jersey’s top prosecutor has accused Hilton of unlawful discrimination for paying a female Homewood Suites employee less than her male equivalents, including her son. [More]
Trump Golf Club Must Pay $5M To Members Who Paid Dues But Weren’t Allowed To Play
By 2.2.17
Former members who sued the Trump National Golf Club are owed more than $5 million after a federal judge ruled in found that the company breached its membership contract by taking plaintiffs’ dues while barring them from actually using the club. [More]
Cox Expands Data Caps, Now Charges Overage Fees In 8 States
By 1.25.17
There’s been an air of inevitability around it for some time, but Cox customers around the country are finally getting the bad news for real: This week, the cable company has started telling millions more subscribers that they will be facing overage fees in the near future. [More]
Verizon Sending All Non-Emergency Calls Made On Recalled Note 7s To Customer Service
By 1.18.17
Even though Verizon recently pushed out a software update that deliberately disables the recalled Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the company says thousands of subscribers continue to use their potentially dangerous devices. Now Verizon is deploying another tactic to block these Note 7 owners from using their phone — rerouting all non-emergency calls to customer service. [More]
Would Surge Pricing Help Prevent Traffic Gridlock On Busy Roadways?
By 1.17.17
A few months after Lyft’s last manifesto regarding the future of transportation, company executives are once again laying out a plan to tackle traffic issues. Specifically, congestion pricing aimed at preventing traffic jams in our cities’ busiest highways and byways. [More]
Lottery Players Want A Refund For Buying Losing Tickets To Rigged Games
By 1.4.17
The fallout of a rigged lottery scheme perpetrated by the former director of security for Des Moines-based Multi-State Lottery Association continues in the form of a lawsuit from hundreds of thousands of people who want refunds for their losing tickets. [More]
Cox Customers In Florida, Georgia Now Have To Pay Up For Hitting Data Caps
By 10.28.16
Cox Communications upped it’s data cap to 1 TB per month recently, joining the club with peers AT&T and Comcast. The silver lining was that at the time, only one city’s subscribers had to pay up if they hit the limit. But too bad, so sad: the pool of people who have to cough up cash for using extra data is spreading now, too. [More]
EU Regulators: Apple Owes Ireland $14.5 Billion In Back Taxes
By 8.30.16
That thing where corporations do anything they can to pay as little tax as possible doesn’t just hit inside the U.S. Companies that relocate part of their operations overseas to avoid an American tax bill still have to pay the taxes they owe to the countries they’re in, and that’s what European antitrust regulators say Apple hasn’t properly done. [More]
Woman Wins $10K From Microsoft For Automatic Windows 10 Upgrade
By 6.27.16
The chorus of complaints from PC users over how pushy Microsoft has been with its Windows 10 upgrades reached a new level recently, after a woman won a $10,000 judgment against the company for an automatic installation gone wrong that she said seriously mucked up her computer. [More]
143 NY Nail Salons Ordered To Pay Employees $2M In Back Wages
By 5.9.16
The New York task force created last year by the state to combat nail salon labor abuses is having an effect on the industry, with the group announcing today that it’s ordered a slew of nail salons to pay millions in back wages to employees. [More]
Terminix Fined $10M After Family Severely Injured By Illegal Pesticide In Luxury Condo
By 3.30.16
You might recall the story of the family from Delaware that became seriously ill after possibly coming into contact with an illegal pesticide at the luxury condo they were vacationing at in the Virgin Islands. Now Terminix is on the hook for $10 million in fines after workers sprayed toxic methyl bromide in the building. [More]
Hormel Must Pay Workers For The Time It Takes To Put On, Take Off Uniforms
By 3.1.16
Over the past several years, companies have come under scrutiny for a variety of practices that some see as wage theft, including not providing reimbursement for uniforms, requiring some work to be performed off the clocks, and mandating employees clock out for a break even if they don’t take one. Today, Wisconsin’s highest court found that Hormel Foods owes hundreds of workers back wages for failing to provide compensation for the time spent putting on and taking off required clothing and equipment. [More]
Workers Who Secure Parking For NYC Movie Shoots Claim Studios Are Skimping On Pay
By 2.25.16
Tourists and residents of New York City alike have no doubt seen those ubiquitous neon signs plastered all over lamp posts from time to time, which serve to alert car owners that they won’t be able to park there on a certain day or days because of a movie or TV crew that will be shooting there. It’s one part of an unglamorous job in the entertainment business, but someone’s got to do it — and those people are now suing the studios over claims they’re not paid enough for often long, thankless hours they put in, often in less than ideal conditions. [More]
