State employees in Florida can now get back to all the cocaine-and-quaalude-fueled late nights we imagine they put off after Governor Rick Scott issued a March 2011 executive order requiring random drug tests for state workers. A federal judge has ruled that such tests violate folks’ protections against unreasonable search and seizure. [More]
Government Policy
TSA Allows Airports To Hire People Without Finishing Background Check
By 4.26.12
While the TSA dare not let a hug-friendly 4-year-old go by without a pat-down, the agency is apparently just fine with allowing airports to hire new employees who haven’t gone through a complete background check yet. [More]
House Passes Bill To Track All Federal Spending On Single Website
By 4.26.12
The federal government has never exactly been known for its transparency, especially when it involves exactly where all our tax money goes every year. But things could get slightly clearer thanks to legislation passed yesterday by the House of Representatives. [More]
April Recall Roundup: Flaming Monster Truck Edition
By 4.26.12
The boys’ t-shirts at Kohl’s feature a monster truck jumping over a row of vintage convertibles and tall orange flames, and come with a free toy monster truck to match. This design turned out to be oddly prescient when customers inserted batteries in the trucks and they smoldered or caught fire. Yes, it’s time for the Consumerist Recall Roundup, with a diverse assortment of products lurking in your home, waiting to kill or maim you and your children. [More]
There's Actually A Settlement In Nutella 'Health Food' Class Action Lawsuit
By 4.26.12
Remember last year, when various media outlets reported that the mother of a four-year-old child was suing the makers of Nutella for advertising it as a health food? Everyone thought that this was hilarious, because hey, lady, fat-laden choco-paste ain’t a health food. It’s time for us all to stop laughing now, because the class-action lawsuit has been settled for about $3 million, $2.5 million of which is going to consumers willing to admit that they can’t read a nutrition label. [More]
TSA Agents Accused Of Taking Bribes To Let Drugs Through LAX Checkpoints
By 4.25.12
While the TSA blog loves to brag about all the weapons the agency’s screeners have taken off travelers, this news probably won’t be posted with pride on the kitchenette bulletin board at TSA HQ. [More]
Turns Out That Forcing Customers Into Arbitration Is Not Good For Consumers
By 4.25.12
A year ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in the AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion case. It decided that a company could force customers into arbitration — and effectively pre-empt any class-action lawsuits — by including a tiny clause in their contracts. At the time, AT&T had the gall to claim that this was all for the benefit of you, the consumer, but a new study proves what you probably already guessed: AT&T was full of it. [More]
Report: TSA Has No Idea How To Screen A 7-Year-Old With Cerebral Palsy
By 4.25.12
The tiny (potential) terrorists of the world continue to wreak havoc at airport security checkpoints. We already brought you the story of the 4-year-old who dared to hug her grandmother in view of TSA screeners, and now comes the tale of a 7-year-old girl with cerebral palsy whose crutches and leg braces reportedly confounded security personnel at JFK Airport. [More]
Report: Debt Collectors Work In Emergency Rooms, Demand Payment Before Patients Receive Care
By 4.24.12
One of the nation’s largest medical debt collection companies — already the subject of a lawsuit over alleged privacy violations — finds itself in more hot water as newly released documents claim that agency employees are actually working in hospital emergency rooms and sometimes demanding that patients pay up before they receive any further medical attention. [More]
First Arrest Made In BP Oil Spill
By 4.24.12
More than two years after the Deepwater Horizon rig collapsed in the Gulf of Mexico — killing 11 people — a former engineer for BP has become the first person arrested in the investigation surrounding the disaster. [More]
MetLife Hit With $500 Million Settlement Over "Death Master" File
By 4.23.12
The Social Security Administration’s “Death Master” File sounds like something that is guarded by a specter resembling the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, but it’s really just a list of everyone who has recently moved on to another plane of existence. Regardless, the nation’s largest life insurance company is now on the hook for $500 million after being accused of using the Death Master File for its own benefit while ignoring it when it could benefit others. [More]
4-Year-Old Gets TSA Pat-Down Following Hug From Grandma
By 4.23.12
Kids today. They say and do the darndest things, even under the watchful eye of the Transportation Security Administration. So who knows what happens when your 4-year-old daughter gives grandma a hug at the airport security checkpoint. In addition to that peck on the cheek, a deadly weapon may have been exchanged. [More]
Dollar Coins Save The Government Money Because You'll Just Throw Them In A Jar
By 4.23.12
Here at The Consumerist, we have a long-standing anti-penny stance, but we’re somewhat in favor of the gold-colored dollar coins. They’re shiny! The Sacagawea ones have a woman on them! They save the government money! Except a new Government Accountability Office report mentions something interesting that we haven’t discussed here before. Just replacing more fragile dollar bills with durable coins doesn’t save any money at all. Minting and distributing all of those coins costs a lot. Instead, all of the cost savings would come from Americans throwing dollar coins in jars instead of circulating them. [More]
CFPB Checking Out The $31 Billion Banks Charged In Overdraft Fees
By 4.20.12
If banks had boots, mayhap they’d be quaking them right about now: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is on the case, reviewing nine U.S. banks over their practices to see if they’re on the up and up when it comes to charging overdraft fees. [More]
Vermont Lawmakers Vote For Constitutional Amendment To Declare That Corporations Are Not People
By 4.19.12
In January 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee that it was unconstitutional to limit political campaign spending by corporations, thus helping to usher in the current era of the “super PAC.” Today, Vermont’s state legislature became the latest to call for an amendment to the Constitution that would overturn the controversial court ruling and declare that “money is not speech and corporations are not persons under the U.S. Constitution.” [More]
CFPB Complaint Portal Resolves Problem That Years Of Phone Calls Could Not
By 4.19.12
In March the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched a complaint portal for people with unresolved issues tied to their checking and savings accounts. Now we’re hearing the first of what we hope are numerous success stories from Consumerist readers who have tried the CFPB portal. [More]
Higher Cigarette Taxes Drove Smokers To Pipe Tobacco & Cigars
By 4.18.12
Among the intended goals of higher taxes on cigarettes is that some smokers will quit rather than deal with the increased cost. While this may happen, newly released numbers show that taxing cigarettes also drove up the sales of forms of tobacco that are taxed at lower rates. [More]
Law Would Forbid Colleges From Using Federal Money For Advertising
By 4.18.12
The nation’s 15 largest for-profit colleges get nearly 90% of their annual revenue from federal aid programs for students. New legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate today would prevent any of that money being used on advertising, marketing and recruitment. [More]
