Whether it’s Tweeting, SnapChatting, playing Pokémon Go, or just sending a text while on the road, it’s clear that smartphones present a potentially deadly distraction for drivers. Most states have banned or restricted texting while driving, but these problems persist. Now federal safety regulators are proposing new guidelines to curb distracted driving, including asking phone manufacturers to include a “Driver Mode” that would limit the use of a smartphone while behind the wheel. [More]
Government Policy
Federal Court Halts New Rule That Would Have Provided Overtime Pay For Millions
By 11.23.16
Last May, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized a new rule that would have greatly expanded the number of American workers eligible to collect overtime. That rule was slated to go into effect on Dec. 1, but last night a federal judge in Texas put a temporary halt on the updated rule. [More]
New York State Dismissed From Vacation Rental Lawsuit; NYC And Airbnb To Settle Soon
By 11.22.16
It might be only people who enjoy renting an entire apartment to vacation in New York City who remember the legal fight between the state of New York and Airbnb over a new state law. Last month, the governor signed a bill limiting rentals in New York City and imposes stiffer penalties on people who rent out entire apartments. While it’s a state law, the lawsuit has been dismissed, and it’s the city that will enforce the law. [More]
Feds Give Up Trying To Hold Bank Of America Accountable For Countrywide’s “Hustle” Mortgage Scam
By 11.22.16
A nasty four-year legal battle between the Justice Department and Bank of America over a massive mortgage-related scam run by Countrywide Financial has come to a whimpering conclusion, with the DOJ opting to not appeal its most recent defeat in the case. [More]
Senators: Americans “Deserve Answers” About Justice Department’s Expanded Hacking Authority
By 11.22.16
On December 1, a new rule will likely go into effect at the Justice Department that may expand law enforcement agencies’ authority to remotely hack into computers and take what data they find there during an investigation. Lawmakers have been pressing the DOJ for more information on the rule, specifically why the agency wants this authority, and what it plans to do with it, but they now say the folks in Justice are only providing non-answers. [More]
Why Does It Matter If Your Train Operator Has A Snoring Problem?
By 11.22.16
For most people, snoring is a minor annoyance — and usually for the loved one of the snorer. But if that snoring is a symptom of sleep apnea, it could be a health issue that leaves you working through the day without a full night’s rest. That’s particularly problematic if your job involves controlling a massive train carrying hundreds of people at high speeds.
[More]
Mylan Execs Decline To Testify At Senate EpiPen Hearing On $465M Settlement
By 11.21.16
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch has already made one trip to Capitol Hill to answer questions regarding the skyrocketing price of the emergency epinephrine injectors, but it looks like the company won’t be making a repeat outing to talk with lawmakers. [More]
Financial Regulators Race To Finish New Rules, But Congress Can Still Try To Roll Them Back
By 11.21.16
The wheels of government turn slowly, especially when it comes to rulemaking — the process by which a federal agency proposes, drafts, and finalizes new rules. It can take anywhere from a few months to a few years for this process, but with the incoming Trump administration giving every indication of having a light-touch on regulation, financial regulators have reportedly kicked things into high gear to finish up pending rules in the next two months, even though Congress may be able to roll them back. [More]
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Challenges Ruling That Its Structure Is Unconstitutional
By 11.18.16 — Updated: 2.16.17
Last month, a split three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional as it puts too much authority in the hands of one person. Now the CFPB is challenging that ruling, petitioning for a review of the matter by the full D.C. Circuit, in what the Bureau claims “may be the most important separation-of-powers case in a generation.” [More]
Man With Guide Dog Kicked Out Of Popeyes, Told ‘No Pets Allowed’
By 11.18.16 — Updated: 2.10.17
Guide dogs and other service dogs are not pets, and federal law protects their right to go anywhere that their owners are allowed to be. Yet the owner of a Popeyes restaurant in Brooklyn wasn’t clear on that concept, and used the “no pets” policy to kick a blind man and aspiring chicken-orderer out of the establishment. [More]
Where Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions Comes Down On Consumer Issues
By 11.18.16
The election may feel like it happened just yesterday, but it’s now ten days behind us, and the building transition to the administration turnover in January is well underway. As part of that, today we learned President-Elect Donald Trump’s top choice for a key role that affects consumers and consumer rights nationwide: he will nominate Sen. Jefferson Sessions of Alabama as Attorney General. [More]
Ice Cream Plant Linked To Listeria Contamination Coincidentally Shuts Down
By 11.18.16
Does the shutdown of a gourmet ice cream company, Dr. Bob’s Handcrafted Ice Cream, have anything to do with the recall of ice cream produced in its facility for possible Listeria contamination? The company’s owner told a local news outlet that it closed because of “business complications.” [More]
U.S., Canada Team Up To Fight Robocalls Together
By 11.17.16
If you didn’t have much to do during the mid-’90s, you may remember a CBS show called Due South about the unlikely crimefighting duo (is there ever a show about a likely crimefighting duo?) of Constable Benton Fraser of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Chicago Detective Raymond Vecchio (until he had to go deep undercover and was replaced by not-quite-lookalike Det. Stanley Kowalski). Today’s announcement from regulators in the U.S. and Canada is exactly like that show, except it’s about robocalls, and is really nothing at all like that show. [More]
FCC Chair To Trump Administration: Putting Industry’s Wants Over Public Interest Would Be A “Real Mistake”
By 11.17.16
This morning, the FCC was supposed to consider a number of items during its monthly open meeting, but yesterday afternoon the Commission suddenly deleted almost everything from the agenda, including matters related to expansion of wireless broadband networks, standardized roaming on wireless, competition in business data services, and requirements on accessibility to certain programming to visually impaired Americans. After today’s brief meeting, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler spoke publicly about why these items were removed, and indirectly called on President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration to put consumer protection before the desires of the telecom, pay-TV, and wireless industries. [More]
JPMorgan Chase To Pay $264M To Settle Corruption Allegations For Hiring Friends, Family Of Government Officials
By 11.17.16
Over a period of seven years, JPMorgan Chase hired or gave internships to around 200 individuals, not because they were the best people for their positions (they often weren’t), but at the request of foreign government officials and clients. That practice, alleged U.S. regulators, was a violation of federal law. Now Chase has agreed to pay a total of more than $264 million to settle these allegations of nepotism-gone-too-far. [More]
Access To LinkedIn Now Officially Blocked In Russia
By 11.17.16 — Updated: 2.3.17
In 2014, the Russian government introduced a law requiring that any online service storing personal data of Russian people must store that particular data within the country’s borders. Today, career-networking site LinkedIn became the first major U.S. website to be blocked because of this new law. [More]
Should Your Job Be A Factor In How Much You Pay For Auto Insurance?
November 17, 2016
While many consumer advocates believe that drivers’ auto insurance rates should be based on factors that only relate directly to their activity on the road, many states allow insurers to use a wide variety of considerations — including education, marital status, homeownership, and occupation — to help set those rates? With one state looking to halt the use of occupation data, we wanted to know what our readers think. [More]
USPS Takes In More Revenue, Needs To Spend More On Workers And Vehicles
By 11.16.16
Here’s the problem that the U.S. Postal Service has with making money: it’s delivering more packages to quench our thirst for online shopping, but carrying more packages means that the service needs more and upgraded vehicles, and to pay more people to deliver those packages. If the USPS simply reported its profit and loss, it would have had a $200 million profit for fiscal year 2016, but things are not that simple when you’re a quasi-governmental agency. [More]
