Under a settlement agreement reached this week, Yakima Neighborhood Health Services will drop its federal lawsuit against the city of Yakima and instead submit a new application for using Roy’s Market as an apartment building to house local homeless people. The revised application, which Neighborhood Health must submit within 90 days, will be for an apartment facility in which up to 40 homeless …
A memorandum sent last week by the Androscoggin County Commission to all municipal officials in the county was met with anger when commissioners stated that the municipalities failed to offer a “comprehensive settlement proposal” during mediation in their ongoing legal battle. Commissioners sent the memo to explain their side in the dispute and to make certain that the municipal …
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking comment on a new proposed regulation that would prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses that deny groups of consumers their day in court, putting into motion discussions that started toward the end of last year. Arbitration clauses generally require that if there’s a dispute, parties must first try to resolve the issue through an arbitration …
A new proposal by the nation’s chief consumer watchdog could help government regulators and prosecutors stop big banks’ dubious practices more quickly. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday suggested a ban on clauses tucked into contracts for credit cards, student loans and other financial products that prohibit consumers from joining together to sue financial companies for …
New rules proposed on Thursday by a U.S. consumer watchdog would block credit card companies, banks and other firms from forcing customers to waive their rights to join class action lawsuits and settle disputes only through arbitration. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said financial firms should be barred from using fine print in contracts that mandates arbitration instead …
If government regulators get their way, it’s going to become a lot easier to sue your bank. By and large, U.S. bank customers have signed away their right to sue their bank in court, often without being aware of it. Buried in the fine print of credit card agreements, bank accounts and insurance policies are what are known as binding, or mandatory, arbitration …
In a major setback for banks, credit unions, credit card companies and many other financial firms, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday issued a proposal that would ban the use of arbitration clauses that prevent consumers from bringing class-action lawsuits. The 377-page proposal, released to the media a day early, would still allow companies to offer arbitration as a way to …
Just as California businesses begin to implement a law requiring equal pay for workers regardless of their gender, already the toughest of its kind in the nation, a state lawmaker is seeking to expand it to protect employees from racial discrimination. The proposal by Sen. Isadore Hall would build on California’s existing fair pay law by adding “race or ethnicity” to …
The U.S. government wants to make it easier for student loan borrowers to sue their colleges when they believe they’ve been wronged. The Department of Education released a proposal Friday evening that would make it more difficult for colleges to require students to settle disputes in arbitration, a private, closed-door process that critics say prevents students from getting a fair shake when …