The Genetic Information Non Discrimination Act Prohibits Using Genetic Information to Make Employment Decisions

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published its final rule implementing the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

Under GINA, it is illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information. The GINA prohibits the use of genetic information in making employment decisions, restricts employers and other entities covered by Title II (employment agencies, labor organizations and joint labor-management training and apprenticeship programs - referred to as "covered entities") from requesting, requiring or purchasing genetic information, and strictly limits the disclosure of genetic information.

The EEOC enforces Title II of GINA (dealing with genetic discrimination in employment). The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury have responsibility for issuing regulations for Title I of GINA, which addresses the use of genetic information in health insurance.

Click on the following link to read the Final GINA Rule - Regulations Under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008

If you do not know about the foreclosure crisis in South Florida, you must have been living under a rock, or living in the wilderness without any communication to the outside world. Several National Banks and Florida Law Firms have been in the news for committing fraud upon the courts and homeowners by filing false affidavits to establish assignments of the loans.

In the mortgage world, assignments are not uncommon. Mortgages are bought and sold on a daily basis. However, for a final holder of the mortgage, note and security agreement to prevail in a foreclosure action, it must produce accurate and truthful evidence of the assignment of those documents to the current holder. That has now been the rub in a voluminous amount of cases currently in the court houses across the state and the nation.

Many lenders and unscrupulous law firms have employed “Robo-signers” to defraud homeowners. These people spend hours on end every day executing these assignment affidavits without having actual knowledge of the contents of the documents they are signing and therefore are committing perjury. This led several lenders to halt the foreclosure process and courts to halt the sale of distressed properties. Unfortunately, the moratorium has been lifted in many states and the banks have resumed foreclosures.

This crisis has opened the door for aggrieved borrowers to attack these fraudulent foreclosures and force the banks into a modification of their loans. Our Palm Beach Gardens law firm along with several other firms across the state has been aggressively defending mortgage foreclosures. Our firm has helped hundreds of families keep their home. Our professional staff has many years of experience in the lending industry. They assist homeowners in mortgage modifications even through the foreclosure process. Our staff of attorneys are well versed in defending foreclosure actions and work closely with our mortgage modification personnel to achieve the best possible result for our clients.

If you are currently under water on your home loan or facing foreclosure, do not give up. You have rights. At LaBovick Law Group we are experienced, aggressive and will use our legal expertise and resources to help protect your most precious asset – your home.

Don’t let the banks take advantage of you during these rough economic times. Stand Up and Fight.

Bullying amongst teens has been in the news of late. However, Bullying on the job, can cost companies good workers. Business Writer Marcia Pounds takes a look at bullying in the workplace in a recent article on the workplace.

Although some may think that bullying can be a good management strategy, it is hardly motivatioinal. Many fear that they will be retaliated against if they raise a fuss.

Research on the subjuect matter, show that Thirty-five percent of adult Americans say they have experienced bullying in the workplace, first hand. Workplace bullying was defined as "repeated, health harming abusive conduct committed by bosses and co-workers" and "repeated mistreatment, including sabotage by others, verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation and humiliation.

The breakdown is as follows: 62 percent are male and 38 percent are female. It is alarming that nearly 60 percent of the bully targets are women.

If an employee feels that they are being harrassed at work by a bully, they should file a complaint and get it on the record. Employers should have a policy in place to address the issue of harassment and disciplinarian actions. It is not an excuse to say that the person is mean to everyone, therefore, this is not an issue. In the area of employment law, an employer may be liable for a hostile work environment and harassment if the employee can show a pattern.

An employee that is retailiated against for notifying an employer of a hostile environment and harassment from another employee may have a claim against the employer. They should seek legal counsel to discuss their rights.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces Federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. These laws protect employees and job applicants against employment discrimination when it involves:

• Unfair treatment because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
• Harassment by managers, co-workers, or others in the workplace, because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
• Denial of a reasonable workplace accommodation that the employee needs because of religious beliefs or disability.
• Retaliation because the employee complained about job discrimination, or assisted with a job discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

It is important to note that not all employers are covered by the laws we enforce, and not all employees are protected. This can vary depending on the type of employer, the number of employees it has, and the type of discrimination alleged.

Click on the following link to read Bullying On The Job Can Cost Employers Good Workers - The Sun Sentinel

Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney Scott Haft was interviewed in the Palm Beach Post regarding South Florida man gets his property back after judge reverses Chase foreclosure.

Mr. Haft discussed how his South Florida client had his foreclosure reversed today ay based on a motion arguing the bank was wrong to take the property back at auction while at the same time negotiating a loan modification on the home. Attorney Haft filed a motion to vacate the foreclosure judgment based on fraud, misrepresentation and misconduct by JP Morgan Chase, which had promised a trial loan modification

The Palm Beach Post article discusses how Miami-Dade Judge Marc Schumacher granted the motion. It was agreed to by Chase's attorneys, which is also unusual. A summary judgment is a quickie foreclosure hearing, usually granted when the facts of the case are irrefutable.

Click on the following link to read the article South Florida man gets his property back after judge reverses Chase foreclosure

Today I was in Miami-Dade County for a hearing on a homeowner’s Motion to Vacate Summary Judgment based on Fraud, Misconduct and Misrepresentation during the course of the foreclosure case. In English, this means that my client lost his home when the Chase Bank misrepresented the facts and took his home without due process.

Since February 2010, JP Morgan Chase promised to provide a mortgage modification to my client. They promised to stop the foreclosure proceedings and allow him to stay in the home. My client acted in good faith the entire time, trying to save his home from Foreclosure using the trial modification system as we set up in every modification case. Then, without ever telling my client they were moving forward, Chase went ahead and behind his back got a Summary Judgment. This gave Chase the right to sell my client’s home at Judicial Auction.

When my client was sent a copy of the Summary Judgment, he called the Bank to ask why they were not giving him the promised trial mortgage modification. The Bank assured my client they were giving him a modification and would suspend the sale so that the Trial Modification could go through. That is not what happened. What Chase actually did was sell the house at a judicial sale behind my client’s back. When my client informed us of the way Chase had treated him we felt this was an atrocity. We immediately filed a Motion to Vacate the Summary Judgment based on Fraud, Misconduct and Misrepresentation. Today we had the hearing on my motion. The Judge Ordered the Summary Judgment be vacated (overturned). My client gets to keep his house!

I can’t imagine how many times this has occurred. I believe only one person in twelve gets an attorney. The rest are at the mercy of unscrupulous banks and their attorneys. Homeowners should hire an attorney to represent them in a mortgage modification or foreclosure defense matter. Why do the banks get a Federal bailout and get to use taxpayer’s dollars to foreclose on citizen tax payer’s homes. Homeowners need to Fight Back!

ANYONE WHO HAS HAD THEIR HOME SOLD AT A JUDICIAL AUCTION WITHIN THE LAST YEAR SHOULD TALK TO AN ATTORNEY IMMEDIATELY! DON’T LET THE BANK HAVE YOUR FAMILY HOME!

The Securities and Exchange Commission says it has set aside about $450 million for payments to outside whistleblowers whose information results in successful cases and penalties collected from companies or individuals.

The SEC set up the program in accordance with the financial overhaul law enacted in July. It follows intense public criticism of the agency for the breakdown that allowed Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar fraud to go undetected for 16 years, despite numerous red flags raised by whistleblowers.

A recent report issued by the SEC shows it has put $451.9 million into a new fund to pay whistleblowers, which must have a minimum $300 million

The University of Notre Dame may have violated safety rules when a student worker was killed while videotaping a football practice according to Indiana State regulators. The student worker was on top of a tall hydraulic lift that toppled in high winds, when he fell to his death.

At the heart of the investigation is whether the employee received training before using the scissor lift and whether a federal rule barring workers from using scaffolds during bad weather would have applied to his job.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issues industry standards and rules regarding employee safety. If winds are gusting up to 50 mph, an operator in a scissor lift at the height as in the Notre Dame fatal accident may be in danger.

In 2007, Notre Dame created a policy regarding lift operators and considering weather before using the machines. However, at this time, it is unclear if this policy is in force at the current time. The 14-page policy also appears to provide conflicting information about what training is required for lift users. Authorities are currently investigating the fatal workplace accident.

In two letters recently released by, Attorney General Richard Cordray criticized a number of banks and loan-servicing companies, including Wells Fargo & Co.; Ally Financial Inc.'s GMAC Mortgage; Bank of America Corp.; and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Mr. Cordray accused the banks of trying to paper over fraud committed in foreclosures with temporary fixes that don't address underlying problems in the banks' practices.

In light of the fiasco an option for banks would be to allow borrowers to modify loans and make settlements. This would be a win-win for everyone instead of forging ahead with paperwork that could be bogus or flawed. This is a huge issue for the courts in light of a 50-state probe, which includes top law-enforcement officers from all 50 states in response to allegations of robo-signing and massive errors.

It is a but suspect for Bank of America to remain silent on the subject, given that that in 2008 they agreed to an $8.4 billion loan modification program after its Countrywide Financial unit was probed for predatory lending practices. Thus took place only two years ago.

Wells Fargo on the other hand is resubmitting submitting affidavits for 55,000 pending foreclosures,since some of the paperwork might be flawed. One Wells Fargo employee admitted to signing hundreds of foreclosure documents a day without checking for accuracy. When questioned in a Florida deposition, she exclaimed that it was not part of her job description to check for accuracy. This should make homeowners and the bank feel really confident about the validity of the documents signed.

Click on the following link to read more from the WSJ on Big Banks Told Not to 'Fix' a Fraud .