By Michael W. Macomber
On Dec. 10, 2010, then-Gov. David Patterson signed into law the Wage Theft Protection Act (WTPA). The act amends a number of provisions in New York’s Labor Law and has the stated aim of expanding “the rights of employees to seek civil and criminal avenues of remedy for their employers failing to follow labor law appropriately…”
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By Douglas, J. Rose
Starting early next year Capital Region home improvement contractors must be careful with how they interact with mortgage brokers. Under a new state law that takes effect Jan. 6, 2012, home improvement contractors and their agents or sales representatives will be prohibited from steering customers to mortgage brokers for home improvement loans.
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By Douglas J. Rose
New York regulators are notorious for their unforgiving approach toward businesses that have been found to have committed minor or technical violations. However, a new law could have agencies showing a little more mercy and granting small businesses time to fix non-compliance problems before imposing penalties.
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently reported the findings of a one-night survey taken last January that over 636,000 people were homeless nationwide, down 2.1 percent from a year earlier. Veteran homelessness declined even further since January 2010, dropping by 12 percent, or 8,834. According to HUD, an estimated 119 homeless veterans were counted in the Capital Region last January, with 105 of them being in area shelters and 14 being unsheltered.
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By Scott T. Dillon
Many mortgage lenders’ self-imposed woes from improperly handling service member home loans could be far from over now that they must conduct federal government-ordered foreclosure reviews on over 4,700 military personnel mortgages.
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By Thomas J. Carr
With the cold weather finally setting in for good, Capital Region drivers still have time to take preventative steps that could save them from costly traffic tickets and motor vehicle accidents. By making sure their cars are properly weatherized with snow tires and ensuring all windshields, windows and hoods have been thoroughly cleared of ice and snow, drivers can reduce their risk of committing traffic offenses. Additionally, they need to remember that even driving a few miles below the speed limit is not always safest – and legal – when winter weather affects roads conditions.
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By Scott T. Dillon
New Yorkers’ with debt problems got hit with a one-two punch in November, when the state’s official median family income declined. The decline in this income data, which is updated biannually by the U.S. Census Bureau, not only means that New Yorkers are bringing home less money but also that they could face a harder time achieving a financial fresh start through the bankruptcy system.
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By Scott T. Dillon
While there are many mainstays of the 1970s that Americans wish would stay in the past – disco, side burns and bell bottoms, to name a few – a University of Iowa study suggests that consumers today would have benefited from at least one of the era’s trademarks. According to the study by UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Sociology Professor Kevin Leight, a quarter of the U.S. households that filed for bankruptcy in 2007 would have been more financially solvent had they been subjected to 1970s credit regulations.
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By Thomas J. Carr
Illustrative of how states are increasingly relying on interlock ignition devices (IID) to fight drunk driving, the estimated number of currently installed IIDs in vehicles throughout the nation jumped by 17 percent over the year, according to new study. Likely helping drive up installations was the full enactment of Leandra’s Law in New York, which required all drivers with misdemeanor or felony DWI convictions to install for six months an IID in any vehicle they own or use.
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Lacking the federal incentives that enticed them into buying homes in force in 2009, first-time homebuyers last year became scarcer in real estate markets nationwide, according to a National Association of Realtors study. Even without the federal tax credits that expired in April 2010, first-time homebuyers, especially those in the Capital Region, can still realize significant savings by taking full advantage of the buyer’s market with the help of a real estate lawyer.
