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New York Restaurant Employees Say They Are Being Cheated Out of Tips

Waiters, bartenders, and kitchen staff gathered Sunday in Lower Manhattan to protest legislation that would bar them from suing for tips they were cheated out of.   The State Senate could vote on the legislation as soon as Monday. Read Full Story

Unsafe Working Conditions: Flatbush Gardens Complex Fined $52,100

Federal agents have found that an East Flatbush slumlord has been exposing maintenance workers to pools of raw sewage, asbestos and other dangerous conditions. The owners of the apartment complex, which consists of 59 buildings, were handed 20 violations and will be fined up to $51,100 by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (known [...]

New York Leads Nation In Spending On Social Aid

A USA TODAY analysis reports that New York state’s Medicaid program is the most expensive in the nation, driving the average cost of all government benefits in New York to $9,442 per person, the most in the country. New York ranked 28th in Social Security payments per person and ninth in Medicare benefits last year. [...]

Batman Actor Michael Gough Dies At Age 94

British Actor Michael Gough, who appeared in over 100 films, passed away on March 17, 2011, at the age of 94.  Gough may be best known to international audiences by his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth in all four movies of the Burton/Schumacher Batman franchise, beginning with Batman (1989).  He is survived by his 4th [...]

Broadway Spider-Man Play Charged with 2 Safety Violations

The New York State Department of Labor has issued two safety violations against the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”.  The violations were issued as a result of the accidents last year that involved an actor falling more than 20 feet during the show and two other performers sustaining injuries while rehearsing a sling-shot [...]

N.F.L. Claims Unfair Labor Practice

The N.F.L. has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the players union. The N.F.L. claims that the union has failed to bargain in good faith as it plans to decertify. The union sought approval from players to decertify and if it does, it puts itself out of business as a negotiating body for players. [...]

Marriage Equality for Same-Sex Couples in New York

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s has made a pledge to make a push in the next few months to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in New York.  About 14 months ago, the State Senate voted, 38 to 24, to continue the state’s discrimination against gay and lesbian couples who want to get married. However, strong leadership by [...]

Human Trafficker is Deported to US

A man named Veniamin Gonikman, who is 55 years old, has been captured and detained on charges that include human trafficking, forced labor, alien smuggling, money laundering, extortion and conspiracy was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport.  US immigration Officials hold that his company helped to traffick Eastern European women in the U.S.  Gonikman [...]

60-Year-Old Adult Entertainer Gets $60K in Settlement From Former Employer

Mary Bassi is a Houston strip club worker who claimed she had been fired after 13 years at the club in 2006 because of her age, in which she was 56 at the time of her lawsuit. As result, she received $60,000 from her former employers.  At the time of her claim, two male managers [...]

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have Surrogate Child

Nicole Kidman and musician-husband Keith Urban have ignited a debate about surrogacy.  Specifically the debate has begun over the use of the term “gestational carrier” since the birth of their second daughter, Faith Margaret Kidman Urban, to a surrogate mother on December 28.  The couple issued statement: “No words can adequately convey the incredible gratitude [...]