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News from Around the State |
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 Consumer
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Extortion Scam Alert: "Criminal Charges if you Don't Pay Up!"
Oklahomans need to be aware of a telephone scam currently targeting cell phone users in which a caller from an unidentified number demands that you mu...
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By: Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc. - Oklahoma City Law Office - 11/09/2009 |
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Money Matters
The FTC's web site MoneyMatters features a new video available in English and in Spanish.
The video highlights the rights of consumers whose debts ha...
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By: Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc. - 10/13/2009 |
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Insurance Commissioner Targets Companies
National Home Protection Inc., fails to respond to an Emergency Cease and Desist Order issued against the company for attempting to solicit insurance...
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By: Tulsa Business Journal - 07/10/2009 |
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Online Auction Fraud
One in four complaints in 2008 to the Internet Crime Complaint Center involved online auction fraud.
Computers, sports memorabilia, rare coins, designer fashions, and even cars.
These are just a few of the items offered for sale every day on legitimate online auction sites. They're also just a small sample of the items used to lure unsuspecting victims into online auction fraud schemes.
Most of the one million-plus transactions that take place each day on these websites are legitimate; just a fraction actually result in some type of fraud.
See the full FBI warning at this page:http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june09/auctionfraud_063009.html
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By: FBI - 07/01/2009 |
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More Consumer News |
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 Disability
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NSCLC Announces Settlement
Important Information for Advocates Working with Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Recipients.A settlement agreement which will end the...
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By: NSCLC - 10/06/2009 |
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 Family
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New Law Changes First Time Domestic Abuse Offense from Misdemeanor to Felony
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By: The Oklahoma Gazette - 07/17/2009 |
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New Law Changes First Time Domestic Abuse Offense from Misdemeanor to Felony
http://www.okgazette.com/p/12776/a/4295/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=LwBEAGUAZgBhAHUAbAB0AC4AYQBzAHAAeAAslashAHAAPQAxADIANwAyADkA
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By: The Oklahoma Gazette - 07/17/2009 |
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New Law Could Help Victims of Domestic Violence
by Marla CarterFor her protection, a woman we'll call Sara, does not want her identity known, but does want her story out."At first, he was the perfect gentleman, wanted to always be there, wanted to do anything for me," said Sara.But in a matter of weeks, Sara says her boyfriend turned violent, fast."He comes over and just punches me, as hard as he can, in my stomach," said Sara.Over time, Sara says the abuse escalated, as she searched for a way out."I got tired of the hits in the head. There was no point anymore. If you didn't want me around, tell me. Tell me. Don't hit me," said Sara.Even when victims leave, it can be hard to keep abusers away, but a new law could help that in Oklahoma, along with a dozen other states.A judge can now order offenders to wear a GPS bracelet."(If) the defendant came too close to the victim's home, an alarm would sound," said Donna Mathews, the Associate Director of Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Inc., also known as DVIS.Plus, the abuser's every move can be tracked, but even with the new law, DVIS still wants victims to be cautious."This would make them feel somewhat safer, but you don't want them to get a false sense of security either," said Mathews."If they want to find you, they're going to find you," said Mathews.We talked to the Tulsa County judge who handles a majority of the protection order cases. She hasn't ordered the device for an offender yet, but says she's glad she has the option to, especially at a time when more women are turning to shelters for help."There's violence all the time, and it may well be there is more stress in peoples' homes because of the economy," said Mathews.Whatever the reason for the increase, Sara says help is out there, and the bruises will heal."I've got to go on with my life, and I intend to," she said.You may call DVIS's 24-hour hotline at 918-7HELPME, or go to their website www.dvis.org.
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By: KJRH - 05/06/2009 |
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Report: Most States Lag with Dating-Violence Laws
By DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) ? Only Oklahoma and a handful of other states have
responded to teen dating violence with laws enabling the youthful
victims to obtain protection orders on equal terms with adults, an
advocacy group says in a new national survey.
The report on state laws by Break the Cycle, a teen-violence prevention
organization that has worked with the Justice Department, gave A grades
to only five states. Twelve states got D's and 11 failed.
Grades were based on various comparisons between the legal treatment of
adult victims of domestic violence and teen victims of dating violence.
Failure was automatic for states where protective orders are unavailable
for minors, or where dating relationships are not explicitly recognized
as valid for obtaining such orders.
"It is essential that dating violence and the needs of minor victims be
specifically addressed within state domestic violence statutes," said
Marjorie Gilberg, executive director of Break the Cycle. "Lawmakers have
a responsibility ... to propose legislation that will ensure the
protection of all victims of domestic violence ? regardless of their
age."
National surveys have estimated that one in three youths experiences
dating abuse at some point during their teens ? incidents ranging from a
slap on the cheek to homicide. Despite the high rate of abuse, Break the
Cycle and other advocacy groups say too many states do not treat dating
violence with appropriate seriousness.
"Some states feel that if have they good child abuse laws, minors are
protected," Gilberg said in a telephone interview. "There's definitely a
lack of awareness about the prevalence of abuse among teens in their
relationships."
Break the Cycle contends that all young people over 12 should have the
right to petition for protection on their own behalf and that domestic
violence protection orders should be available even against abusers who
are minors.
The new report gives states lower grades if their laws block minors from
seeking protective orders on their own, without parental involvement.
Sheryl Cates, CEO of the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline, said
parental involvement is a challenging issue.
"If you're a parent, you want to know if your child is in danger, but on
other hand, teens want the anonymity, to not have to tell their
parents," she said. "It's very complicated, trying to find a balance
between a victim's rights and parents' right to know."
Kristina Korobov, an attorney with National Center for the Prosecution
of Violence Against Women, said it's sometimes crucial for teens to be
able to seek protective orders on their own. They may have strained
relations with their parents or come from a home where domestic violence
already is occurring.
Korobov, a former prosecutor in Indianapolis and Loudoun County, Va.,
said it's important in such instances for courts to provide an attorney
or other expert to guide the youth through the legal process.
The report commended New Hampshire as the only state where the law
specifically allows minors of any age to go to court by themselves to
request a protection order. It received an A along with California,
Illinois, Minnesota and Oklahoma.
Getting F's were Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, North
Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia.
Korobov said the law in Virginia, where she is based, makes it hard for
many teens to get protective orders because it generally limits them to
cases where the victim and the perpetrator have been married or lived
together ? circumstances which often don't apply to dating violence.
"A lot of people tend to see crimes being committed by juveniles as
'kids being kids,'" Korobov said. "They think, 'Oh, this person is
lovesick. It's not as serious as domestic violence.'"
Gilberg said some legislators are wary of the changes advocated by Break
the Cycle because they fear creating a "litigious group of minors" who
might misuse expanded access to the justice system. But she said
awareness-raising efforts were making headway in several states.
For example, in Ohio, which got a failing grade, Attorney General
Richard Cordray and some lawmakers have been promoting a bill this year
that would allow juvenile courts to issue protection orders for minors
in dating relationships.
The bill was inspired in part by the plight of Johanna Orozco, a
Cleveland teenager who was shot in the face by her 17-year-old
ex-boyfriend in 2007 and has had numerous operations. Orozco wanted to
get a protection order, but Ohio juvenile courts cannot issue them
against minors.
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By: The Edmond Sun - 03/24/2009 |
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More Family News |
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 Farm Worker
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Congress Should Act Now on AgJobs Bill
BY MARY SANCHEZmsanchez@kcstar.com
In spring, whenever storm clouds gather heavy with hail capable of ripping fragile crops to shreds, my Kansas-born mother always offers the same reflection: 'I'm sure glad I'm not a farmer anymore, depending on the weather, which is so undependable.' In late summer, as the rains become scarce and harvests are endangered by horticultural thirst, there she is again: ``I'm sure glad I'm not a farmer anymore, depending on the weather, which is so undependable.'
I'll add my own refrain on behalf of the less than 2 percent of the U.S. workforce still involved in agriculture: 'I'm sure glad I'm not a farmer trying to hire immigrant agricultural help legally, depending on the whims of Congress, which is so undependable.' Some half a million U.S. farmers are in just that situation. They have more than 3 million agricultural jobs to fill every year, much of it seasonal labor. And many find few options other than hiring illegal immigrants.
That's why it's critical that Congress passes the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act -- aka AgJOBS -- which was introduced May 14. AgJOBS presents a sensible solution to our immigration problem -- or at least a partial one -- because it seeks to legalize a group of longstanding seasonal laborers, as long as they meet certain conditions, and also temporarily and legally match new immigrant workers to unmet labor needs. Win-win.
As it happens, an AgJOBS bill was introduced in the last session of Congress but got nowhere, thanks largely to the anti-immigrant furor created by activists who don't seem to have thought too deeply about why undocumented workers are here to begin with. These people seem to believe that U.S.-born workers are ready, willing and eager to fill the millions of seasonal agricultural jobs available every year.
Common sense, and maybe even their own family background, should tell people otherwise. The nation, like my family, is simply not structured as it used to be. We're not living on the farm anymore. Far more of us live in cities than in rural areas.
The Department of Labor tracks this kind of thing, so there is no reason to rely argument by family anecdote. Estimates are that at least 75 percent of agricultural workers are hired illegally, largely from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. And that percentage has increased dramatically in recent years, a consequence of increased illegal immigration and also population shifts of U.S.-born people relocating to cities.
The illegal status is the obvious problem. Humane labor conditions and fair wages for farm workers, whether U.S.-born and immigrant, are too easily shirked without federal oversight. Nor can we just continue to ignore our broken immigration policy. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement has signaled it will not continue the infamous raids it staged during the Bush administration, but why should that reassure farmers? The issue of legality needs to be resolved. Let's be clear, recession or no, Americans are not going to head in droves back to field labor. Nor should they be expected to. Seasonal means temporary. After the harvest, the work goes away.
And perhaps because so few of us are employed doing it, it's easy to forget how important agriculture is to our economy. For a nation obsessed with 'organic,' few of us know much any more about the tedious tending that many of our favorite vegetables and fruits require. Oh, sure, there are growing legions of dirt diggers among us. But Michelle Obama in rubber boots turning over some soil for a photo opportunity is not farming. Tilling a bit of the backyard for a row or two of produce is not going to feed the nation.
The vast majority of America has long ago shifted away from small farm work by virtue of education, technology and our family's efforts to rise above manual labor status. That's called progress.
The weather hasn't changed. It is still an unpredictable aspect of farming. Congress can't do anything about that. But it can give farmers the help they deserve to do the right thing and legally hire the help they need to bring in this year's harvest.
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By: The Miami Herald - 07/20/2009 |
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 Housing
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HUD Expands Multi-Lingual Website to Help Families Who are Limited English Proficient to Gain Access to HUD Programs
HUD EXPANDS MULTI-LINGUAL WEBSITE TO HELP FAMILES WHO ARE LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT TO GAIN ACCESS TO HUD PROGRAMSNew website offers translation of HUD Vital Documents for FreeWASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today unveiled an enhanced website to promote equal access to housing programs by providing important HUD documents in 12 different languages. HUD's expanded Limited English Proficiency (LEP) website features factsheets, housing brochures and other forms in Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, in addition to English.
"When buying or renting a home, obtaining important housing information should not depend on how well people speak English," said John Trasviña, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "This website greatly expands HUD's ability to offer all families access to our programs and services, regardless of the language they speak."
The HUD site offers brochures on fair housing, model lease agreements, information about HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), and a Resident Rights and Responsibilities brochure in various languages. These documents are free to the public.
The LEP website is in response to Executive Order 13166, which requires all federal, local and state agencies that receive federal funding to ensure that people with limited language skills have meaningful access to government programs and services.
"The importance of homeownership and fair housing means HUD must be a leader in this area. HUD will continue our efforts to serve all persons by translating additional vital documents and posting them on the website," said Trasviña.
FHEO and its partners in the Fair Housing Assistance Program investigate approximately 10,500 housing discrimination complaints annually. People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at 1 (800) 669-9777 (voice), (800) 927-9275 (TTY). Additional information is available.
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HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to sustaining homeownership; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.
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By: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - 06/30/2009 |
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FEMA Rent Subsidy Program for Hurrine Katrina Victimes Get Extra Time
Tuesday February 10, 2009, 10:04 PM
The Obama administration is giving a temporary reprieve to the estimated 31,000 families that are scheduled to lose their rental subsidies Feb. 28 under the federal Disaster Housing Assistance Program.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said Tuesday that he has decided that there must be a transition period, the details of which are still being worked out, because the agency won't be able to process housing vouchers for all eligible families. As of last week, the Housing Authority of New Orleans had processed only a few hundred vouchers even though more than 4,000 had been allotted for renters terminated by DHAP.
Donovan also plans to extend eligibility for permanent vouchers to all DHAP renters whose incomes fall below HUD's usual Section 8 income limits. The Bush administration had decided to give vouchers only to the elderly, disabled or extremely low-income families.
"Thank you, Jesus!" said New Orleans Legal Assistance housing-law attorney Laura Tuggle, as she heard of Donovan's decision. Tuggle represents several dozen elderly and disabled DHAP renters, all of whom are eligible for vouchers but are struggling to complete the conversion process ahead of the deadline.
"The time was too tight to transition thousands and thousands of families, " she said. She said she hoped that housing authorities and tenants would work together to enroll all voucher-eligible families so that no one will be left without housing when the transition period ends. "We really need to use this time wisely to make sure we have a smooth landing, " she said.
Donovan said that HUD might need some additional financing from Congress to extend the program to all those who meet the income requirements, which he believes could qualify half the 31,000. If HUD uses its standard Section 8 income requirements, vouchers will be offered to working-poor households earning up to 50 percent of an area's median income. In the New Orleans area, a four-person household making up to $29,900 would now qualify, whereas under the Bush administration standard, a four-person household could earn only up to $17,950.
A little extra time
But all 31,000 families, including those that have been paying up to $600 a month in rent because their incomes didn't qualify for full federal rent subsidies, would get some additional time to work out alternative housing beyond the current Feb. 28 deadline. The extra time also helps moderate-income New Orleans homeowners such as Clarence White, who earns too much to qualify for a voucher but can't afford rent on top of his $1,200 monthly mortgage payment for his half-rebuilt Gentilly home, he said.
About 15,000 of the households served by the program live in the New Orleans area, where many eligible Section 8 families have long lived without even a chance at a voucher. At the time Hurricane Katrina hit, the Housing Authority of New Orleans had a Section 8 waiting list that was more than 10,000 names long. The housing authority last accepted new applicants for that list in July 2001.
Donovan said he is working with Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and other members of Congress to gain additional financing for the program, and the response might determine how much additional time HUD will provide.
Landrieu said she had a positive meeting with Donovan on Tuesday and expected to have things resolved in the next few days.
"The Bush administration had made a decision to provide vouchers only to vulnerable families -- elderly, disabled and extremely low-income, " Donovan said. "There's a whole group of other families that are eligible for the permanent voucher program that they were not planning to cover. I made a decision to make vouchers available to every eligible family."
'It's fantastic'
He said he also quickly determined that HUD had not provided enough time to get vouchers to affected families soon enough for the end of the DHAP program.
"We've got to find some transition for those families that will allow them not to be put at risk because HUD hadn't moved quickly enough to put vouchers in their hands, " Donovan said.
Terrol Williams was evacuated from New Orleans after Katrina and, after a short stint at the Washington, D.C., Armory, has been living at an apartment complex near Capitol Hill ever since. There are about 15 New Orleanians living there, all of whom depend on DHAP to help pay their rent, according to Williams.
"This is great news for sure, " Williams said of Donovan's announcement.
Josh Bruno, president of Metrowide Apartments in New Orleans, said that he had 150 DHAP tenants in buildings he owned. Before Tuesday's reprieve, many had no way to pay March rent.
"We had a whole lot of people who didn't know where they were going to go, " he said. Some were homeowners who'd been fleeced by unscrupulous contractors and others had been working but were laid off because of the poor economy.
"The last thing we wanted to do was massive evictions, " Bruno said, applauding Donovan's decision. "It's fantastic and, really, what's needed."
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By: Bruce Alpert & Katy Recdahl, the Times-Picayune - 02/12/2009 |
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Fannie Mae to Halt Evictions in Foreclosures
NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Fannie Mae said on Monday it will allow tenants to remain in their homes and avoid eviction even if the building's landlo...
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By: Reuters - 12/18/2008 |
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Fannie Mae to End Tenant Evictions in Foreclosures
Story by Kelly Evans Wall Street Journal Fannie Mae is finalizing a national policy that will allow tenants to remain in their homes even if their landlord goes into foreclosure -- a landmark decision for tenants. The policy will be in effect Jan. 9, Fannie Mae said Sunday, and reflects growing pressure on the mortgage company from a legal-aid group that threatened to sue over recent evictions. The company said it will also ensure its current holiday moratorium on new evictions is being followed until the new policy takes effect. "We're delighted that Fannie Mae has agreed to change their policy," said Amy Marx, an attorney with New Haven Legal Assistance in Connecticut. "And we're hopeful others will follow suit." In late November Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they would suspend tenant evictions temporarily during the year-end holidays. New Haven Legal Assistance said that despite the pledge, Fannie Mae was proceeding with more than a dozen new eviction cases in Connecticut. The advocacy group said the evictions would violate legislation passed earlier this year to rescue the two mortgage-finance giants that required them "to permit bona fide tenants who are current on their rent to remain in their homes under the terms of their lease." In his letter Sunday to the New Haven group, Fannie Mae General Counsel Curtis Lu wrote: "As far as we know, this will be the first nationwide program of its kind." Copies of the letter were sent to Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking committee and Barney Frank (D., Mass.), House Financial Services Committee chairman. Freddie Mac hasn't announced a similar policy reversal, though a spokesperson said they are "currently evaluating additional actions." The decision by the government-backed mortgage giants represents just a slice of the market and excludes many properties purchased with riskier loans that are now falling into foreclosure. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, however, are uniquely structured to be able to address the issue, which effectively now has them acting as a type of landlord or property-management company to administer month-to-month leases to renters of their foreclosed properties. Ted Meyer, a spokesman for Deutsche Bank, one of the biggest trustees of mortgage-backed securities, said Deutsche Bank isn't in a position to be able to follow Fannie's lead on foreclosures. Deutsche Bank has no capacity to intervene, Mr. Meyer indicated, saying "the whole issue comes down to ownership" of the foreclosed properties. A given property "is held in trust by us but it is effectively owned by the hundreds or thousands of people that own a tiny sliver of mortgages in any one pool," Mr. Meyer said. It might fall to the local servicers of the mortgages to decide to halt evictions, he added, because they are responsible for steps such as hiring real-estate agents to put foreclosed properties on the market. It isn't clear how much power -- or will -- a servicing company has to effect a moratorium on tenant evictions. It's a frustrating situation, says David Rothstein, a researcher at nonprofit group Policy Matters Ohio who has looked at the effect of such evictions in his state. "When there's a renter in these properties they're less likely to be vandalized, they're better maintained, and it's better for the communities," he said. In a recent report Mr. Rothstein found foreclosure filings on renter-occupied units in Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is located, were up 29% in 2007 from the previous year. The average cost of an eviction per family ran about $2,500 -- meaning a total $10 million loss of wealth, Mr. Rothstein said. The social and economic pain of eviction has made the subject a regional cause more than a national one. That in turn has made it difficult for groups to marshal the political muscle to enact state or federal legislation barring tenant evictions in foreclosures. A New York University study found at least 15,000 renter households in New York City were affected by foreclosure last year. Since then, the number likely has increased. In the Boston area, a group of Harvard University students has been going door to door notifying tenants of their rights in an eviction; many such tenants are unaware of their rights and accept "cash for keys" offers from lenders -- often $500 or $1,000 -- to leave. "We had seen the devastating impacts of Fannie Mae offering cash for keys to tenants and evicting most of the rest," Ms. Marx said. "We eagerly await the implementation of the new policies."
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By: Wall Street Journal - 12/15/2008 |
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More Housing News |
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 Immigration
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HUD Expands Multi-Lingual Website to Help Families Who are Limited English Proficient to Gain Access to HUD Programs
HUD EXPANDS MULTI-LINGUAL WEBSITE TO HELP FAMILES WHO ARE LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT TO GAIN ACCESS TO HUD PROGRAMSNew website offers translation of HUD Vital Documents for FreeWASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today unveiled an enhanced website to promote equal access to housing programs by providing important HUD documents in 12 different languages. HUD's expanded Limited English Proficiency (LEP) website features factsheets, housing brochures and other forms in Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, in addition to English.
"When buying or renting a home, obtaining important housing information should not depend on how well people speak English," said John Trasviña, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "This website greatly expands HUD's ability to offer all families access to our programs and services, regardless of the language they speak."
The HUD site offers brochures on fair housing, model lease agreements, information about HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), and a Resident Rights and Responsibilities brochure in various languages. These documents are free to the public.
The LEP website is in response to Executive Order 13166, which requires all federal, local and state agencies that receive federal funding to ensure that people with limited language skills have meaningful access to government programs and services.
"The importance of homeownership and fair housing means HUD must be a leader in this area. HUD will continue our efforts to serve all persons by translating additional vital documents and posting them on the website," said Trasviña.
FHEO and its partners in the Fair Housing Assistance Program investigate approximately 10,500 housing discrimination complaints annually. People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at 1 (800) 669-9777 (voice), (800) 927-9275 (TTY). Additional information is available.
###
HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to sustaining homeownership; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.
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By: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - 06/30/2009 |
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Oklahoma Attorney General's Office Asked to Investigate Immigration Scam Inquiry
BY MICHAEL MCNUTTPublished: March 31, 2009
The state attorney general's office is being asked to investigate allegations that people posing as immigration specialists are scamming victims out of thousands of dollars.AdvertisementClick Here!
The Governor's Advisory Council on Latin American and Hispanic Affairs took the action Monday after receiving complaints that two women in Oklahoma City bilked $185,000 out of at least 10 people.
One woman poses as a federal immigration official who notifies people there are problems with their immigration status and refers them to another woman under the guise that she will file legal papers to take care of the matter, council Chairman Giovanni Perry said.
"It's all false," she said.
Council member Nancy Galvan said she was told someone had turned over a complaint to the attorney general's office. The council members voted to write an official request to the attorney general's office.
Contacted later, Charlie Price, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said the office does not discuss matters that may be under investigation.
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By: The Oklahoman - 04/01/2009 |
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Judge Upholds Most of Oklahoma's ImmigrationLaw
by Marie PriceThe Journal Record February 12, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY - A Tulsa County district judge upheld Wednesday all but one section of Oklahoma's immigration law, portions of which are also the object of litigation in federal court now on appeal to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General Sandy Rinehart said District Judge Jefferson Sellers struck one section of the law.
"The judge found that all of the provisions were constitutional, except for one specific provision that had to do with granting resident tuition for higher education," Rinehart said.
The stricken provision made changes in a statute allowing children of illegal immigrants to be treated as residents for purposes of tuition for state colleges and universities.
Rinehart said Sellers held that the section violated a provision of the Oklahoma Constitution prohibiting multiple-subject legislation.
The Tulsa County case was filed as a taxpayer lawsuit by plaintiff Michael Thomas.
Its challenges were state constitutional claims, unlike the federal issues addressed by the lawsuit now before the 10th Circuit, Rinehart said.
The state-level lawsuit argued that the law violated several sections of the state constitution by improperly using public money to establish a bureau of immigration and being an impermissible local or special law, among other contentions.
Much of the immigration statute, known as House Bill 1804, is already law. However, several provisions relating to businesses, such as those that contract with public agencies, were put on hold under the federal lawsuit.
Rinehart said Oklahoma will be bound by the ultimate decision of the 10th Circuit in the federal case. She said briefs have been filed, but no date has been set for oral argument.
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By: The Journal Record - 02/12/2009 |
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 Public Benefits
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High-Tech Tax Help for the 2009 Filing Season
Washington, DC?A free website that permits low-income workers to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is ready for the 2009 tax-filing season.
I-CAN! E-File is available to taxpayers at I-CAN E-file and, for the first time, as part of the Free File Alliance, a group of organizations that provide free tax-filing services and are listed on the Internal Revenue Service website, www.irs.gov.
The I-CAN! E-File was developed through funding provided by a Technology Initiative Grant from the Legal Services Corporation. The electronic filing system takes its name from the Interactive Community Assistance Network, a ground-breaking, touch-screen, self-help kiosk developed by the Legal Aid Society of Orange County to provide low-income individuals and families with access to legal forms and information. The Orange County legal aid program launched the E-File website in 2003 to help low-income workers create and electronically file their taxes and apply for the EITC.
For the 2008 tax-filing season, EITC provided $47 billion in refunds and offsets to tax liabilities. Of that total, I-CAN! E-File brought back more than $33 million in refunds and credits to low-income workers in 45 states, demonstrating how an innovative technology project can make an impact in serving low-income families.
The website permits taxpayers at a fifth-grade literacy level to log on, answer basic questions about their finances, determine if they qualify for the ETIC and then file their federal tax returns online or print out their tax forms and mail them to the IRS.
In addition, I-CAN! E-File can be used to file state tax returns in the following states: Alaska, California, Michigan, Montana, New York and Pennsylvania.
The EITC is a refundable federal income tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and families approved by Congress in 1975 as a way to help offset the burden of Social Security taxes and to provide an incentive to work. When the EITC exceeds the amount of taxes owed, it results in a tax refund to those who claim and qualify for the credit. To qualify, taxpayers must meet certain requirements and file a tax return, even if they did not earn enough money to be obligated to file a return.
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By: Legal Services Corporation - 01/29/2009 |
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Special Veterans Court Started
Military personnel returning from combat zones have their own court should they have to deal with alcohol and drug problems.But it is not a place wher...
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By: Tulsa Business Journal - 12/11/2008 |
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Online help with Federal taxes I-Can E-File!
Get help with online I-CAN! E-File, in English or Spanish! You can generally use I-CAN! E-file unless you have a foreign address, own a business, are a church employee or clergy member, or sold real estate in 2007. If you are in the military or you are disabled you may be eligible for tax credits that are not included in I-CAN! E-file. You cannot use I-CAN! E-file to file your Oklahoma state return-- but you can file your Oklahoma state return FREE, too, by visiting the Oklahoma Tax Commission web site at this link.
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By: I-Can! E-File - 02/17/2007 |
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More Public Benefits News |
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 Seniors
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NSCLC Announces Settlement
Important Information for Advocates Working with Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Recipients.A settlement agreement which will end the...
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By: NSCLC - 10/06/2009 |
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Putting Seniors Back to Work - and Footing the Bill
Julie YatesStaff Reporter
Pryor Creek Recreation Center is hosting a participant in the ExperienceWorks program.
Bettie Armontrout, Pryor, started working at PCRC Monday. Armontrout is working to acquire more office skills so she can find a job after completing the program.
The training program works with rural counties. ExperienceWorks helps senior citizens gain new job skills so they can seek work outside the program. The program is solely for residents ages 55 and up with limited income.
Mary Meriwether, Employment and Training Coordinator for Northeast Oklahoma, handles 11 counties in northeast Oklahoma. Meriwether specified that ExperienceWorks is not a job placement program.
"It's a work site training program for seniors to get them job ready," said Meriwether.
The program is funded through the Oklahoma Department of Labor. Training lasts from six to nine months.
Meriwether said the program is geared to offer seniors training in new skills. She said most seniors need keyboard and computer
experience.
Participants are able to work at host sites as they train. The required work time is 21 hours a week.
"We give free labor to a place in exchange for a training site," said Meriwether.
ExperienceWorks pays the participant's labor and workman's compensation. The program requires a safety check on all host sites.
Host sites must be government agencies such as schools, fire departments or city and county offices. Certain charitable organizations also apply. The organization must have a governmental letter designating them as a true
charitable organization.
Organizations such as Community Action Resource & Development (C.A.R.D.), Salvation Army, American Red Cross and United Way can be host sites. Meriwether said supervisors with charitable organizations get value time for hosting participants. The organizations can record the time and use it for grant requests.
"Sometimes it's a win-win situation and the host site will hire the participant," said Meriwether. "We have had wonderful success stories."
Seniors in the program may possibly be sent to training at technology centers. Any further training is given in addition to the required 21 hours of work at a host site.
"Mayes County is very under served," said Meriwether. She said not many in the county meet the program requirements.
"We sit down and do an extensive interview and see what they would like to do," said Meriwether.
The application includes a background check. Seniors drawing unemployment are not eligible for the program.
"We try to keep congressmen and senators aware of the program," said Meriwether.
To apply for ExperienceWorks, potential participants can contact Meriwether at (918) 462-0867.
Armontrout is one of two participants in Mayes County. If all goes as planned, she will work 21-hour weeks at PCRC until May.
Armontrout said she worked at Mayes County Nutrition Center for two
years through the American Association of Retired Persons. She transferred
to PCRC under ExperienceWorks.
"It's a very good program," said Armontrout.
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By: Pryor Daily Times - 01/05/2009 |
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Lending Hand to Legal Aid
During the past year, my husband, Drew, and I have worked with attorneys from across the state to raise money for the statewide program that provides free civil legal aid to low-income and elderly Oklahomans. We have served as statewide co-chairs for the Campaign for Justice and raised more than $700,000.
This holiday season we celebrate the hundreds of law firms, individual attorneys, foundations, businesses and other generous Oklahomans statewide who have decided that legal aid is one of their top personal and professional responsibilities.
The caliber of attorneys working on the Campaign for Justice is impressive. They are prominent members of firms, well-known in the Oklahoma State Bar Association and willing to dedicate the time necessary to raise money to strengthen Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma. William G. Paul, who presided over the American Bar Association in 1999-2000, essentially founded this campaign, serving three years as statewide chair from 2003-05. Since then the annual campaigns have been chaired by retired federal Judge Thomas J. Brett in 2006, Burns Hargis and Mike Turpen in 2007 and this year by Drew and me.
Throughout the year, we met with dedicated groups of Oklahoma City and Tulsa attorneys who strategized about how to make Legal Aid stronger in all 77 counties. The Oklahoma City team, co-chaired by Laura McConnell-Corbyn and John Kenney, and the Tulsa Team, co-chaired by Doug Dodd and Jim Green, met with managing partners of law firms and private practitioners to educate them about the role of Legal Aid in Oklahoma.
The work of Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma is all civil, meaning these are not criminal cases. LASO is part of a network of legal aid programs in every state, which receives funding from the Legal Services Corporation in Washington, D.C. LSC receives its funding from Congress and so it has a list of restrictions for all of the programs it funds. These restrictions include strict prohibitions on class-action cases and cases representing incarcerated persons.
Legal Aid's clients are generally not served by the private bar because of their low income level. In order to qualify for Legal Aid, the basic income eligibility level is 125 percent of poverty, which is $12,762 a year for a single person and $25,812 a year for a family of four. For extremely compelling cases, the income eligibility level sometimes is raised to 200 percent of poverty. Legal Aid's casework deals with family issues such as child support and custody and guardianships; consumer scams; housing problems including wrongful evictions; and problems with Social Security and Medicaid.
Oklahoma's justice community includes the private bar, three law school clinics, a few church legal clinics and Legal Aid's 22 offices around the state. The critical service performed by Legal Aid helps clients keep their families healthy, safe and under one roof despite their low incomes.
I salute Oklahoma attorneys, foundations and businesses for their support of the Campaign for Justice and Justice for All for Oklahoma.
Edmondson is the wife of Attorney General Drew Edmondson.
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By: The Daily Oklahoman - 12/29/2008 |
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More Seniors News |
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 Work
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Oklahoma jobless compensation extended by new law
About 7,000 Oklahomans whose jobless benefits have ended are expected to be eligible for extended unemployment compensation under federal legislation that went into effect Sunday.
The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 changes the maximum number of weeks that a person can collect Emergency Unemployment Compensation Tier 2 benefits from 13 weeks to 14 weeks, and creates Tier 3 benefits for those who use up Tier 2 claims.
"This is really good news for a lot of people," said Oklahoma Employment Security Commission spokesman John Carpenter.
The commission will mail all current and former Tier 2 claimants a determination informing them of eligibility and instructions for filing. Someone who has been paid the final week of Tier 2 benefits will then be able to apply for Tier 3, Carpenter said.
All Tier 3 claims will be backdated so that those eligible will receive benefits for all weeks in which they were entitled, said Jerry Pectol, the commission's director of unemployment insurance. Filing instructions will be mailed to addresses on record, so it's critical for those filing to make sure the agency has a current address, he said.
"This extension will help quite a few Oklahomans," Pectol said.
"We ask that our claimants be patient as we implement these changes. We want to assure them that everyone will receive all of the benefits for which they are eligible."
The state has been paying out record amounts of benefits this year, Carpenter said, and while the number of new applicants has dropped a bit in the past couple of months, there has been a rise in those receiving extended benefits.
"That number just keeps going up and up," indicating that more and more people are going through the system "and are not able to find a job," he said. "It's brutal out there."
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By: The Daily Oklahoman - 11/16/2009 |
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New Oklahoma Minimum Wage Law
A new minimum wage law requires a 10.7% raise to all states who follow Federal Minimum Wage laws. The rate increased from its previous rate...
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By: Workplace Fairness.org - 07/27/2009 |
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Expired Documents Deemed Unacceptable, More Changes Coming
by Marie PriceThe Journal RecordOKLAHOMA CITY - As of April 3, the kinds of documents acceptable to verify employment eligibility through the federal Form I-9 changed, immigration attorneys say. Key among the changes: Expired documents, such as U.S. passports, are no longer acceptable.
More changes are due next month, with federal contractors required to use the federal E-verify system for new and current workers.
"Mainly what they've done is just remove the ability to present expired documents," said Oklahoma City attorney Matt Stump. "They think they're too easily prone to tampering and fraud."
Stump said the requirement that documents be unexpired extends to so-called List B documents such as driver's licenses and photo ID cards issued by the government, schools and the military.
"I think they're really focusing in on the identity part, being able to prevent fraud in that sense," he said.
List A documents include passports and passport cards, permanent resident cards and similar documents that contain a photo.
"If you have somebody that's coming in for re-verification, and you've previously used the old I-9, you're going to need to use the new I-9," Stump said.
Attorney Amir Farzaneh, with the Hall Estill law firm, said the federal government previously narrowed the field of acceptable documents in late 2007, making old versions of alien registration forms and certain other documents unacceptable.
"You cannot use an expired document of any kind anymore," he said.
In addition to not accepting expired documents, Farzaneh said the government will now accept passports from Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, if a person also has a legal entry form.
Farzaneh said another revision that took effect April 3 deletes a former version of the federal work-authorization card from the acceptable list.
Beginning May 21, he said, federal contractors and subcontractors that meet certain criteria must participate in the online E-verify program. The mandate was postponed from an executive order issued by then-President Bush.
Farzaneh said the requirement covers contracts awarded after May.
"Not only do they have to participate in E-verify, but also they have to verify new and current employees," he said.
The change applies only to contractors with contracts of $100,000 or more and duration of 120 days or longer. It applies to subcontractors with subcontracts of more than $3,000.
Contractors must enroll in E-verify within 30 days of being awarded a contract and begin verifying current workers within 90 days from the date of enrollment. The E-verify requirement applies only to current full- and part-time employees working on a covered contract, as well as all new employees.
The E-verify mandate includes some exceptions, such as contracts that cover only commercially available off-the-shelf items and related services such as food.
E-verify cannot be used for pre-job screening, before an individual has accepted employment.
Farzaneh said there are some questions as to what constitutes a federal contractor - for example, hospitals that accept Medicaid.
"If the amount of services are over $100,000, which it would be eventually, and the duration will eventually be more than 120 days, are they federal contractors?" he asked. "The language of the regulation, from what (U.S. Immigration) says, sounds like they are."
Farzaneh said his suggestion to employers in that situation would be to participate in E-verify.
He said the same question arises with financial institutions that deal with U.S. bonds and FDIC insurance.
"It looks like, from the language, that the best bet is to participate," Farzaneh said. "It's really not clear at this point in time, whether they would be considered contractors. But I think it's better to participate."
E-verify uses the databases of the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It is administered through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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By: The Journal Record - 04/14/2009 |
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