LifeSmarts takes DC! Area students get their consumer savvy on at LifeSmarts Training Camp – National Consumers League

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Knowing how to balance your checkbook, understand the ins and outs of credit, and read a drug facts labels are all vital skill that are not necessarily taught in school. With the importance of developing these, and other critical skills in mind, close to one hundred students from high schools all across the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania gathered on January 27, 2012 at the American Farm Bureau’s beautiful offices for the first ever DC LifeSmarts Training Camp.

The Training Camp, sponsored by the National Consumers League, the University of the District of Columbia’s Extension Service and the American Farm Bureau, was designed to introduce new students to LifeSmarts content through games, activities and competition, and inspire enthusiasm for learning important consumer literacy skills through teamwork and fun.

The day began by offering a brief overview of the program and challenging all students to compete for a coveted spot at the 2012 National LifeSmarts Championship in Philadelphia from April 21-24.

The first activity of the day had participants working in their teams to create “visual mind maps” that illustrated what they thought they would need to know for life after high school. Students put their creativity and artistic talents to the test in thinking about how mastering the five LifeSmarts topics of personal finance, health & safety, consumer rights & responsibilities, technology, and the environment, would serve them after graduation. Smart money management emerged as one of the room’s top concerns.

The next several activities introduced students to vocabulary that included topics ranging from online privacy, web “cookies”, interpreting labels on OTC medicines and navigating through the Federal Consumer Information Center’s Consumer Action Handbook. Students were sorted into teams to answer challenging multiple-choice questions using audience response system technology.

Before anyone could get too comfortable, it was time to compete in LifeSmarts, the ultimate consumer challenge! Two 2011 LifeSmarts state champion teams were on hand to demonstrate how the game was played. A few new students exchanged worried glances as the teams from Maryland and Virginia breezed through questions about taxation, the role of federal agencies, and safely handling muscle injuries, but when it came time for new students to hit the competition circuit, they were lighting up the buzzers like pros!

Competitions begin!

By the end of the day, every student left with a solid grasp of the program, including the competition format and the breadth of program content.  LifeSmarts program staff has a sneaking suspicion that competition to win the title of District of Columbia LifeSmarts Champion will be tough this year!

NCL, Consumer Action joint statement on Minnesota legislation regarding restrictive paperless tickets – National Consumers League

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January 30, 2012

Contact: NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC–Consumer Action and the National Consumers League (NCL) jointly issued the following statement regarding legislation scheduled for hearings in the Minnesota House Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee and the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee this week.

“Consumer Action and the National Consumers League support legislation to safeguard consumer rights from the practice of restrictive paperless ticketing. Ticket sellers, sports teams and event promoters have seriously damaged the rights of consumers through the use of restrictive tickets and we support attempts to curtail their spread.

“Restrictive paperless tickets dictate how – or whether – consumers can share or transfer their tickets, including whether they are permitted to give away tickets to charitable organizations or re-sell their tickets for any price,” said John Breyault, NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud.  “By dictating that all ticket transfers and resales be made through their own websites, sellers like Ticketmaster and Veritix monopolize resale markets and eliminate consumer choice.”

NCL and Consumer Action applaud Minnesota’s proactive response to this damaging practice and Senator Gerlach’s and Representative Hoppe’s leadership in introducing these bills. We strongly encourage both committees to protect consumer rights.

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About Consumer Action

Consumer Action has been a champion of underrepresented consumers nationwide since 1971. A nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, Consumer Action focuses on consumer education that empowers low to moderate income and limited-English-speaking consumers to financially prosper. It also advocates for consumers in the media and before lawmakers to advance consumer rights and promote industry-wide change.

About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

EITC: Do you qualify? – National Consumers League

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Happy Earned Income Tax Credit Day!

The EITC is a very helpful way for low-moderate income working Americans to get extra money on their taxes. EITC is a financial boost for working people in a recovering economy. Unfortunately, not all Americans who qualify take advantage, but it’s getting better — last year four of five eligible people claimed and got their EITC!

The IRS says: You earned it. Now file, claim it and get it. It’s easier than ever to find out whether you qualify.

Low-income consumers can also take advantage of the IRS FreeFile service to avoid the high costs of tax preparation software or the risk of using a fly-by-night tax preparer.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guUg9cRYPl0]


NCL praises USDA for improved school lunch guidelines – National Consumers League

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January 25, 2012

Contact: NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—Today the United States Department of Agriculture announced final guidelines on school meal nutrition. Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of The National Consumers League (NCL), has issued the following statement on these new guidelines:

“Today, USDA announced finalized guidelines for the meals children eat at school. The new guidelines represent an important step forward in ensuring that our children have access to healthy, wholesome foods at school. These guidelines are especially important because children consume up to half of their daily calories at school.”

“The new guidelines will provide more fruits and vegetables, offer more whole grain options, set upper and lower calorie limits based on age, and set important limits on the amount of saturated fat and sodium allowed in school meals. NCL commends USDA on the strength of the new guidelines and applauds the agency’s decision to craft these rules based on the strong science of the Institute of Medicine.”

“Besides setting new guidelines, which will change how American children eat at school, the new rules also increase funding to schools for the first time in 30 years. NCL praises USDA for recognizing that resource-strapped schools need additional funding if they are to implement these necessary changes to meal patterns.”

“NCL congratulates USDA on the strong stance it has taken to protect and promote children’s health and encourages the agency to continue its work to see that the new guidelines are implemented in a timely manner.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

How safe is your OJ? – National Consumers League

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Orange juice has spent a lot of time in the headlines recently due to the detection of low levels of a fungicide called carbendazim. Is America’s OJ safe to drink? What’s the government doing about it and what does this mean for consumers?

Carbendazim is not approved for use in either the United States or the European Union, but it is widely used in other parts of the world to combat fungus that grows on fruit. At high levels, the fungicide has been correlated with liver cancer in animal studies.

Here’s what’s gone down: Coca Cola alerted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the presence of carbendazim after finding it in samples of juice it tested. OJ from Brazil was implicated as the source of the residues. In response to the alert from Coca Cola, FDA began to test imported orange juice for the presence of the fungicide. The agency announced that it would ban any juices that contained more than 10 parts per billion (ppb) of carbendazim.

While the United States and European Union both ban it, only the EU has set a threshold for how much carbendazim is allowed in foods. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that carbendazim at less than 80 ppb is not harmful. Furthermore, FDA stated in a letter from January 9 that the “EPA has concluded that consumption of orange juice with carbendazim at the low levels that have been reported does not raise safety concerns.”

While FDA has stated that the level of carbendazim recently found in the orange juice is not harmful, the issue still raises concerns for consumers. There are three major things that need to happen here if consumers are to be protected. First, FDA should issue limits on the amount of carbendazim that can be present in orange juice, a move that would get rid of the current ambiguity surrounding the issue.

Second, country of origin labels (COOL) on juice allow consumers to decide whether or not they want to buy a product which comes from a country with a history of using chemicals not approved in the US. Unfortunately, our entire COOL system is under attack by the World Trade Organization (WTO). In order to protect consumers, the Obama administration should appeal the WTO’s recent ruling and fight to protect COOL.

Finally, FDA, which is responsible for the safety of much of the food in this country, should be adequately funded so that it can carry out its expanded mandate as prescribed by the recent Food Safety Modernization Act. Only with increased funding can FDA continue to do the work that protects our food supply.

While FDA has so far not found excess amounts of carbendazim in any of the samples it has tested, consumers may still want to avoid orange juice that contains this chemical. There are two ways to do this. First, if you want to avoid many pesticide residues, drink orange juice that is certified 100 percent organic. Second, look at the label to see where the orange juice comes from and drink only U.S. orange juice. For now, FDA has stated that it will not recall any orange juice and that the juice available is safe to drink.

Saying goodbye to Hull House – National Consumers League

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

We learned to our great sadness at the National Consumers League that Hull House in Chicago is closing its doors, though thankfully the Museum will stay open. The historic settlement house founded by Jane Addams in 1889 in a rundown, largely immigrant Chicago neighborhood was inhabited for years by the first head of the NCL, Florence Kelley. Kelley did much of her earliest pioneering work from Hull House and was inspired and supported in that work by her dear friend Jane Addams and many other notable residents.

Hull House was the first of-its-kind settlement houses in America and was home to some of the most renown Progressive-era reformers in addition to Kelley – including Grace Abbot, Frances Perkins, Julia Lathrop, and Alice Hamilton, and of course Jane Addams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. Addams bought the Hull House property and staffed it with a community of colleagues that helped thousands of immigrants adjust to life in America, providing classes in English, teaching about American customs, cooking, sewing, infant care, and conducting dance classes and other forms of recreation. Today Hull House provides equally critical services, including foster care, domestic violence counseling and prevention services, child development programs, and job training to about 60,000 children, families and community groups each year.

But now it appears that Hull House will be forced to close because of lack of funds. Stephen Saunders, Hull House’s chairman, issued a statement indicating that growing deficits have plagued the institution for several years.

In a nation with as much wealth as we enjoy here in the United States, it is indeed a sad commentary on our values that a historic institution like Hull House that has throughout its history provided basic services to the poor would be forced to close its doors.

We at the NCL, with our deep historical connections to Hull House and its mission, are greatly saddened at this news. We wish the institution well and we thank those members of the Hull House Board who worked so hard all these years to keep a historical icon working so long and so hard to provide assistance to those in greatest need.

NCL statement mourning closing of Hull House – National Consumers League

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January 23, 2012

Contact: NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC–Sally Greenberg, Executive Director, National Consumers League issued this statement today:

The National Consumers League (NCL) laments the news that the historic Hull House in Chicago is going to be closing. NCL’s roots are closely tied to Hull House. It was inhabited for years by the first head of the NCL, Florence Kelley, who did much of her earliest pioneering work from Hull House and was inspired and supported in that work by her dear friend Jane Addams and many other notable residents.

Kelley met and worked closely with other renown Hull House residents and Progressive-era reformers – including Grace Abbot, Frances Perkins, Julia Lathrop, and Alice Hamilton, and of course Jane Addams.

In a nation with as much wealth as we enjoy here in the United States, it is indeed a sad commentary on our values that a historic institution like Hull House that has, throughout its history, provided basic services to the poor would be forced to close its doors.

The Board of Directors and staff of the NCL, in light of our deep historical connections to Hull House and its mission, are greatly saddened at this news. We wish the institution well and we thank those members of the Hull House Board who worked so hard all these years to keep a historical icon working so long and so hard to provide assistance to those in greatest need.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Fungicide, orange juice, and what you should know – National Consumers League

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By Teresa Green, Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow

In the past week, orange juice has spent a lot of time in the headlines due to the detection of low levels of a fungicide called carbendazim in the orange juice.  Carbendazim is not approved for use in either the United States or the European Union but is widely used in other parts of the world to combat fungus that grows on fruit.  At high levels, the fungicide has been correlated with liver cancer in animal studies.

Coca Cola alerted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the presence of carbendazim after finding it in samples of juice it tested.  Orange juice from Brazil was implicated as the source of the residues.  In response to the alert from Coca Cola, FDA began to test imported orange juice for the presence of the fungicide.  The agency announced that it would ban any juices that contained more than 10 parts per billion (ppb) of carbendazim.

While the US and EU both ban it, only the EU has set a threshold for how much carbendazim is allowed in foods.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that carbendazim at less than 80 ppb is not harmful.  Furthermore, FDA stated in a letter from January 9 that the “EPA has concluded that consumption of orange juice with carbendazim at the low levels that have been reported does not raise safety concerns.”

While FDA has stated that the level of carbendazim found in orange juice is not harmful, the issue still raises concerns for consumers.  There are three major things that need to happen here if consumers are to be protected.  First, FDA should issue limits on the amount of carbendazim that can be present in orange juice, a move that would get rid of the current ambiguity surrounding the issue.

Second, country of origin labels (COOL) on juice allow consumers to decide whether or not they want to buy a product which comes from a country with a history of using chemicals not approved in the US. Unfortunately, our entire COOL system is under attack by the World Trade Organization (WTO).  In order to protect consumers, the Obama administration should appeal the WTO’s recent ruling and fight to protect COOL.

Finally, FDA, which is responsible for the safety of much of the food in this country, should be adequately funded so that it can carry out its expanded mandate as prescribed by the recent Food Safety Modernization Act.  Only with increased funding can FDA continue to do the work that protects our food supply.

While FDA has so far not found excess amounts of carbendazim in any of the samples it has tested, consumers may still want to avoid orange juice that contains this chemical.  There are two ways to do this.  First, if you want to avoid many pesticide residues, drink orange juice that is certified 100% organic.  Second, look at the label to see where the orange juice comes from and drink only U.S. orange juice. For now, FDA has stated that it will not recall any orange juice and that the juice available is safe to drink.

Cruise drama highlights vacation risks – National Consumers League

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The dramatic story of thousands of passengers stranded on a power- and plumbing-less Carnival cruise ship in the Carribean has many consumers wondering not only about cruise ship safety, but also their rights as passengers. What exactly are you risking when purchasing a vacation getaway?

According to a recent Reuters article, consumers sign away a handful of rights when they buy a ticket — which is essentially a contract — to embark on a cruise. According to the story, Carnival makes up about half of the cruise market, but its contracts are quite typical. Here’s what consumers are handing over — along with their cash:

A guarantee that the cruise will actually happen.

Carnival can cancel any cruise at any time, according to the contract. It will owe you a refund if the cruise is completely cancelled, or a partial refund if the company changes its mind and leaves you at some port along the way. There’s no additional refund in the contract for airfare home. If you cancel within two weeks of booking you’ll most likely owe full fare anyway, under the contract.

The right to sue when and where you want.

Like most consumer legal contracts these days, the Carnival ticket contract includes an arbitration clause that requires you to submit claims for lost luggage and the like to binding arbitration in Miami-Dade County, Florida. If you do want to file suit for a personal injury, you would be required to do that in the U.S. Federal District Court in Miami.

Furthermore, there are lawsuit deadlines in cruise contracts that many attorneys and passengers aren’t even aware of. The contract requires injured parties to notify Carnival within six months and file suit within a year.

The right to ask for sizeable punitive damages.

There are two different kinds of ticket contracts: Domestic ones, which do not cap liability, and international contracts, such as the ones the passengers of the Costa Concordia likely agreed to when they boarded their ship. That contract is subject to an international agreement called the “Athens Convention,” which limits liability to about $80,000.

The right to emotional distress.

What if you’re traumatized by your cruise – say, if a loved one is injured or killed on the ship? Unless you personally were at risk for the same injury (as would likely be the case in a disaster like the Costa Concordia’s accident), you probably waived your right to claim emotional distress in the contract.

The right to privacy.

When you sign the contract, you give the company the right “at all times with or without notice” to search your bags and personal effects. That’s so they can make sure you’re not smuggling any firearms, explosives, or alcohol onto the ship.

The contracts give the cruiseline the right to use pictures and videos of you for commercial purposes–without any further permission from – or compensation to – you. The right to use your own pictures. Carnival reserves the rights to your pictures – you don’t. Passengers agree that they “will not utilize any photographs … for non-private use without express written consent of Carnival.”

Protection from theft.

In the event that personal items go missing on the ship or luggage is lost,  The ticket contract limits the company’s liability for lost or damaged bags and their contents to $50 per guest or $100 per stateroom. If your items are worth much more than that, you can buy added coverage by declaring the value of what you are bringing onto the ship and paying 5 percent of its value.

Reuters recommends if you’re bringing expensive jewelry or other items on board, make a written list of the value, pay the 5 percent and make sure the crew gets a copy of that list.

Still planning that winter cruise to the Caribbean? Remember the golden rule of the educated consumer: do your research, know what the risks are, and don’t sign anything you don’t understand.

One worker’s tale of blatant wage theft – National Consumers League

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The fact that millions of Americans are out of work makes daily headlines, but a far less publicized problem is robbing working Americans of their full paychecks: the growing issue of wage theft.

A man we’ll call “Parker” recently came to NCL with his story: Parker, a skilled construction worker, had relocated back to North Carolina and was having a hard time landing a job. After weeks of searching, he was thrilled to find an opening at a firm that specializes in office construction and remodeling. Parker’s enthusiasm for his new job was short-lived. After he was hired, his employer informed him that he would be required to complete 40 hours of unpaid “training,” which for Parker meant a full week of arduous, physical work dismantling cubicles and work stations and replacing them with new ones.

“The ‘training period’ is nothing but a scam,” explains Parker. “We work as a team; no one needs to show you how to load or unload a truck full of old furniture, it’s common sense. The ‘training’ was just us paying him back for working for him.”

“According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), training that is mandatory, work-related, and during business hours, needs to be paid to be in accordance with federal labor law,” explains Michell K. McIntyre, the Project Director of the National Consumers League’s Special Project on Wage Theft. “Forcing employees to work a job for no pay on the ruse that the work involves “training” is exploitation in its simplest form.”

After Parker reluctantly worked a full week for no pay, he learned that his employer had devised a myriad of unscrupulous excuses to reduce the pay further. Parker was hired with a starting a wage of $10 dollars an hour, but after daily deductions for gas to transport him and co-workers to the construction site and the “privilege” of using the tools necessary for the job, along with sporadic charges for other equipment the employer claimed were “missing,” Parker was making far less than initially promised.

“We have to pay $10 dollars a day to cover the gas it takes to get us to work sites and to use the tools,” says Parker, frustrated. “That’s one hour every day that we don’t get paid for; that adds up to about $160 to $200 a month that comes straight out of our paychecks.”

Automatic deductions not included, Parker doesn’t even get paid for all the hours he is at work. Parker reports to work at 7 am but the company van that transports workers to construction sites often doesn’t show up until much later, and it could be another half hour to an hour before the workers actually arrive at the work location. Parker and his coworkers can only clock in and begin earning their hourly wages once they are physically at the construction site.

The FLSA defines the workweek as the total amount of time an employee is required to be on an employer’s premises or work site. A workday can be longer than the employee’s scheduled shift or hours, but all additional time needs to be paid. In Parker’s case, several hours worth of pay are regularly subtracted from his paycheck.

“We have to report to work at 7 am, but the van that gets us to the location can show up well after that. When I work at two different sites in a single day, the time it takes for me to get from one job to another is subtracted from my time […] there have been times where I worked 15 hours and only got paid for 11.”

“According to the US Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division, time spent by an employee in travel as part of their principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday, is work time and must be counted as hours worked,” says McIntyre

Although wage theft victims often aren’t even aware of the fact that they are being victimized, in Parker’s case the violations are so egregious that he and his coworkers have come to understand that their employer is breaking the law. However, that knowledge is of little help.

“A lot of us don’t want to complain too much ‘cause we don’t want to lose our jobs. I’m trying to line up another job but I haven’t found one yet, so for now, I need this job,” explains Parker. “If you make too much noise you get a text at night saying you are laid off; I can’t afford that right now.”

National Consumers League has provided support and direction to Parker as he seeks redress for the wage theft he has experienced. Parker has already contacted the U.S. Department of Labor and the North Carolina Justice Center to help recoup his lost wages, but to start formal proceedings Parker would have to give out identifying information—something he is not yet prepared to do.

The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division has resources to help victims and potential victims of wage theft. Its program, We Can Help, has a Web site (www.dol.gov/wecanhelp) and tools to help workers track their pay, overtime and vacation time – an app for smartphones and a printable work hours calendar in English and Spanish.

Parker’s plight highlights how wage theft victimizes workers in two devastating ways: by robbing them of their money and then preventing them from getting help for fear of losing their jobs. For workers like Parker, whose first concern is providing for his family, the strategy is often to wait to secure another job before attempting legal action. In a tough economy with steady unemployment, wage theft victims across the nation are in for a long wait.

To learn more about wage theft, or if you or someone you know may be a victim, click here for more information.