In the News: Texas Conservative Judge blocks Biden administration’s rule to expand overtime pay for millions

I know that many people want to bury their heads and ignore what happens in this country, but to make better voting choices, you NEED to read what's happening, and if YOU get Overtime Pay, or think you deserve it, this article affects YOU. This is what happens when conservative judges appointed by Republicans make decisions for Americans. A Texas Judge ruled "The U.S. Department of Labor could not prioritize employee wages over job duties when determining eligibility." So, despite President Biden's push to take care of workers like you, another conservative blocked it.  Next time people, vote with intelligence. BTW- Trump's Project 2025 allows employers to avoid paying it. That's today's blog.

 

Judge blocks Biden administration’s rule to expand overtime pay for millions

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS, AP News, November 15, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge in Texas has blocked a new rule from the Biden administration that would have expanded access to overtime pay to millions more salaried workers across the U.S.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan sided with the state of Texas and a group of business organizations that argued the Labor Department exceeded its authority when it finalized a rule earlier this year to significantly expand overtime pay for salaried workers — ruling that the department could not prioritize employee wages over job duties when determining eligibility.

Under federal law, nearly all hourly workers in the U.S. are entitled to overtime pay after 40 hours a week. But many salaried workers are exempt from that requirement — unless they earn below a certain level.

The Labor Department’s now-scuttled rule would have marked the biggest increase to that cap in decades. Employers were required to pay overtime to salaried workers who make less than $43,888 a year in certain executive, administrative and professional roles as of July 1 — and that was set to rise to $58,656 next year.

The Labor Department estimated that an additional 4 million lower-paid salary workers would become eligible for overtime protections in the first year under the new rule. An additional 292,900 higher-compensated workers were also expected to get overtime entitlements through separate threshold increases.

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PROJECT 2025 ADVERSELY AFFECTS OVERTIME PAY MORE - "The 900-page document outlines plans for a sweeping overhaul of overtime protections that would give employers ways to avoid paying overtime to workers who have long qualified for time-and-a-half pay after 40 hours."  Source: USA TODAY

How I Unhacked a Hacker

Last weekend, my YouTube and gmail account was hacked and made inaccessible to me. It was shocking. On Tuesday, I worked on my gmail account and posted on my book's YouTube page and my personal blog. All three are tied to my gmail account. Tuesday night at 9pm, all three were LOCKED. I was locked out of my accounts. Then the frustration happened trying to get access again (and I can't say I didn't say a lot of bad words during those 5 days) That's today's blog.

(Image; https://welinku.com/)

I have a two-step verification for gmail and hackers are smart. Somehow he got my complicated password, which apparently got hijacked from some site. The phone verifications for gmail (and the other 2 services) were supposed to text a code to your phone, but no code ever came. I did that for days.

Google has NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. Period. They send you to USELESS on-line websites that say "what to do to recover." They tell you NOTHING.

YouTube has NO CUSTOMER SERVICE either. When you're disconnected from Google, who runs YouTube, you're out of luck on YouTube, too.

USELESS TECH SERVICES - Then I paid a tech service for advice. The $55 I paid, was also useless. The "tech expert" said "create a new email and new you tube page, and new blog." - Arrrgh.

I RESEARCHED - I went on google and tried accessing my account and it all came up in Czech language. That clued me in that someone from the Czech republic hacked my email, youtube and blog. Why, I have NO idea. So, it wasn't political. It wasn't an attack on me for who I am. It was just a jerk.

HOW I FIXED IT - I decided to create another Gmail account - a test account. Then it gave me the option to link to other gmails I created. I found my original one, and linked. Then you have to provide a phone # for verification. That's where it worked. I changed the phone number from the Czechoslovakian phone number of the hacker back to mine, and created a highly complicated password.

The next day, I got an email from Google saying, verify by phone. I did. The code came back to my phone. I verified it, and the access opened up.

By, Saturday, I was able to get the gmail accessed, the You tube back, and then on Sunday, my personal blog came back on-line.

 

Idiot of the Week: Lake Arrowhead Bear-Impersonators Arrested For $141K In Fake Claims

This week's idiots are people who used a fake bear costume to destroy  vehicles for insurance money, and they even filmed it!

(Photo: the fake bear costume used in destroying a Rolls Royce interior)

 Lake Arrowhead Bear-Impersonators Arrested For $141K In Fake Claims

Patch.com -  Ashley Ludwig, Nov 15, 2024

 LAKE ARROWHEAD, CA — A California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist outed four suspected insurance fraudsters who used a video of a bear trashing high-value automobiles to commit insurance fraud, the California Department of Insurance said.

The four suspects, all residents of Los Angeles County, were arrested and charged Wednesday with insurance fraud and conspiracy, according to a department statement.

Red flags were raised in January when an insurance claim was made that a bear had trashed the Rolls Royce, along with a provided video. Photos show the scratched-up interiors of that vehicle.

Further investigation revealed a conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, with false claims filed not only for the 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost, but also a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350.

Though investigators suspected it was a person who had done the damage, they needeed to prove their case that a human, not a bear, committed the destructive acts.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/fAUWdJ73pXU?si=eZl1xzdj_CpXsYpK

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Insurance investigators enlisted the expertise of a biologist from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to review the footage.

The department said the scientist reviewed the three videos and "opined it was clearly a human in a bear suit."

(Photo: One of the people arrested from the scam) 

Then, the department put Operation Bear Claw in motion.

Detectives executed a search warrant in the suspects' home and found a bear costume, the department said. Pictures show the sharp "meat shredding" claws added to the costume. The California Department of Insurance said in a release that insurance companies were defrauded of $141,839 as part of the crimes.

Ruben Tamrazian, 26, Ararat Chirkinian, 39, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, all of Glendale, and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village were charged following the investigation.