Courtesy of the Department of Labor and Industries 

 TUMWATER — Scores of businesses are contacting the Department of Labor & Industries to report they have received an official-looking letter that implies they must buy required workplace posters or face fines.

L&I did not send the letters, but wants to remind companies that the workplace posters are available for free.

OLYMPIA—Flanked by a bipartisan group of legislators, Attorney General Bob Ferguson unveiled a 2014 legislative agenda focused on veterans, open government, safer communities and protections for consumers against businesses who do not play by the rules.

“This bipartisan legislative package will strengthen consumer protections, improve public safety, assist veterans and increase transparency in government,” Ferguson said.

OLYMPIA—Secretary of State Kim Wyman, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and AARP are urging Washington residents to make wise choices when giving money to charity and avoid unscrupulous fundraising groups during the holidays and afterward.

The two statewide officials and AARP are also sharing tips on how to give wisely.

Courtesy of the Department of Labor & Industries

TUMWATER — The owner of a Vancouver chiropractic clinic has repaid the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) nearly $90,000 resulting from fraudulent billing.  

Clinic owner Dr. Lucas Homer recently paid the full restitution amount of $88,846 to settle a case involving improper billing practices.

Claimed to be providing care for family member in Washington while living in Louisiana
 
OLYMPIA — The Attorney General’s Office filed charges Monday in Kitsap County against a women who collected roughly $9,500 from the state’s Medicaid program to care for her family member in Kitsap County while the woman was living in Louisiana.
 

This special to the Bellingham Herald was published November 20, 2013.

By Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson

You might reasonably assume that the federal government regulates and tests most of the chemicals found in our children’s toys, household products, and other consumer goods to make sure they are safe. They do not. In response, states like Washington stepped up with stronger chemical safety state laws to protect consumers and the environment from the impacts of toxic chemicals.

Pair left elderly Washington in-home patient without proper healthcare services for several months while claiming payments in North Carolina

Courtesy of the Department of Revenue 

SEATTLE – Nov. 21, 2013   The owner of a King County landscaping business pleaded guilty to stealing $112,572 in sales tax she collected from customers from 2006 through 2011.

SPOKANE — The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has filed a lawsuit against an Internet based company in Colville, Wash. for violations of the Consumer Protection Act.

The company, Western By Design, LLC, goes by the name of ‘1880 Western Wear.’ They are an online retailer that sells western clothing wear and apparel.

The AGO sued them for:

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a major breakthrough in the fight against ‘mobile cramming’ — unauthorized third-party charges that appear on mobile telephone bills. Cramming on cell phones and landlines is estimated to cost Americans $2 billion per year.