Legal Advice Blog: Legal Advice, Case Insights, & Local Law Information

On January 26, 2004, I began my employment with Bordas & Bordas. While I was very excited to have been given the opportunity, I was also unsure if I was making a good decision for my family at the time. I had an "almost" 4-year-old and a 7-month-old baby at home and hadn't worked since the birth of my second child, so I was certain that I didn't know what I was going to miss in their lives by going back to work. School would soon be starting for my oldest and with that came classroom parties, book fairs, plays and all of the other exciting school functions that young children participate in and can only hope that their parents are there with them to share. And then what happens when they get older and there are other more involved activities like after school games, fundraisers, concerts, musicals.....the list goes on.........would I be there for all of that? I knew a lot of parents that missed out on such events in their children's lives due to strict work demands. But what I also knew was that the Bordas family was full of good, caring people and that made my choice much easier. So fast forward ten years later and I can graciously say that I have NEVER missed one party, parade, game, fundraiser, book fair.......insert anything you could imagine. Never had to say good-by to a sick child and head off to work. Never had to worry about scheduling a doctor's appointment and asking for time off. I think it's important to note that it is extremely rare to find employment where family comes first and I think that speaks volumes for the type of work environment that Bordas and Bordas provides for their employees and how they conduct business overall. It's been ten years, and I want to say thank you, Bordas & Bordas, for allowing me to be an employee and a mom.

Our mom talks to us about Otis the Dog, the big yellow Lab who used to live with us, on a daily basis. She misses Otis and Zoey, the Great Dane, very much. Otis is missed everywhere he used to roam, from the office to our home. Privately, we think he was Mom's favorite, even though she always tells us that she loves us just the same. She did have him with her the longest out of all of us. Plus, in his later years Otis was sick and needed a lot more attention from Mom than we ever did. We love and miss Otis the Dog very much-- Mom says she only hopes we turn out to be as good of a dog as he was. I've been hanging around the Bordas & Bordas office for about three years now, and only got to know Otis for a short time when I was a puppy. Zoey mothered me, but Otis barely tolerated me. In my defense, I was a puppy, and it wasn't my fault that it was so hard to behave myself around him. Otis was a strong and handsome yellow lab-you can still see him in our picture of the whole office on the web page. He was with Bordas & Bordas for eleven and half years when he went to cross the rainbow bridge to see his friend Zoey, who left us just five weeks before that. It was really hard for Mom to lose two of her four-legged children within five weeks of each other. I knew it was up to me to save her broken heart! Plus now I would get all the attention, or so I thought. Almost eight weeks later, our other mother Linda Bordas called and told all of us that I was getting a brother. I didn't really understand what that meant, but I was happy because my mom seemed so excited at the news. Little did I know that real trouble, in the form of one rowdy Wheaton Terrier named Guinness was on its way... My brother came and took over everything: my bed, my toys, my mom, my office, my everything. I really didn't like him all that much at first. Then my mom sat down with me and asked me if I would teach Guinness everything I learned from Otis and Zoey to my new baby brother Guinness. She explained that is was my turn to be the big dog around the house and to be a role model for Guinness, and that I was the lucky one because I had both Otis and Zoey to teach me. So I did, and now Guinness and I are not only brothers, but best friends. We go everywhere together! We don't like to be separated. We love each other very much and we are so happy that we have a loving home. Not all animals are so lucky. Just this year, we were lucky enough to get a new chocolate Lab sister named Caroline! You can read Linda Bordas' story about adopting Caroline. Although she will never take the place of Otis, she's a wonderful addition to our furry family. For my next story, Mom is going to help me tell you all about what it felt like to have Caroline come into my life, so stay tuned! Please rest in peace, Otis the Dog. You were one awesome yellow lab, and are sadly missed by me (Barley) and by all who were lucky enough to know you. Please remember to spay or neuter your pets and please don't shop, adopt from your local animal shelter or a rescue league. Bark on Bordas Dog Nation, Bark On.

Every year on March 17, millions of people across the country celebrate St. Patrick's Day. They wear the green, throw back their beers, and claim to be Irish whether they really are or not. Throughout my life, I have joined right in. I guess in part that is because of my heritage with my ancestors, who had last names such as Haggerty, Finnegan, and Gainer. In some ways, it is largely because I attended the University of Notre Dame for seven years, where it is nearly impossible to not feel Irish. But, most of all, it is probably for the same reason as most people --- St. Patrick's Day at its core is just downright a lot of fun. So, this year, I asked myself why St. Patrick's Day is so much fun and why did it become the day among all others where people dress up, drink green beer, and carry on. I think the answer lies in the nature of Irishmen themselves. Before I explain further, this may be a good place to point out that St. Patrick himself was not Irish. "What?!" you may say. That's right. He was born in England and later sold into slavery in Ireland. Ultimately, he brought the teachings of the Catholic Church to Ireland and became the Patron Saint of Ireland. But, there are many Patron Saints of many countries and many causes. I am willing to bet that most people can't name more than five Patron Saints and, if they can, they certainly can't name the date of their feast day each year. So then, why all of the hoopla on St. Patrick's Day? Back to the Irish themselves. When Irish immigrants began increasing in number in America, they looked for a way to celebrate their heritage. What better way to do it than to celebrate on the day of their country's Patron Saint. But again, lots of countries have Patron Saints, so why did seemingly everyone else join in? Quite simply, the Irish have personalities unlike anyone else. The Irish make sure that there is a party and when they do they are the life of the party. They have personalities that draw us to them. It helps explain why John F. Kennedy was elected President, it helps explain why we laugh at Bill Murray, and it helps explain why Regis Philbin had such a successful run on television. The Irish tend to have personalities bigger than the room they are standing in. They tend to tell better stories. They tend to be able to drink more, smoke more, and stay out later, yet still be able to beat the other guy the next morning. To put it quite simply, they live life to the fullest. So, if for one day each year, we join the party, and in some cases, maybe even are the life of it, so be it. It may not have started as our party. Many may not even be Irish. But, then again, heck, neither was St. Patrick. So, have a good time being Irish, be careful, and .... May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Despite the comprehensive laws and regulations that are supposed to protect residents of our nursing homes, too many times things go wrong. There is a financial incentive for nursing homes and the companies that run them to cut corners by hiring too few staff members and underpaying the staff members who do work there. For these and other reasons, the quality of care received by residents of nursing homes falls short of the standard. Although the injuries suffered by the victims of such abuses can take many forms, dehydration, pressure sores, infections, choking, elopement, and falls are some of the more preventable and serious injuries that we see. In particularly tragic cases, nursing home residents may not survive their injuries. To be clear, each and every nursing home has an obligation to provide quality care to every resident in the facility. It is not the fault of the resident or the resident's family when the nursing home falls short of these standards. However, there are some things that we can do to help make sure that nursing homes live up to their obligations. The federal government has published some useful information that may assist you in selecting or evaluating a nursing home. Those resources can be found here: http://www.medicare.gov/nursing/overview.asp. The most important part may be to trust your instincts and ask questions. I realize that depending on each individual circumstance, frequently visiting your relative in the nursing home may be difficult. However, the personal involvement of the family at the home can be very important. If you or a loved one has been injured at a nursing home, we encourage you to learn more about the experienced attorneys at Bordas & Bordas and to contact us to find out what you can do to make nursing homes safer places for some of the most vulnerable members of our community. This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website or any of the email links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between Bordas & Bordas and the user or browser.

A gigantic gas explosion in Adair County, Kentucky occurred this past February 13 th. The explosion was so massive that a crater 60 feet deep was left behind. Two homes were totally destroyed and two people were hospitalized as a result. The explosion has brought attention to a significant safety problem affecting all of America, that is particularly serious in the Ohio Valley and its communities in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The public is only now learning that the federal regulating agency for gas pipelines only has approximately 100 inspectors to handle 300,000 miles of natural gas pipelines in the United States. The government resources being devoted to the issue are woefully inadequate to the size of the problem, which, as this incident illustrates, can result in homes simply exploding with little or no warning. Organizations like the Nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust advocate stronger oversight of the companies and more specific guidelines about how often our compressed explosive gas lines have to be examined. It aptly compared the situation to a road system which instead of having a speed limit with a definite number on it just has a smiley face that says 'drive safe.' Given the risks of devastating injuries that can occur in these types of explosions, the inadequate safety regulations we currently have are not getting the companies to do the right thing. Accountability through greater enforcement, legal action and jury verdicts will be needed to wake these companies up to the scale of the problem. Nothing less will do if we are going to influence large corporations like Chevron, Shell, Exxon, Chesapeake, and their like, to put the focus on the safety of local residents and workers in the gas drilling and distribution industries.

The massive, deadly gas explosion in New York City continues a trend that becomes more disturbing every day. Aging infrastructure and a persistent failure of gas utilities to inspect, evalutate and maintain their lines are causing lethal explosions across the country. Grieving residents of East Harlem are now just another community left devastated by neglect of the critical safety rules that would allow gas to be a safe, cheap and efficient rule, if companies could only be influenced to follow them. Three people are now confirmed dead and nine more are still missing. This photo gives only a glimpse of the scale of the catastrophe. A steady drumbeat of disasters has marked time, from the enormous catastrophe in San Bruno four years ago, to the recent disasters right here in our area, including the Tyler County explosion, the Sissonville explosion and fire and this year's Greene County explosion and fire. These disasters have all proven to be preventable and caused by neglect of safety rules and industry best practices. Update: Residents had been reporting gas smells for some time, but nothing was apparently done. " Like several other neighbors, Rivera said they started smelling gas Tuesday night. "The smell of gas was there since yesterday night," he said." Explosions like the NYC blast often revolve around the simple failure of gas utilities to pay attention to their lines after they are installed. In some cases, decades pass without any of the needed inspections and maintenance being done. This can occur even as regulated monopoly utilities seek rate increases from the public based on the need to do this work -- which is then not done. More about gas explosions, their causes and the disturbingly high rates at which they are occurring can be found here. This specialized blog really gives you an idea of what a serious problem this is.

We interact with them on an almost daily basis. They can make or break our dining out experience. Often times, they will recognize you as a regular customer and know what you want before taking your order. At the end of your meal, you leave a "tip" for great service. Have you ever wondered what happens to these tips, or realized that your tip may be your waitress's primary form of compensation for a job well done? More often than not, the waiters and waitresses in our favorite restaurants must rely on the tips left by their customers because their paid wage may be as low as $2.13 per hour. Under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act ["FLSA"}, 29 U.S.C. 201, et seq., an employer may take a "tip credit" and pay its waiters and waitresses a mere $2.13 per hour in direct wages, unless applicable state law requires a higher amount. As exemplified by a recent Department of Labor investigation and action against Philadelphia sports bar and restaurant chain Chickie's & Pete's, restaurants often abuse the FLSA's "tipped employee" provisions and ignore other statutory provisions which require additional wages be paid to tipped employees. Chickie's and Pete's recently agreed to pay over $6.8 Million to resolve the Department of Labor enforcement action and numerous federal civil actions filed by current and former employees. Allegations of misconduct against the popular chain include paying its servers a flat $15 per shift wage rather than an hourly rate and failing to pay overtime when servers worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The $15 per shift flat rate often fell far below the $2.13 per hour minimum wage required by the federal government. Appallingly, Chickie's and Pete's also required their servers to contribute between 2 and 4 percent of the server's daily sales to a "tip pool" which was paid to the manager at the end of shift in cash. If a server did not have enough cash to satisfy the "tip pool" contribution because the server's tips were from credit card transactions, the server was required to make ATM withdraws or borrow cash from co-workers. Rather than distributing the "tip pool" funds among employees entitled under applicable laws to share in the tips, Chickie's and Pete's allegedly retained 60% of the funds in what has come to be known as "Pete's tax". While the abuses uncovered at Chickie's and Pete's are egregious, they are not isolated. In recent years and aided by civil enforcement actions, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour division has stepped up efforts to enforce FLSA requirements in the restaurant industry. The FLSA contains specific provisions governing "tipped employees", i.e. employees who customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips. In order to legally claim a $5.12 "tip credit" and pay an hour wage of only $2.13 per hour, an employer must specifically inform the tipped employee: (1) that the employer is invoking the $5.12 tip credit; (2) that the employer may not claim a credit which exceeds the amount of tips actually received; and (3) that all tips are to be retained by the employee except for contributions to valid tip pooling arrangements. A tip pool may be instituted to distribute tips amongst employees who customarily and regularly receive tips, but may not include such employees as dishwashers, cooks and management personnel. Under the FLSA, an employer invoking the tip credit must be able to demonstrate that a tipped employee receives at least a minimum hourly wage exceeding $7.25 when tips are considered in conjunction with the $2.13 hourly wage or make up the difference. While an employer is permitted to make certain deductions from tipped employees' wages, those deductions are limited. An employer is permitted to deduct credit card fees from tips where the tip is placed on a credit card, but only an amount proportionate to the tip itself. For example, if a $10 tip is given on a $50 bill and the credit card company charges a 3% fee, the employer may only deduct $0.30 from the tip given to the server, not the $1.80 applicable to the entire credit card transaction. Under no circumstances, however, may an employer utilize deductions which result in the tipped employee receiving less than the $7.25 per house federal minimum wage, regardless of whether the deductions are for credit card fees, breakage or walk-out reimbursements. Overtime is also required to be paid for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per work week. Overtime is calculated at the full federal minimum wage and not the lower "tip credit" wage. Waiters and waitresses at our favorite restaurants are entitled to be fairly compensated for the hard work that they do day in and day out. While Chickie's and Pete's is the latest high profile restaurant chain to find itself the subject of legal actions arising from its treatment of tipped employees, it is not the first and it will likely not be the last. Two years ago, celebrity chef Mario Batali and his business partner settled claims arising from their practices with respect to tipped employees at their eight New York restaurants for $5.25 Million. While larger, high profile restaurants may attract the most publicity for their illegal wage and hour practices involving their tipped employees, the law applies to everyone and relief is available where our restaurant workers are not receiving the compensation they deserve or are having their tips improperly taken from them.

The massive, deadly gas explosion in New York City continues a trend that becomes more disturbing every day. Aging infrastructure and a persistent failure of gas utilities to inspect, evalutate and maintain their lines are causing lethal explosions across the country. Grieving residents of East Harlem are now just another community left devastated by neglect of the critical safety rules that would allow gas to be a safe, cheap and efficient rule, if companies could only be influenced to follow them. Three people are now confirmed dead and nine more are still missing. This photo gives only a glimpse of the scale of the catastrophe. A steady drumbeat of disasters has marked time, from the enormous catastrophe in San Bruno four years ago, to the recent disasters right here in our area, including the Tyler County explosion, the Sissonville explosion and fire and this year's Greene County explosion and fire. These disasters have all proven to be preventable and caused by neglect of safety rules and industry best practices. Explosions like the NYC blast often revolve around the simple failure of gas utilities to pay attention to their lines after they are installed. In some cases, decades pass without any of the needed inspections and maintenance being done. This can occur even as regulated monopoly utilties seek rate increases from the public based on the need to do this work -- which is then not done. More about gas explosions, their causes and the disturbingly high rates at which they are occurring can be found here. This specialized blog really gives you an idea of what a serious problem this is.

The sun will come out tomorrow. Remember Annie? I watched the motion picture countless times as a child. Whether or not you like the show, the reality is still true. Whatever your circumstances are today, they are most likely to change tomorrow. Things in my life the past year have not turned out exactly the way I would have chosen them to have turned out. For various reasons, the past twelve months have been some of the most challenging yet transformative months of my life. There have been times when I have been extraordinarily happy. I have also experienced times when I wasn't so happy and it was difficult to understand why the situation was turning out the way it was. Despite these difficulties, I have changed into a different person than I would have been if I had not been allowed to live through some of these circumstances. I'm sure you can attest to the same things. My intention isn't to bore you with my life, but to tell you that no matter the season you're going through, the world keeps turning. The sun really will come out tomorrow. Even if it's a cloudy day, you can rest assured that the sun is still there. We see it here every day at Bordas & Bordas. Many of our clients are experiencing days when they only see the clouds and not the sun. However, through our efforts to get justice for them, they can see a little bit of sun shining through those clouds. Life does go on and the sun will rise. (In fact, it's been shining the whole time I've been writing this blog.)

On February 1st of this year, Kyle Kirkpatrick, Terry Lee Richard and Michael Dale Garrett died when a cell tower collapsed in Harrison County, WV. Mr. Kirkpatrick and Mr. Richard, aged 32 and 27, respectively, were working on a communications tower in order to add additional tenant equipment to it when it suddenly collapsed. The two workers died at the scene. Mr. Garrett, a volunteer fireman who was responding to the scene of the accident, was killed by debris when a second tower collapsed after having been weakened by the destruction of the first tower. He was only 28 years old. All three of these men were struck down in the prime of their lives. None of them deserved to die. Accidents like the one that took their lives are becoming part of the way that communications companies do business, and those business practices should make you look twice at the real cost of your monthly cell phone bill. A 2012 investigation conducted by FRONTLINE and ProPublica discovered that between the years 2003 and 2011, 93 workers were killed on communications towers, a rate of death ten times the national average for construction workers. 50 of the workers killed were at cell cites. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration , there have been fourteen injuries or fatalities on communications towers nationwide since September 2013, more incidents than the past two years combined. Here's something else that's rising at the same time: the number of U.S. smartphone subscribers. PBS reports that the number of U.S. smartphone subscribers has shot up by a factor of 44, from 3.5 million in 2005 to 156 million in 2013. That number is only expected to rise. In an interview with the West Virginia Gazette, Randy Gray, a former OSHA inspector, attributes the sharp increase in accidents to rising demand from cell phone companies racing to replace older 3G cell networks with 4G or 4GLTE data networks. As he explains, "Let's say AT&T or Verizon takes out a contract and they put a deadline for completion, then the pressure is on at that point. Because if they don't meet that contract, then they start getting penalties for not completing it on time. That's when things exist like taking shortcuts - So what if we don't put those safety harnesses on today because those harnesses are going to slow us down." When unsafe working practices are not only condoned, but incentivized, dangerous working conditions for workers result. However, no increase in cell call quality can justify the reckless loss of human life. Although pressure from major cell companies is the driving force behind these unsafe labor practices, because of a complex set of subcontracting arrangements, the major phone carriers avoid scrutiny or blame when accidents occur. This can be seen in the web of companies involved in last month's tragedy in West Virginia: S&S Communications was servicing a tower owned by SBA Communications, presumably at the behest of some larger telecommunications company. Although the investigation hasn't been concluded yet, if this accident is anything like past accidents suffered by S&S workers, it probably was a result of too much haste and too little concern for worker safety. February's tragedy was not S&S's first fatal accident. In 2009, the company was sanctioned after an employee fell to his death from a 330-foot communications tower in Oregon County, Missouri.  The company was cited for the employee's failure to use a safety harness or a backup safety tether at the time of his death. Although OSHA is investigating both SBA Communications and S&S Communications for the deaths of Mr. Kirkpatrick, Mr. Richard and Mr. Garrett, no information has been released regarding what major carrier had originally requested the work be done. That's not surprising: OSHA has never issued a violation to a large cellphone carrier. In an open letter to communication tower industry employers published a few weeks ago, David Michaels, the Assistant Secretary for OSHA, stated that "Tower worker deaths cannot be the price we pay for increased wireless communications... Every single one of these tragedies was preventable." As he concluded, "It is imperative that the cell tower industry take steps immediately to address this pressing issue: no worker should risk death for a paycheck." At Bordas & Bordas, we agree.

As most of you who are reading this know, I have been at Bordas & Bordas for almost 27 years. I wrote about a lot of the technological changes that have occurred since 1987 and I have to say, I am proud of myself, the dinosaur, for keeping up! However, I have a few stories that actually have nothing to do with law, but are funny, some more in retrospect than they were at the time. One day, when I had been here about a year, I came to work and Jim Bordas met me at the door. He told me I had to go downtown and bail our maintenance man out of jail. I had never even been in a police station, let alone bail someone out of jail. I was running around frantically trying to find out where I needed to go and how much money I needed and what he had been charged with, etc., etc. Jim was no help - he didn't know how to go about it, but just that I needed to go do it. As I was walking out the door, mumbling to myself, Jim said "APRIL FOOL!" After my heart settled down to a regular rhythm, we both got a good laugh out of it. Linda Bordas' brother came to visit one time and brought his pet pig with him. I don't remember the pig's name, but at that time we had Ivy and Daisy in the office, the Bordas' Springer Spaniels. So I got a Snausage treat for the pig. Unfortunately, he had not had lessons in manners like Daisy and Ivy did and he just grabbed the treat, biting my finger in the process. I had to go the doctor and get a tetanus shot. Can you imagine having the doctor ask how I hurt my finger and hearing "I got bit by a pig?" Well read on, it gets better! Some time later, I came to work the morning of our staff Christmas Party at Oglebay. It was a snowy morning and I came in the side door, dressed in my Christmas best, with expensive color-coordinated hose to match my outfit, slipped on the door jamb and fell with a tremendous bang. I hit so hard, the building shook. I cracked my head on the floor (no comments about how that shouldn't have hurt my head) and somehow cut my leg and tore my beautiful hose. Off to Doctor's Urgent Care this time. The doctor came in, checked my head, looked at my leg, cleaned up the cut and then asked me if I had had tetanus shot and when. I looked at Sandra, the secretary who had taken me to the doctor and said "I think it was when the pig bit me." He looked alarmed since I had also hit my head. Sandra, thank goodness, told him I was all right, I really did get bit by a pig at work. I told him I was upset about my hose being torn so he put a Christmas bandage on my hose. Another time (and you are going to wonder how I've survived all this time), one of the staff was playing with the dogs. The rug had moved until it was halfway up the door. I came up the back steps this time and opened the door, took a step in and down I went. I had no idea what had happened. One minute I was walking in the door, the next minute I was on the floor. After taking stock of all my body parts, I decided I was not hurt, but that I should take some Motrin to ward off pain. I asked Jeanne Dedo to please make me some instant oatmeal so I could have something on my stomach when I took the Motrin. Jeanne was terribly upset about my fall and went to get me the oatmeal. She came back with the oatmeal in a cup, stirring it like crazy. She stirred and stirred and stirred. Finally, I said, "Jeanne I think it is stirred enough." We still get a laugh out of that. Now the most embarrassing story of all! The office where I worked had a wooden shelf. One day I was leaning against it and got a splinter. You can take a guess where. Mary Jo Graebe worked with us at that time and she and several other employees had gone to lunch at TJ's. I called the restaurant and asked to speak with Mary Jo. I told her what had happened and asked if she could stop and get some tweezers and alcohol so when she got back, she could remove the splinter. It was pretty imbedded! We all got a laugh out of that too. And no, I didn't keep the splinter as a souvenir. Just remember, this is all over a long period of time. I am half-way afraid to say this, but I have been office-accident free for quite a while! I think if most of us who work in any job in any company for many years would look back, we would find a lot of things to remember and laugh about. Frequently, we tend to focus on the not so funny things, the negative things, in our lives and in our jobs. But if we really stop to think, there are good, funny, and sometimes touching things to remember too.

Read the Report here: http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2014/PAR1401.pdf