2019 Press Releases

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• 2/28/2019 CONSUMERS ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL CONSUMER PROTECTION WEEK

  National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) is held each year in the first full week of March (this year, March 3 – 9). The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), the Office of the Attorney General, and Better Business Bureau Serving Connecticut are encouraging consumers to participate.

• 2/28/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS COALITION OF 21 ATTORNEYS GENERAL IN FILING AMICUS BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF TRANSGENDER STUDENTS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BY SCHOOL

  Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 21 states in filing an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in support of a transgender student named Drew Adams, who is suing the St. Johns County School Board for discrimination. The Court will soon determine whether the School Board’s policy prohibiting transgender boys and girls from using restrooms that other boys and girls use discriminates against transgender students on the basis of sex, in violation of Title IX.

• 2/27/2019 AG TONG, CONSUMER COUNSEL SUPPORT $1.5 MILLION FINE, PENALTIES FOR DIRECT ENERGY ELECTRIC SUPPLIER

  Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz today strongly supported a proposed decision by the Public Utilities Regulatory Counsel to fine third-party electric supplier Direct Energy $1.5 million for multiple sales and marketing practices in violation of Connecticut statutes.

• 2/26/2019 AG TONG ANNOUNCES START OF WELLS FARGO CONSUMER REDRESS REVIEW PROGRAM

  Attorney General William Tong today announced that Wells Fargo has begun a consumer redress review program through which consumers who have not yet been made whole through other remediation programs already in place can seek to have their inquiry or complaint reviewed by a Wells Fargo escalation team for possible relief.

• 2/21/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG DENOUNCES TITLE X DOMESTIC GAG RULE TO RESTRICT ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE

  Attorney General William Tong today released the following statement denouncing release of the final Title X domestic gag rule by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services imposing new unlawful restrictions on access to women's healthcare.

• 2/20/2019 AG, DCP URGE CONSUMERS TO USE PAYLESS SHOESOURCE GIFT CARDS BEFORE RETAIL OUTLET SHUTTERS ITS U.S. STORES

  Attorney General William Tong and Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull today advised Connecticut consumers who may have unused gift cards to Payless ShoeSource to use those credits before the discount shoe chain is slated to close its U.S. stores.

• 2/17/2019 AG TONG, 15 OTHER STATES FILE LAWSUIT CHALLENGING PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION

  Connecticut Attorney General William Tong today joined California and 14 other states in a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency and his attempt to divert funding appropriated by Congress.

• 2/12/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS LETTER URGING CFPB TO REJECT ANTI-CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICIES

  Attorney General William Tong joined 21 other state attorneys general in signing a letter authored by New York Attorney General Letitia James urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to abandon recently-proposed policies that would erode critical consumer protections under the guise of fostering innovation in the consumer financial marketplace.

• 2/10/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS 31 ATTORNEYS GENERAL IN SIGNING MULTI-STATE LETTER SUPPORTING FTC IDENTITY THEFT RULES

  Attorney General William Tong today joined 31 other attorneys general in sending a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging the FTC to continue its Identity Theft Rules, which were initially adopted in November 2007.

• 2/10/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG GIVES TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF HOUSE BILL 7070

  Attorney General William Tong gave public testimony today in support of House Bill 7070, "An Act Concerning Deceptive Advertising Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers," which seeks to protect women's health by prohibiting limited services pregnancy centers from engaging in false and misleading advertising.

• 2/7/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG DEFENDS TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS HOLDERS BEFORE THE NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

  Connecticut Attorney General William Tong today joined 22 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to prevent the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders nationwide.

• 2/7/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG DENOUNCES CFPB'S REVERSAL OF PAYDAY LENDING RULE

  Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement today denouncing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) decision to abandon its own Payday Lending Rule that protects low-income consumers from the abusive practices of the payday and auto title loan industries.

• 1/30/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG, SIX STATES SUE TRUMP ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY FOR FAILURE TO REGULATE INTERSTATE SMOG POLLUTION

  Attorney General William Tong today joined six states and the City of New York in filing a lawsuit aimed at forcing the Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to comply with federal law by requiring further controls on smog pollution that blows into Connecticut and other states.

• 1/28/2019 STATE REACHES FALSE CLAIMS ACT SETTLEMENT WITH WEST HAVEN BEHAVIORAL ANALYST REGARDING IMPROPER BILLING FOR AUTISM SERVICES

  A West Haven behavioral analyst has agreed to pay $20,000 and will be suspended from participating in Connecticut's Medicaid program for three years for allegedly submitting false claims for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) services, Attorney General William Tong and state Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby announced today. Settlement funds will be returned to the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CMAP).

• 1/24/2019 Consumer Advisory: AG Tong, Consumer Counsel Katz Warn Ratepayers of Potential Errors on Electric Bills

  Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz said today that consumers who purchase electricity from third-party electric suppliers should carefully review their electric bills, and report any irregularities to state regulators. Customers should also carefully consider whether they are getting the best deal or whether a switch to the standard service rate would help save them money.