人生一定要有的八個朋友：
推手(Builder)、
支柱(Champion)、
同好(Collaborator)、
夥伴(Companion)、
中介(Connector)、
開心果(Energizer)、
開路者(Mind Opener)、
導師(Navigator)。
chutze@bostonorange.com
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MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES SECOND ANNUAL WE BOS WEEK TO SUPPORT WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
WE BOS Week to be held October 17-21
BOSTON - Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement today announced the second annual WE BOS Week, a week-long event designed to support women entrepreneurs. The City of Boston's Women Entrepreneurs Boston (WE BOS) program will once again bring together Boston's entrepreneurial networks: events will be held throughout the City featuring high-profile speakers, skill-building workshops, coaching sessions and networking opportunities to help women entrepreneurs build their networks, and learn new skills to scale and grow their businesses.
"Boston is home to a vast network of entrepreneurs, startups and thriving businesses -- and the City of Boston is committed to ensuring women play a major role in our business success," said Mayor Walsh. "Promoting economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs is important to the vitality of our City as a whole, and I am proud to support the second annual WE BOS Week."
Last year over 1,000 women participated in 13 events held throughout WE BOS week in partnership with 10 organizations. This year, WE BOS week will plan 16 events, through the support of the Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement, the Mayor's Office of Economic Development and 13 additional partners.
While Boston has a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem, women-led businesses continue to face challenges including access to funding and difficulty finding mentors and networks to support them as they grow. The Diana Report release in 2014 found that women-led startups only receive 3% of venture capital (VC) funding.
"Here in Boston, 35% of businesses are owned by women. These businesses employ 36,100 people and generate $3.3 billion in revenue," said Kara Miller, Women Entrepreneurs Boston Program Manager. "However, we know that access to investors and funding is one of the biggest challenges facing women entrepreneurs. That's why this year, WE BOS week will offer several opportunities for women-led startups to meet with VCs and Angel investors to get feedback on their business. I'm thrilled with the support we have already received, and look forward to hosting programs that will foster women's businesses during WE BOS Week and throughout the year."
The Refiney accelerator and Goldenseeds will be offering office hours where businesses can meet with VCs and Angel investors. SheStarts will also host a speed networking event for startups looking to meet investors.
The WE BOS Week kick-off will be held in partnership with Mass Innovation Nights at Women Founders Night on Monday, October 17th from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. at District Hall. At the event, 14 women-led startups will showcase their businesses.
For a complete list of events happening throughout Women Entrepreneurs Week, visit www.we-bos.com or follow @we_bos on Twitter.
About WE BOS
The WE BOS program advances Boston's women entrepreneurs by providing the resources and network they need launch and grow their business. Since the launch of the program last fall over 1,500 women have participated in WE BOS through one-on-one coaching, educational programming and networking opportunities. In partnership with the Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement and the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, WE BOS supports all women entrepreneurs, including startups, home-based businesses and the established brick-and-mortar mainstays of Boston's neighborhoods, with the goal to increase the number of established women entrepreneurs in the City of Boston and to strengthen and grow Boston's existing women-owned businesses.
JAMAICA PLAIN AMERICAN LEGION AGREES TO ADOPT NEW POLICIES, PAY $15,000 TO RESOLVE ALLEGATIONS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Allegations of Racial Discrimination against Patrons and Vendors at Sweet Sixteen Party; Settlement Also Requires Post to Host, Sponsor Local High School Students
BOSTON – Jamaica Plain Post No. 76, Inc. of The American Legion (Post 76), has agreed to adopt new anti-discrimination polices and pay $15,000 to resolve allegations of racial discrimination against vendors and patrons at a sweet sixteen birthday party, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. Under the settlement, Post 76 will also host an event and sponsor a program for students at The English High School.
The assurance of discontinuance, entered on Monday in Suffolk Superior Court, resolves allegations of discrimination by Post 76 against African American party guests and vendors based on their race and/or color by harassing them, using derogatory language, and eventually ending the party early.
“This action resolves allegations that guests were treated as suspect and subjected to ignorant and racially discriminatory comments,” said AG Healey. “No one in Massachusetts should be discriminated against based on their race and we need to continue to find ways to reject and end both explicit and implicit bias in all its forms. I am especially pleased that the Post, in addition to taking steps to implement better policies and train its staff, will also give back to the community by supporting local youth at English High.”
The AG’s Office alleges that in January 2015 an African American woman reserved event space at Post 76 for her daughter’s sweet sixteen birthday celebration in June 2015. When her event planners arrived at the venue, a bartender questioned them about the event and initially refused to host the party, saying that those who attended the party—presumably African American teenagers—could be “gang members” and might “get drunk and shoot the place.”
The staff eventually agreed to host the event, but kept the event space open to the rest of the building instead of closing it off as they normally would because of purported safety concerns.
The AG’s Office further alleges that when an African American photographer arrived, he was stopped by the same bartender, who suggested he might be carrying a gun and required him to open his bags so they could be inspected. Throughout the night, Post 76 staff were also overheard making derogatory comments about the African American guests. Post 76 then allegedly ended the party early.
According to the terms of the settlement, Post 76 will adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination policy and require all staff and volunteers to attend training on state and federal public accommodation laws.
Post 76 has also agreed to host an annual event for The English High School Boston School Cadets Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program and sponsor students to attend the American Legion Boys and Girls State leadership programs.
This settlement also requires Post 76 to pay a total of $15,000 in restitution to the family which rented the event space and penalties to the Commonwealth.
The AG’s Office alleges that Post 76 violated the Massachusetts Public Accommodations Law and Consumer Protection Act. The Public Accommodations Law makes it unlawful for any business that solicits or accepts the patronage of the general public to distinguish among customers on the basis of their race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. The law prohibits discrimination with respect to both admission into and treatment within places of public accommodation. The Consumer Protection Act prohibits unfair or deceptive conduct in trade or commerce.
This matter was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Shaneka L. Davis and Kimberly Strovink of AG’s Healey’s Civil Rights Division, with assistance from Kristen Salera and Shannon Roark of AG Healey’s Civil Investigations Division.
Annie Vong (黃婉莉), who is a long time Malden resident, speak fluent Chinese and Vietnamese, and recently awarded Distinguished Young Pharmacist by the Massachusetts Pharmacist Association.
Photo of family during award ceremony, from left to right: Lakkin Wong, Annie Vong, Ivy Phung, Sang Vong
Citation were issued by Mayor Gary Christenson and State Representative Steve Ultrino to congratulate her on the achievement.
President Eddinger was honored at the White House on September 30, when President Obama named Eddinger one of the nation’s eleven “Champions of Change for College Opportunity.” View the video and pictures of event
She and Bunker Hill Community College are recognized for their work in developing pathways and learning communities to help under-represented populations achieve college success. Only one other community college was recognized with this honor.
Champions of Change for College Opportunity are chosen for their leadership and tireless work to expand opportunity for students from all backgrounds to advance to and through college. President Eddinger was nominated by White House staff following her previous visits to the White House for a Higher Education summit hosted by President Obama.
Eddinger also served on a panel at the White House with Dr. Eloy Ortiz Oakley of Long Beach City College; Dr. Dan Porterfield, President, Franklin and Marshall College; Julia Price, Director, Albany Promise; Michael Holmes, COO, Inroads. Roberto J. Rodríguez, who serves in the White House Domestic Policy Council as Deputy Assistant to the President for Education, moderated the panel. “Her work is really around scaling up the reforms and opportunities to really help, to make sure those students are able to move through the college system and move into credit bearing coursework, and focus on college completion. Thank you so much, Pam, for your great work,” said Rodriguez.
Watch the video where President Eddinger takes part in a panel. Learn more about the Champions of Change for College Opportunity on the White House blog.
Recognizing College Opportunity “Champions of Change”
The White House will recognize eleven individuals from across the country as “White House Champions of Change for College Opportunity.”
October 1 is the first opportunity for students to submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2017-2018 school year. This week, the White House is announcing changes to this year's process and previewing new tools that will ensure students are provided with timely information to access financial aid to attend a good-value school.
On Friday, eleven individuals from across the country will be honored at the White House on Friday as “Champions of Change for College Opportunity” who have done important work in their own communities to strengthen access to high-quality education.
President Barack Obama greets students in the Blue Room of the White House before delivering a statement on college affordability and interest rates on student loans, June 21, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
These individuals were selected by the White House for their leadership and tireless work to expand opportunity for students from all backgrounds to advance to and through college. These leaders know, like President Obama, that expanding opportunity for more students to enroll and succeed in college is necessary to strong communities and a strong economy. This is especially true for disadvantaged students and those in low-income households.
Over the last seven and a half years, the President has made historic progress on college opportunity – doubling investments in college scholarships through Pell Grants and tax credits, simplifying the free application for federal student aid, calling on Congress to keep student loans affordable by keeping interest rates low, creating better debt repayment options like the President’s Pay as You Earn plan, and promoting innovation and competition to bring down college costs and improve the quality of education.
Through the President and First Lady’s Call-to-Action on College Opportunity since 2014, hundreds of schools, nonprofits, foundations, businesses, counselors, and other organizations have reported that they have already helped students access more than $5 billion in financial aid, enrolling 1 million more students in college, and setting 10 million more students on track to complete on time within the decade.
The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. The event will be live streamed on the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov/live on Friday, September 30, at 9:00 AM ET. Follow the conversation at #WHChamps and #CollegeOpportunity.
Here are the individuals who will be recognized at the White House on Friday:
Kim Cook – Washington, District of Columbia
Kim Cook is the Executive Director of the National College Access Network, where she leads its efforts to help states, nonprofit organizations, schools, higher education institutions, philanthropists, and the business community provide better college access and persistence support to low-income and underrepresented students. She has worked in the higher education and college access field for her entire professional career, including experience in undergraduate admissions, administration of a last-dollar scholarship program, and a succession of responsibilities at NCAN. As a Pell Grant recipient herself, she has a passion for the success of students underrepresented in higher education. Kim holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Pace University and a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Law, Economics and Government from The American University.
Pam Eddinger – Boston, Massachusetts
Pam Eddinger, PhD, is the president of Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) in Boston. BHCC is an urban 2-year public institution serving 19,000 learners annually. With 95% of entering students testing below college level in math and 45% in English, the College is scaling up reforms in developmental education to ensure retention and on-time completion. Compression and acceleration strategies for math and English take students to college level work in a year. Companion programs such as career-focused early college pathways and intensive Learn and Earn internship programs add to the overall retention/completion strategy. The Massachusetts community colleges educate one out of two undergraduates in the Commonwealth. In light of the workforce development needs in the next decade, the increase in retention and degree completion of BHCC students, and their placement into high-wage, middle-skills jobs will be critical to the growth of the local economy.
Michael T. Holmes – New Rochelle, New York
Michael T. Holmes serves as Chief Operating Officer for INROADS Inc., whose mission is to develop and place talented underserved college youth in business and industry and prepare them for corporate and community leadership. Founded in Chicago in 1970, INROADS has positively impacted the lives of over 200,000 culturally diverse high school and college students. Michael previously worked in college admissions, financial aid, campus recruiting and talent development, and has mentored, coached and provided college, career and personal advice to young people in communities throughout the nation. Michael has also held Board of Director roles within the Danbury NAACP, Young Life and Danbury Pathways Mentoring Programs and has also conducted numerous workshops and been a motivational speaker for Junior Achievement, A Better Chance, Urban League, The Hord Foundation and SayYes Danbury.
Dana A. Hubbard – Springfield, Virginia
Dana A. Hubbard serves as the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) Coordinator at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Virginia. The AVID program works to help students in the middle become college and career ready and provide them with the necessary skills to achieve academic success. In her six years as AVID coordinator she has helped to double the size of the program and has created a program that welcomes all students and motivates them to follow their dreams of going to college. In the last three years, 100% of the graduating AVID seniors have gained admittance to and enrolled in college, and all are on track to graduate on time. Dana also teaches Biology and serves as the Head Field Hockey coach at West Potomac High School.
Nicole Hurd – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Nicole Hurd, PhD is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the College Advising Corps (CAC), headquartered in Chapel Hill. Nicole has led CAC from a pilot project in Virginia to the largest college access program in the country, placing hundreds of near peer advisers in high schools from coast-to-coast. In the 2016-2017 school year, CAC's 600 advisers will assist over 180,000 low-income, first generation, and underrepresented students in navigating the path to college. Under her leadership, CAC has launched innovative virtual advising work and has received numerous accolades, including a $10 million investment which was announced at the White House College Opportunity Summit and the 2012 National Service Impact Award from the Corporation for National and Community Service.
A’Dorian Murray-Thomas – Newark, New Jersey
A’Dorian Murray-Thomas is a recent college graduate and the Founder and Executive Director of SHE Wins Inc., a Newark-based leadership program for girls ages 10-15 years old who have been affected by violence. Before founding SHE Wins, A'Dorian designed and co-facilitated "SSEP", a free SAT preparation and self-empowerment program that served students from over fifteen different high schools in the Newark area. A'Dorian's organization has provided mentorship, academic, and emotional supports for nearly 50 girls, and has impacted the lives of nearly 1,000 people in the city of Newark through community service projects. The SHE Wins college readiness track also allows scholars to participate in coding programs that increase exposure to STEM fields, attend national leadership conferences, visit college campuses, and enroll in the SHE Wins after-school program. A’Dorian is a 2016 graduate of Swarthmore College and holds a B.A. in Political Science and Educational Studies. She is also an alumna of the KIPP: TEAM Academy in Newark and the Northfield Mount Hermon School.
Eloy Ortiz Oakley – Long Beach, California
Eloy Ortiz Oakley has served as President of Long Beach City College for nearly 10 years and is the co-founder of the nationally-recognized Long Beach College Promise. He serves as the co-chair of the Education Leadership Committee of the College Promise Campaign. Earlier this year he was selected as Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and will begin the role in December. He has been actively working with leaders in California to establish the California College Promise. In 2014, Eloy was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the University of California Board of Regents. He is a product of a California community college.
Jin Park – Flushing, New York
Jin Park is the founder and director of HigherDreams and a junior at Harvard University. As a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient applying to college, Jin experienced the daunting challenges that many undocumented students face while applying to and funding their college education. Driven by his experiences, Jin founded HigherDreams, a nonprofit that seeks to help the 65,000 undocumented high school graduates reach their potential. HigherDreams has worked to consolidate resources for applying to college from the perspective of an undocumented student, and is currently doing direct outreach to high schools in Boston and NYC to make higher education more accessible for low-income and undocumented students. At Harvard, Jin is the campus coordinator of the "Define American" movement, which seeks to elevate the conversation surrounding immigration through storytelling, and also directs Harvard's "Chinatown Citizenship," a naturalization assistance program for immigrants in the greater Boston area.
Daniel R. Porterfield– Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Daniel R. Porterfield, Ph.D. has served as president of Franklin & Marshall College since 2011. Under his leadership, Franklin & Marshall has developed a distinctive student talent strategy built upon a significant increase in their need-based financial aid budget. Through his work, Franklin & Marshall has seen record application numbers and an increase in the academic profile, diversity, and selectivity of incoming classes. In addition, lower-income and first-generation students at F&M consistently achieve the same average GPA as the student body as a whole and maintaining higher retention and graduation rates. Porterfield sits on the boards of the College Board and the Lenfest College Scholarship Foundation. He has received awards for his work from the KIPP and “I Have A Dream” foundations and in 2016 was named one of the “Sixteen Most Innovative People in Higher Education” by Washington Monthly. Prior to leading Franklin & Marshall, Porterfield served as a Senior Vice President at his alma mater, Georgetown University. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities and earned his Ph.D. at The City University of New York Graduate Center.
Juliette Price – Albany, New York
Juliette serves as the director of The Albany Promise, a cross-sector collective impact partnership in Albany, NY that facilitates the improvement of educational outcomes for the city’s most vulnerable students using a shared vision, collective action, and rigorous continuous improvement. The partnership focuses its efforts on six key outcome areas including kindergarten readiness, third grade reading, eighth grade math, high school graduation, post-secondary enrollment, and post-secondary completion, and is a part of the national StriveTogether network of cities across the nation leading the field of collective impact. The Albany Promise convenes over 100 institutions to engage in systems change to create a new civic infrastructure to best serve children and families, with a special focus on eliminating racial disparities.
Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell - Atlanta, Georgia
Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D. is the 10th president of Spelman College. Dr. Campbell previously served as the Dean of the Tisch School of Arts at NYU for two decades. As president, Dr. Campbell leads an institution that is a global leader in the education of women of African descent, with more than 2,100 students from 41 states and 15 foreign countries and with a graduation rate of 76%. Over 79% of Spelman students receive financial aid and nearly half of enrolled students receive Pell Grants. Spelman is also leading work examining innovative strategies that may positively impact student learning as a 2015 U.S. Department of Education First in the World grantee.
UPDATE: This post has been updated to reflect the cancellation of the President's event at Annandale High School and a change in time for the Champions of Change event. The Champions of Change event will take place at 9:00 AM ET on Friday, September 30. The event will be live streamed on the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov/live.
U.S. Department of Education Awards $1.7M AANAPISI Grant to Bunker Hill Community College
BOSTON, September 29, 2016—Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) has received a $1.7 million grant from the United States Department of Education’s Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) program, created to expand the capacity of educational institutions to serve these populations as well as low-income individuals. The funds, to be awarded over five years, will impact the College’s large and growing population of Asian American and low-income English language learners.
BHCC anticipates that the grant will deliver significant positive outcomes on enrollment, achievement, retention and completion rates through the funding of comprehensive alignment and acceleration of the College’s English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum, targeted success coaching and a substantive infusion of global learning enhanced by culturally-responsive pedagogy across key courses in the general education curriculum.
“I am extraordinarily proud that, during its first year of eligibility, BHCC has received a prestigious AANAPISI grant,” said BHCC President Pam Eddinger. “Through this funding, BHCC will be able to implement a range of activities that will support and advance the academic success of Asian American and low-income students.”
The AANAPISI grant will make it possible for the College to implement a multi-pronged approach to improve retention and outcomes for Asian American and low-income students by reforming BHCC’s assessment and placement processes; redesigning the ESL program through a Learning Communities structure with embedded lab supports; providing wrap-around support through a robust coaching model with improved technological tools; and expanding a global learning initiative across the general education curriculum. The reform of the ESL curriculum will not only increase access, but propel students beyond the most critical barrier to their success: college-level English
Catholic institutions around the world announce they are divesting from fossil fuel extraction, marking the largest faith-based divestment announcement
GLOBAL -- Today, on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Catholic institutions and communities from all over the world celebrated the culmination of the month-long Season of Creation with the largest joint announcement of their decision to divest from fossil fuels.
The Catholic communities committing to switch the management of their finances away from fossil fuel extraction include: The Jesuits in English Canada; the Federation of Christian Organisations for the International Voluntary Service (FOCSIV) in Italy; the Presentation Society of Australia and Papua New Guinea; SSM Health in the United States; the Diocese of the Holy Spirit of Umuarama in the Brazilian state of Paraná; the Missionary Society of St. Columban, based in Hong Kong and with a global presence in 14 countries; and the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco – Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Milan and Naples (Italy).
Commitments range from divesting from coal, as is the case of the US healthcare institution SSM, to redirecting the divested funds into clean, renewable energy investments, as FOCSIV has announced. As for the Brazilian Diocese of Umuarama, it is both the first diocese and the first Latin American institution to commit to divest from fossil fuels; the Diocese is taking steps to become low-carbon and is part of COESUS, a coalition fighting fracking in Latin America.
The fossil fuel divestment movement was acknowledged during the presentation of Pope Francis’s message on the World Day of Prayer for Creation by Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, when he pointed out that Pope Francis suggests that “social pressure—including from boycotting certain products—can force businesses to consider their environmental footprint and patterns of production. The same logic animates the fossil fuel divestment movement.”
Major Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican organizations came together betweenSeptember 1st (World Day of Prayer for Creation) and October 4th to observe the Season of Creation, calling on the 2.2 billion Christians worldwide to pray and take action to care for the Earth.
The urgent need to stop all new fossil fuel infrastructure was highlighted by a recent report which found that the potential carbon emissions from the oil, gas and coal in the world’s currently operating fields and mines would increase our planet’s temperature beyond 2°C by the end of this century, and even with no coal, the reserves in oil and gas fields alone would cause warming beyond 1.5ºC.
The campaign to divest from fossil fuels is the fastest growing divestment campaign in history, according to a report by the University of Oxford. Up to date, nearly 600 institutions worth over $3.4 trillion globally have announced divestment commitments.
This is the latest in a row of recent announcements involving faith communities and climate change. Earlier this month, it was announced that over 3,000 UK churches had switched or planned to move to green energy in 2016; Morocco, where COP22 will gather this December, will give 600 mosques agreen makeover by March 2019: in September, the Indian government asked ashrams to invest in solar power; and just last week the Anglican Church of Southern Africa passed a motion during its provincial Synod to divest from fossil fuels.
NEW BEDFORD MAN CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND WAGE THEFT FOR FORCED LABOR, THREATS AGAINST COUPLE
Also Faces Larceny and Assault Charges; Couple Worked for Defendant’s Cleaning Company in Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod
NEW BEDFORD – A New Bedford man has been charged with human trafficking, larceny, assault, and wage theft in connection with forcing a couple to work for his cleaning company and threatening them, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.
Donny Sousa, age 38, was indicted last week by a Bristol County Grand Jury on the charges of Trafficking of Person for Forced Service (2 counts), Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (2 counts), Possession of a Firearm, Motor Vehicle Insurance Fraud, Larceny over $250, Non-Payment of Wages (2 counts), Failure to Provide a Suitable Paystub (2 counts), Employer Failure to Pay Minimum Wage (2 counts), and Untimely Payment of Wages (2 counts). Sousa will be arraigned in Bristol Superior Court at a later date.
“This defendant allegedly forced this couple to work for him for more than a hundred hours each week without paying them legal wages,” said AG Healey. “Human trafficking and wage theft are crimes that our office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute to protect residents from unfair and abusive conduct.”
The AG’s Human Trafficking and Fair Labor Divisions began an investigation into this matter after a referral from Greater Boston Legal Services. The investigation was conducted as part of a collaborative cross-bureau effort on labor trafficking cases.
The investigation revealed that Sousa allegedly recruited a couple from Brazil to travel to the United States with their young son to work for his cleaning company, DMS Cleaning Services, based out of New Bedford. Sousa allegedly promised the victims $3,000 each a month to work for him.
The couple arrived in the United States in December 2014 and Sousa had them begin work within hours of stepping off the plane. The AG’s Office alleges that the couple worked 12 to 15 hour shifts, seven days a week, cleaning between seven and 12 commercial properties each night. The businesses included banks, car dealerships, stores, and restaurants in locations such as Bridgewater, Fall River, Bourne, Hyannis, Dennis and Marshfield.
From the time they arrived in December 2014 to when they fled in March 2015, the victims were only paid $3,600 in total and they only had three days off during that time period. The AG’s Office alleges that Sousa still owes the couple more than $10,000 each in unpaid wages.
After the couple repeatedly asked for the rest of their wages, Sousa allegedly produced and threatened them with a handgun and refused to pay them the wages they were owed. Subsequent investigation revealed Sousa does not have a license to carry a firearm or an FID card.
Sousa also allegedly made a number of other illegal wage and hour deductions from their pay including deductions for equipment, meals, and a cell phone.
The AG’s Office further alleges that while returning home from a cleaning job, the couple got in a car accident while driving Sousa’s vehicle. Sousa allegedly deducted $1,400 from the wages owed to them for damage to the leased vehicle and also filed a false insurance claim listing himself as the driver at the time of the accident.
After the victims fled, they applied for and were granted a one year restraining order against Sousa in New Bedford District Court.
This is another example of AG Healey’s work on behalf of vulnerable populations. Most recently in May, a couple from Qatar paid $3,000 to resolve allegations that they failed to properly pay a live-in employee for childcare services in violation of the state’s wage and hour and domestic worker laws.
The AG’s Human Trafficking Division focuses on policy, prevention and prosecution and includes a team of specialized prosecutors, victim advocates and Massachusetts State Police troopers who handle high impact, multi-jurisdictional human trafficking investigations and prosecutions across the state. Through the Human Trafficking Division, the AG’s Office has charged more than 25 individuals in connection with human trafficking since the law was passed.
The AG’s Fair Labor Division enforces the laws regulating the payment of wages, including prevailing wage, minimum wage, and overtime laws. Workers who believe that their rights have been violated are encouraged to call the Office’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465 or visit the Attorney General’s Workplace Rights websitewww.mass.gov/ago/fairlabor.
This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Snook of AG Healey’s Human Trafficking Division and Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Cotter and Inspector Jennifer Pak of the AG’s Fair Labor Division and with assistance from Victim Witness Advocate Rebecca Auld of the AG’s Victim Witness Services Division.
