2019 Press Releases

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• 7/23/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG ISSUES STATEMENT ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S ROLLBACK OF CLEAN CAR RULE

• 9/23/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG OPPOSES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RULE THAT RISKS DEPORTATION OF LAWFUL RESIDENTS

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of attorneys general in issuing comments formally opposing the Trump Administration’s new rule that vastly expands the use of expedited removal. Under the new rule, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is authorized to deport certain individuals living anywhere in the United States without the due process protections afforded in normal removal proceedings, such as the right to an attorney or a hearing before a judge.

• 7/16/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG AND GOVERNOR LAMONT ANNOUNCE LAWSUIT AGAINST IRS AND SECRETARY MNUCHIN

  Acting to protect Connecticut taxpayers from the harmful effects of the Trump Administration's federal tax overhaul, Attorney General William Tong and Governor Ned Lamont announced today that the State is joining a multistate lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Treasury Department.

• 6/13/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG AND CONSUMER COUNSEL KATZ URGE UI CUSTOMERS TO CHECK BILLS FOLLOWING RATE NOTICE ERROR

  (Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Elin Katz urged United Illuminating customers to check their bills following an error by UI informing consumers of an inaccurate standard service rate beginning July 1. As a result of the inaccurate rates posted by UI on the Energize CT website, some consumers may have switched to a third-party electric supplier on the incorrect understanding that switching would save them money.

• 9/2/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS BIPARTISAN COALITION FIGHTING FOR STUDENT BORROWERS

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a bipartisan coalition of 32 attorneys general from around the country in defending the states’ vital ability to enforce state and federal consumer protection laws against student loan servicers. In an amicus brief filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the attorneys general argue that the case brought by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania against student loan servicer Navient for exploiting student loan borrowers should be permitted to go forward in the federal courts.

• 9/9/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG SUES SEC FOR PUTTING BROKERS AHEAD OF INVESTORS

  Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of eight attorneys general from around the nation in filing a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, challenging the Securities & Exchange Commission’s (SEC) “Regulation Best Interest” for failing to meet basic investor protections that were laid out in the historic 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

• 9/24/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG BACKS BILL TO OVERTURN TRUMP MUSLIM BAN, END IMMIGRATION DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF RELIGION

  Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general, led by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, in urging Congress to support a bill that would expand the anti-discrimination protections in the Immigration and Naturalization Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion in immigration decisions.

• 10/17/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG OPPOSES EFFORT TO UNDERMINE ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR DISHWASHERS

  ttorney General William Tong joined 13 attorneys general and the City of New York in calling on the Department of Energy (DOE) to withdraw its proposed rule to undermine current energy efficiency standards for residential dishwashers. The proposed rule, issued at the request of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, attempts to carve out a class of dishwashers from energy efficiency standards by creating a new, unnecessary category of dishwashers defined only by shorter cycle times. Attorney General Tong and the coalition assert that the proposal is unlawful, hurts consumers and the environment, and is not supported by any factual need.

• 7/29/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG AND COMMISSIONER SEAGULL ANNOUNCE INVESTIGATION INTO JUUL LABS

  Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull have opened an investigation into JUUL Labs, Inc. regarding health claims made by the company.

• 8/1/2019 TONG JOINS MULTISTATE COALITION CHALLENGING TRUMP’S MOVE TO GUT PROTECTIONS FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS FLEEING PERSECUTION

• 7/2/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG FILES SUPREME COURT BRIEF TO PROTECT LGBTQ+ EMPLOYEES FROM DISCRIMINATION

  (Hartford, CT) — On the heels of Pride Month and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that began the modern gay rights movement, Attorney General William Tong joined Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, New York Attorney General Letitia James and 19 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that federal anti-discrimination laws protect LGBTQ+ employees. The coalition will be filing the brief in three cases pending before the court that involve workers being fired based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

• 3/13/2019 AG TONG STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT'S RULING THAT SAYS SANDY HOOK FAMILIES WILL HAVE THEIR DAY IN COURT TO PROVE REMINGTON VIOLATED CUTPA

  Attorney General William Tong released the following statement after the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled today that Sandy Hook families should be given the opportunity to prove that Remington — the maker of the A5-15 used by the gunman in the massacre — violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) by marketing a military-style weapon to civilians.

• 6/25/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG ANNOUNCES $1.5 MILLION FALSE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT WITH CLINICAL SCIENCE LABORATORY, INC.

  (Hartford, CT) – Connecticut Attorney General William Tong today announced a $1.5 million settlement with Clinical Science Laboratory, Inc. (CSL) and its owners Stanley Elfbaum and Louis Amoruso resolving False Claims Act violations related to over billing for urine drug tests.

• 11/14/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG FILES MOTION FOR CONTEMPT AGAINST WEST HAVEN ASBESTOS REMOVAL BUSINESS OWNER

  Attorney General William Tong today filed a motion for contempt against James Pero, the owner of a West Haven asbestos removal business who, for years, has maintained his property at 18 Helm Street as an illegal asbestos transfer station. Besides the trailers and containers full of asbestos, the site is strewn with other waste, including used tires and oil drums.

• 7/29/2019 ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG, SECRETARY OF STATE MERRILL ISSUE ALERT REGARDING ILLEGITIMATE BUSINESS MAILING

  Attorney General William Tong and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill are alerting Connecticut businesses about a mailing from a company calling itself CT Certificate Service. The mailing suggests that Connecticut businesses must pay a fee of $112.50 to CT Certificate Service in order to obtain copies of their "Connecticut Certificate of Existence."