Oorah Settles With NY Dept Of Labor

Low wage workers brought from Lakewood, New Jersey to Oorah's camp in upsate New York in 2010 to renovate the camp were not paid for their labor. Oorah claimed a subcontractor was responsible for the wages. But Oorah also owed that subcontractor a large amount of money.

 

Oorah is a kiruv (missionary) organization best known for a related car donation program, Kars-4-Kids, that falsely claims the kids it helps are at risk and non-sectarian. It has settled with at least two states, paid fines and been forced to change its advertising there.

In this case, low wage workers brought from Lakewood, New Jersey to Oorah's Camp Boy Zone in upsate New York in 2010 to renovate the camp were not paid for their labor. Oorah claimed a subcontractor was responsible for the wages. But Oorah also owed that subcontractor a large amount of money.

After workers were unsuccessful at getting the money from either party, they picketed Oorah's Lakewood headquarters. They still did not get paid.

They then turned to New Labor, which calls itself a community union.

New Labor pressed the workers' case with the New York State Department of Labor, which launched an investigation.

Oorah settled:

…The settlement stems from the summer of 2010 when work was done by about 20 people who were taken from Lakewood to Stamford, N.Y., to work on construction of buildings at a summer camp for Oorah’s resort facility.

“Oorah hired Fairmont LLC to install tiles,” said Jeffrey Stern, controller and chief financial officer for Oorah. Fairmont contracted the workers who made the claim, he said. Oorah was paying Fairmont but the company disappeared from the job without paying the employees, Stern said.

Oorah had owed Fairmont $30,000 and paid that money to the New York labor department, Stern said. Oorah also paid another $35,000 owed to the workers by Fairmont, Stern said.…

Oorah was not ordered to pay any penalties or fines in connection with the settlement, Stern said.…

The fact that Oorah did not pay the subcontractor and did not dispute the work or the bill meant that the subcontractor could not pay the laborers without losing money, and the responsibility for that was Oorah's.

In all likelihood, Oorah settled because otherwise it would have lost and would have been forced to pay fines and penalties – and what it owed Fairmont – which most likely would have been greater than the cost of the settlement.

Oorah, Kars-4-Kids, Joy for Our Youth Posts.

Comments

[Elazar]

Actually, they are more well known for their annual raffle drive than for their "Kars for Kids" campaign.

And they are a very professional and above board organization.

[Shmarya]

And they are a very professional and above board organization.

Posted by: Elazar | June 29, 2011 at 02:12 AM

Which is why two states went after them for deceptive advertising.

[Abracadabra]

There's a big sign on the BQE (hwy) going from Manhattan to Brooklyn that says "Kars-4-Kids" and has a picture of that dorky cartoon kid and a dog in a car.

It is misleading in that the money is NOT for kids - it is for Religious Outreach - aka proslytizing aka missionizing.

When you say that a charitible donation is "for kids" you are saying that you are using that charity to help kids. They are not HELPING kids. They are helping themselves by missionizing to kids to get them to be more religious.

Intresting how the ads say nothing about that.

Oh, but it's not "deceptive advertising" - it's "above board" - right Elazar?

The bigger problem is that frum people don't even know what "above board" means anymore. Ethical behavior only means how much can they get away with, and is it halachically permissible, nevermind if it is "Nuval b'r'shus HaTorah."

Yuch.

[Yochanan Lavie]

They should be prosecuted for their horrible radio jingle.

[seymour]

Actually, they are more well known for their annual raffle drive than for their "Kars for Kids" campaign.

And they are a very professional and above board organization.

Posted by: Elazar | June 29, 2011 at 02:12 AM

just to a like search on the Internet

above board no

[art]

Sounds like Oorah couldn't locate teh contractor, who would be able to come after them for the money even if they paid the workers directly. So they didn't pay the people money they did not directly owe them. Makes sense to anyone but someone looking for a negative story.

By going through the DOL, they were protecting themselves against further claims by the contractor.

[Shmarya]

Sounds like Oorah couldn't locate teh contractor, who would be able to come after them for the money even if they paid the workers directly. So they didn't pay the people money they did not directly owe them. Makes sense to anyone but someone looking for a negative story.

By going through the DOL, they were protecting themselves against further claims by the contractor.

Posted by: art | June 29, 2011 at 08:20 AM

No.

The contractor was still around.

And Oorah did not "go" to the Department of Labor – the workers did.

And Oorah only paid when it became clear it was going to lose.

Try reading the linked articles. You'll see Oorah says very creative things when it gets caught violating the law.

[danny]

YL: "They should be prosecuted for their horrible radio jingle."

Not to mention the egregious misspelling and having 2 extra digits beyond a normal phone number.

[deremes is sheker]

oorah is so professional that they conviently forgot to feed the animals at thier zoo over a weekend last year , located in lakewwod and all the animals died a horrible death. very professional indeed.

[yidandahalf]

Oorah should be opened up to public scrutiny thus it will wither and die like cockroaches do in the hot sun. It is another abomination that we Jews have to be associated with.

[Rosie40]

Oorah hired Fairmont LLC to install tiles. Initially, Fairmont regularly invoiced Oorah for its services; Oorah regularly paid Fairmont; and Fairmont paid its employees. However, after a while, Fairmont, despite having been regularly paid (more than $100,000) by Oorah, disappeared from the scene. It appears that it did so without paying its approximately twenty employees all of what was owed to them. Fairmont’s employees complained to the New York Department of Labor, naming Oorah as their employer.

While sympathetic to the workers circumstances, Oorah did not believe that funds that would otherwise serve its charitable purposes should be expended for paying twice for the same services. Its position was that Fairmont should be tracked down and held accountable. Oorah showed the Department of Labor that Fairmont – not Oorah – was the true employer. It supplied invoices from Fairmont and proof of Oorah’s payments to Fairmont. It also provided information that it hoped would help the Department locate Fairmont’s owner. Unfortunately, Fairmont could not be found.

In February 2011, Oorah paid to the Department of Labor, for direct distribution to the workers, about $30,000, the full amount that its records showed it still owed to Fairmont. With Fairmont nowhere to be found, Oorah regarded using those Fairmont funds to pay Fairmont’s obligations to the workers as the right thing to do.

Oorah then worked with the Department of Labor to verify the amount that the workers were still due & immediately paid. The Department was satisfied that Oorah acted in good faith.
It should be noted that there was no assessment fines or other payments that are associated violations of the Wage Law.

Despite the “spin” some have put on it, these workers were not Oorah employees. The New York State Department of Labor never determined otherwise, and Oorah’s payment agreement makes this clear.

[art]

Shamraya: The contractor was still around.
Funny -- DOL couldn't find them to pay the workers.

And Oorah did not "go" to the Department of Labor – the workers did.
That's true. Oorh had no obligation to go to DOL. Oorah settled to avoid litigation that would have cost more than paying the workers.

Oorah had not hired these workers, and they were beign paid by a firm that ultimately went AWOL.

If you hire a company to renovate your home and they disappear, would you have an obligation to pay the plasterer directly?

[Shmarya]

If you hire a company to renovate your home and they disappear, would you have an obligation to pay the plasterer directly?

Posted by: art | June 29, 2011 at 10:27 AM

Yes – if you defrauded that subcontractor and especially if you were acting as your own contractor.

And you assume – incorrectly – that the DOL could not find the subcontractor.

[NDC]

"And they are a very professional and above board organization."

LOL! Clearly you don't have access to court filings over the past 5 years in the state of NY.

[Deceptive Practice?]

The sum of all the various Oorah operations and programs equals an organization that is deceptive in its practices and at best technically on the right side of the law.
They are a kiruv organization that dupes the general public into supporting their religious aims through deceptive advertising. Not unlike other missionary organizations, they offer a low cost summer camp program designed to indoctrinate participants. They also subsidize tuition for students to attend religious schools instead of public schools.
If they were honest and above board with their advertising the general public would recoil and not contribute their cars and other property.
Oorah would not have the ability to fund their missionary activities.
Do they fund their religious activities by engaging in deceptive practices? You decide.

[Guest]

Oorah's deceptive practices are well known; however, in this story Oorah happens to be right. There is nothing that Oorah fears more than having the AG investigate, and thus Oorah is very honest in all its monetary dealings.

I believe this story is a non-starter.

HOWEVER, if you want to investigate Oorah, look into how they treat their Orthodox employees. They treat their non-Jewish workers much better than they treat their Orthodox workers.

Ask anyone who works for Oorah. Ask Rabbi Gissinger.

[Nigritude Ultramarine]

oorah is so professional that they conviently forgot to feed the animals at thier zoo over a weekend last year ,

Rotten animals, always expecting a handout!

"Oh, we're too good to evolve and build the agricultural and industrial complex it would take to sustain ourselves. No, we'll just sit back and wait for humans to feed us like we're demigods. Maybe they will even 'pre-chew' the food for us."

shakes fist

[busy]

HOWEVER, if you want to investigate Oorah, look into how they treat their Orthodox employees. They treat their non-Jewish workers much better than they treat their Orthodox workers.

Ask anyone who works for Oorah. Ask Rabbi Gissinger.

Posted by: Guest | June 29, 2011 at 11:16 AM

I second that comment. A friend was offered a job there (in a low-level administrative position) but would have been forced to sign a non-compete clause! Needless to say she passed on the job offer. Yet someone else snapped it up immediately thereafter.