I have fought to protect working families and consumers throughout my career, from cracking down on unscrupulous employers, to stopping mortgage and credit card scams and making children’s toys and other consumer products safer.  Some of the highlights include:

Protecting Workers

As Attorney General, I:

•    Created an underground economy unit which has investigated and sued numerous construction, farm labor, trucking and car wash companies that exploited and abused their workers and violated California’s labor laws by failing to pay legal wages. These efforts have helped hard working and often low paid workers get the protections state law requires.  The lawsuits also bring needed revenue to the state (by collecting owed but unpaid taxes) and help ensure that competitors who break the law do not disadvantage law-abiding businesses.

•    Have filed comments with Cal OSHA urging the agency to strengthen its regulations to protect farm laborers and other workers against heat-related illnesses and deaths. 

As Governor, I:

•    Marched with Cesar Chavez and farm workers for safe working conditions and crafted the first farm labor act in the country; signing into law the Agricultural Labor Relations Act. This measure gave farm workers the right of secret ballot elections and established state oversight of agricultural labor relations.

•    Signed a groundbreaking law that requires employers to provide information to workers on toxic substances produced or handled in their workplace, including pesticides and fertilizers.

•    Extended unemployment disability benefits to pregnant women.

•    Designated sexual harassment as an unfair employment practice.

•    Prohibited occupational licensees to discriminate based on disability or marital status.

Stopping Mortgage and Lending Abuse

As Attorney General, I:

•    Secured an $8.6 billion multi-state settlement against Countrywide Financial, one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, for fraudulent and misleading lending practices.

•    Secured a nationwide settlement from Wells Fargo, requiring the bank to return to investors $1.4 billion that had been frozen in “auction rate” securities.

•    Launched an investigation into the three largest rating agencies – Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s and Fitch – for fueling the financial crisis by giving irresponsible ratings to risky investments.

•    Brought criminal and civil charges against dozens of loan-modification companies that were scamming customers, resulting in dozens of companies being closed down and the recovery of restitution and penalties.

•    Shut down fraudulent foreclosure relief companies and recovered cash for scammed homeowners.

•    Required credit card companies to give customers notice of cancellation of credit cards and to disclose finance and interest charges.
As Governor, I:

•    Enacted legislation prohibiting creditors and bill collectors from engaging in harassment.

•    Established the nation’s first anti-redlining measure, prohibiting discrimination by lenders based on geographic location or ethnic makeup of a neighborhood.

•    Signed legislation prohibiting sex or marital status from being a factor in denial of credit to an individual.
 
Shutting Down Investment, Tax and Bank Scams

As Attorney General, I:

•    Brought suit against State Street Bank for cheating CalPERS and CalSTRS out of tens of millions of dollars by manipulating foreign exchange rates.

•    Recovered $7.5 million from Edward Jones Investments for failure to disclose conflicts of interest.

•    Recovered $11 million from the nation’s three largest tax-preparation companies for deceptively marketing refund-anticipation loans as early tax refunds.

•    Brought suit against placement agents for illegally selling securities and bribing CalPERS officials.

•    Filed criminal charges against multiple individuals for securities fraud where victims, including senior citizens, lost hundreds of millions of dollars.

•    Reached agreement with H&R Block prohibiting deceptive marketing of tax refund loans.

•    Won suit prohibiting Liberty Tax Services from deceptive advertising of high-cost tax refund loans.

•    Stopped LifeLock from misleading consumers about identity theft protection services.

•    Sued a Beverly Hills investment adviser - who operated as a feeder fund for Bernie Madoff - for misleading investors.

•    Forced settlement with Citibank after an investigation revealed the bank was improperly handling customers’ money.
 
Stopping Drug Company Scams

As Attorney General, I:
•    Recovered $22 million from drug companies that illegally blocked cheaper generic drugs from entering the California market.

•    Recovered $37.5 million from drug-maker Pfizer for illegal kickbacks and deceptive marketing.

•    Took numerous actions to stop Medi-Cal and Medicare fraud, recovering $112 million from drug-maker Eli Lily, $21.3 million from pharmaceutical giant Schering-Plough, and $23 million from Bristol Myers-Squibb.

Protecting Consumers—especially Children—from Unsafe Products 

As Attorney General, I:
•    Sued an electronic cigarette maker for targeting minors in their ads and using misleading advertising claims.

•    Issued a warning to major retailers caught selling children’s products containing excessive lead.

•    Secured agreement with Shell Oil to curb tobacco sales to minors.

•    Sued baby furniture manufacturers that were found to use formaldehyde in their products.

•    Sued twenty toy companies for knowingly exposing children to lead-contaminated toys.

•    Secured a deal with Toyota to help consumers while their recalled vehicles are repaired.

•    Created the nation’s first enforceable lead standards for artificial turf.

As Governor, I:

•    Enacted a lemon law, protecting the buyers of defective new cars.

•    Required manufacturers to refund or replace defective vehicles.

•    Strengthened penalties for violating the Fair Packaging and Labeling Law.

Protecting Consumers from Toxics

As Attorney General, I:

•    Worked with District Attorneys throughout California to bring actions against companies for illegal disposal of toxic wastes, groundwater contamination and other threats to public health.

•    Recovered millions of dollars for violations of California’s toxics, water quality and other laws.

•    Stopped the Bush Administration from weakening rules requiring industrial facilities to disclose their toxic emissions to the public.

•    Recovered $19.5 million from Shell Oil for underground gas tank violations.

Shutting Down Other Consumer Scams

As Attorney General, I:

•    Prevented calling card companies from boosting profits by charging hidden fees and settled stolen cell phone billing disputes with AT&T.

•    Recovered $1.8 million from Midas auto shops for charging customers for unnecessary repairs.

•    Won a $160 million refund from the L.A. Department of Water and Power for illegal and unjustified overcharges.

•    Obtained $118 million in multi-state settlements against vocational schools for failing to deliver promised education.

•    Ended an online travel pyramid scheme and filed 78 felony charges against a travel agency for selling bogus packages to senior citizens.

•    Subpoenaed health insurance plans over claim denials and rate hikes.

•    Forced CVS Pharmacy to provide customers a $2 coupon for expired products found on shelves.
Increasing Consumer Rights
As Governor, I:

•    Signed a law allowing consumers to purchase less expensive generic prescription drugs.

•    Enacted reforms to make small claims court more accessible to consumers, including adding evening and Saturday sessions and raising the claim ceiling to $1500.

•    Established life line utility rates, allowing people on modest incomes to qualify for reduced rates for basic services.