Unemployment is bad. Obviously long-term unemployment is worse. But it's not just a little worse, it's horrifically worse. As a companion to our eight charts that describe the problem, here are the top ten reasons why long-term unemployment is such a national catastrophe:
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Sick Leave Benefits were the subject of a $54,000 settlement where the employee received temporary disability benefits and a NJ municipality attempted to dock the employee of benefits. Today's post is shared from The Star Ledger nj.com
The township has agreed to pay its former construction official $54,063 to settle a workers' compensation dispute that surrounded sick days that were docked from his accrual bank. "Authorities have reached a settlement agreement and release with Edward J. Corcoran, retired construction official," Councilman Paul Carifi Jr. said at the Nov. 12 council meeting. "He received workman's compensation, and at times he was unable to return to work. From Feb. 27 to May 31, sick-day payments were docked from his sick day accrual bank. He disputes the docking from his sick day bank. While not admitting any liability or fault, the township and Corcoran have engaged in a settlement." Corcoran had been employed as the township's construction official since July 21, 1994, according to the Nov. 13 settlement agreement.. On Jan. 23, he was injured in a work-related incident and unable to return to work, and began receiving workers' compensation temporary disability payments, the settlement said. On Jan. 29, Corcoran was evaluated at Concentra Urgent Care, and on Feb. 1, Concentra determined he reached maximum medical improvement — meaning treatment would no longer improve his medical condition, and benefits would be terminated. On Feb. 26,... |
The hunt for cheap labor has led to a rash of payroll fraud by companies scraping for any advantage in a sputtering economy, lawmakers say.
As a result, they say, American taxpayers are cheated out of millions, workers are underpaid and the injured are denied workers compensation. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill introduced legislation Tuesday, in conjunction with a Senate hearing, in an effort to curtail what they say has become a widespread practice that hurts not only workers but also law-abiding companies that can’t compete with the bad actors. The issue is common in fields such as those for janitors, homecare workers and cable installers. But it’s especially prevalent in the construction industry, where a company can save as much as 30 percent of its costs by wrongfully reporting its workers as independent contractors instead of employees. The practice is known as misclassification. In the most basic terms, if the employer is directing the worker, including setting his or her schedule, telling the worker what to do, when to do it and how to do it, the worker should be listed as an employee, according to federal rules. By listing workers as independent contractors, companies can avoid paying insurance, taxes and overtime. It also shields companies from responsibilities of having to protect those working for them. Matt Anderson of Ira Township, Mich., needs only to look at his left hand to see the potential... |
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| Deadly asbestos building materials remain in many structures |
