With the crisis chatter in Washington now turning to speculation about the coming budget talks and the possibility of a “grand bargain” to replace the sequester, liberals and unions are getting increasingly nervous that Congressional Dems will give up entitlement benefits cuts in exchange for, well, whatever is on offer from Republicans, which isn’t at all clear.
In an interview, Damon Silvers, the policy director of the AFL-CIO, laid down a hard line, putting Dems on notice that any agreement that cuts entitlement benefits — even in a deal that includes GOP concessions on tax hikes — is a nonstarter. Silvers strongly suggested labor would withhold support in 2014 from any Dem lawmaker who supports such a deal. “We are opposed to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits cuts. Period,” Silvers told me. “There will be no cover for members of either party who vote for such a thing.” Silvers said the AFL-CIO also opposes the entitlements cuts in the President’s budget, such as Chained CPI and a form of Medicare means testing. It’s unclear how, or whether, those will figure in what Dems bring to the table in the budget talks, which are mandated by the deal just reached to end the crisis. “Chained CPI is like the vampire of American politics,” Silvers said. “It keeps being shot through the heart and it keeps reviving. The reason it keeps coming back is because it has... |
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(c) 2010-2024 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.
Showing posts with label Washington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2013
Labor puts Dems on notice: Don’t touch Medicare and Social Security benefits
Thursday, October 17, 2013
ADAO Special Report “The USA Asbestos Toxic Trade Continues”
Presented at the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) Press Conference in Washington, D.C. on April 4, 2013Posted on April 9, 2013 Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma and lung, gastrointestinal, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers, as well as non-malignant lung and pleural disorders. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) database statistics revealed that, from 1999 – 2013, the USA buried 43,351 Americans who died from mesothelioma and asbestosis – just two of the many diseases caused by asbestos. In response to this continued public health crisis, eighteen months ago, I began asking three questions:
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- Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries deny, delay asbestos, hazard claims, suits, insiders allege (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
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Monday, October 14, 2013
National Survey: Working Longer—Older Americans’ Attitudes on Work and Retirement
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has released the results of a major new survey exploring the views of older Americans about their plans for work and retirement. It provides in-depth information about a rapidly growing segment of the population that by choice or circumstance is working longer. The Great Recession has had a marked impact on retirement plans.
“The survey illuminates an important shift in Americans’ attitudes toward work, aging, and retirement,” said Trevor Tompson, director of the AP-NORC Center. “Retirement is not only coming later in life, it no longer represents a complete exit from the workforce. The data in this survey reveal strikingly different views of retirement among older workers today than those held by the prior generation.”
With funding provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted a national survey of 1,024 adults ages 50 and over. It is a segment of the population that is not only growing rapidly in numbers, but is also becoming substantially healthier. Projections show that the U.S. population age 65 and over will increase to 19 percent of the population by 2030, up from 13 percent in 2010, an estimated 72 million people. At the same time, people age 55 and over comprise the fastest growing segment of the workforce. By 2020, approximately one fourth of American workers will be...
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Monday, October 7, 2013
Is Workers' Compensation Just a Promise That Can't Be Kept?
Over a century ago, Labor and Industry made a promise to each other called Workers' Compensation. It was summary, remedial, inexpensive administrative process that provided benefits to injured workers through a social insurance program for work-related accidents and diseases. The shifting of wealth in the US has now made the workers' compensation program a target for reform and elmination. Today's post is shared from the opinion pages of the NYTimes.com.
As bad as things in Washington are — the federal government shutdown since Tuesday, the slim but real potential for a debt default, a political system that seems increasingly ungovernable — they are going to get much worse, for the United States and other advanced economies, in the years ahead. From the end of World War II to the brief interlude of prosperity after the cold war, politicians could console themselves with the thought that rapid economic growth would eventually rescue them from short-term fiscal transgressions. The miracle of rising living standards encouraged rich countries increasingly to live beyond their means, happy in the belief that healthy returns on their real estate and investment portfolios would let them pay off debts, educate their children and pay for their medical care and retirement. This was, it seemed, the postwar generations’ collective destiny. But the numbers no longer add up. Even before the Great Recession, rich countries were seeing their tax revenues weaken,... |
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Saturday, October 5, 2013
Now the Government Shutdown Is Stopping Blood Drives
For all the scorn heaped on government employees, some people forget that the faceless bureaucrats who populate Washington are often, in fact, a bunch of do-gooders—people who genuinely believe in the notion of public service. As such, they contribute to the public good in a lot of ways that are taken for granted, like their immense contribution to local blood banks. Thirty-eight percent of the population is eligible to give blood, but only 5 percent actually does so. A lot of that 5 percent apparently works for the federal government. Thanks to the shutdown, in just two days, four federal agency blood drives scheduled by one DC-area health care system have been canceled. The regional Red Cross has had to cancel six others in the Washington region. Inova Blood Donor Services projects that the cancelations will result in its projected loss of 300 donations that would have helped 900 patients in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Inova's donated blood collections supply 24 hospitals, which bank much of the blood for inevitable disasters or, say, terrorist attacks. The Red Cross is suffering from similar disruptions, projecting the loss of 229 donations, each of which could potentially save up to three lives. A single major trauma event can easily deplete a hospital's entire blood store. The longer the shutdown goes on, the... |
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Saturday, September 28, 2013
You Can Have Any Job You Want, as Long as It's Waitress
It’s almost 6 p.m. on a Friday, and the tables near the bar at the Hamilton in downtown Washington are getting crowded. That means Victoria Honard is busy. Honard, 22, who graduated from Syracuse University in May, works about 25 hours a week as a waitress at the restaurant while she looks for a public policy job. A dean’s-list student, she moved to Washington four days after graduation with the hope of finding a position at a think tank or policy-related organization. She’s applied to about 20 prospective employers. “The response has been minimal,” says Honard, whose academic work was in education, health, and human services. “There are two ways of looking at it. I could be extremely frustrated and be bitter, or I can make the most of it, and I’m trying to take the latter approach.” Unemployment data appear to show big advances for women. The jobless rate in August for females 20 years and older was 6.3 percent, the lowest since December 2008, compared with 7.1 percent for men. As recently as January, the rate was 7.3 percent for both genders, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. |
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Friday, September 27, 2013
The Impact and Echoes of the Wal-Mart Discrimination Case
The post is shared from probulica.org. Betty Dukes talks to the press on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court after the class action lawsuit Dukes v. Wal-Mart was argued before the court in Washington, March 29, 2011
Employers rejoiced. Others predicted serious setbacks for women and minorities, especially in employment discrimination cases brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That landmark law had opened the way to the use of the class-action lawsuit as a potent weapon for people who could not stand up for their rights on their own. Two years later, it’s becoming clear just how much the ruling has reshaped the American legal landscape. The Dukes decision has already been cited more than 1,200 times in rulings by federal and state courts, a figure seen by experts as remarkable. Jury verdicts have been overturned, settlements thrown out, and class actions rejected or decertified, in many instances undoing years of litigation. The rulings have come in every part of the country, in lawsuits involving all types of companies,... |
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Many States Look to Raise Minimum Wage
New Jersey could become the fifth state this year to increase its state minimum wage if voters approve a measure on Nov. 5 that would boost the hourly rate by $1, to $8.25. In states as varied as Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts and South Dakota, advocates are pushing to put minimum wage hikes on state ballots in 2014. Meanwhile, elected officials are leading the charge in Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia. The action at the state level comes as organized labor and liberal groups have backed a wave of strikes by fast-food workers in cities across the country to put a spotlight on hourly wages. Advocates are pressing for a national $15 hourly wage, more than twice the $7.25 federal minimum wage. States cannot set a minimum wage that is lower than the federal standard, but they are free to establish a higher one. Washington state currently has the highest state minimum wage at $9.19; followed by Oregon ($8.95) and Vermont ($8.60). Connecticut, the District of Columbia and Illinois all have a state minimum of $8.25. In addition, some 120 cities have enacted “living wages” that set a minimum standard for businesses that receive city contracts. City minimums range from $9 to $16 an hour. ... |
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Monday, September 16, 2013
Bridge Safety: Many U.S. Spans Are Old, Risky And Rundown
Motorists coming off the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge into Washington are treated to a postcard-perfect view of the U.S. Capitol. The bridge itself, however, is about as ugly as it gets: The steel underpinnings have thinned since the structure was built in 1950, and the span is pocked with rust and crumbling concrete. District of Columbia officials were so worried about a catastrophic failure that they shored up the horizontal beams to prevent the bridge from falling into the Anacostia River. And safety concerns about the Douglass bridge, which is used by more than 70,000 vehicles daily, are far from unique. An Associated Press analysis of 607,380 bridges in the most recent federal National Bridge Inventory showed that 65,605 were classified as "structurally deficient" and 20,808 as "fracture critical." Of those, 7,795 were both – a combination of red flags that experts say indicate significant disrepair and similar risk of collapse. A bridge is deemed fracture critical when it doesn't have redundant protections and is at risk of collapse if a single, vital component fails. A bridge is structurally deficient when it is in need of rehabilitation or replacement because at least one major component of the span has advanced deterioration or other problems that lead inspectors to deem its condition poor or worse. Engineers say the bridges are safe. And despite the ominous sounding classifications, officials say that even bridges that are structurally... |
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Friday, September 6, 2013
Lobbyists: Postal Service will try to hike stamp price
The troubled United States Postal Service is likely to vote to raise its prices at a Thursday meeting of its Board of Governors, according to top Washington lobbyists opposed to the hike. Greeting Card Association lobbyist Rafe Morrissey told reporters Wednesday that he expects the USPS to try to increase price of the 46 cent first-class stamp by 3 cents. That would consist of a 2 cent increase on top of a 1 cent inflation adjustment already expected in January. The magazine industry is anticipating as much as a double-digit increase for periodicals, another lobbyist source said. Currently, magazine postal rates average 27 cents per magazine. The Board vote would start a process of seeking emergency price-raising powers from the Postal Regulatory Commission. Congress under current law does not have a role in the process, but both the House and Senate are weighing overhauls of the USPS. “The Board seems to me moving down the path of filing an exigent case,” Morrissey said. “We don’t think that is part of a common-sense or sustainable solution.” He argued that the rate increase along with proposed reductions in service such as the end of Saturday delivery would only contribute to a agency's death spiral. The Greeting Card Association wants Congress to adjust the formula by which the USPS prefunds the future health benefits for its retirees and for it to consider delivering mail to curbside cluster boxes rather than individual... |
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Why Cases Don't Settle in Washington State
Guest Blog
By Kit Case of Causey Law, Washington
The Size of the Check Points the Way
In Washington State, the majority of workers’ compensation claims are “State Fund” claims managed by the Department of Labor and Industries (Department), with perhaps a third are comprised of “self-insured” claims managed by third-party administration companies under the oversight of the Department. In “State Fund” claims, managed by State employees, benefits are paid from monies received from both workers and employers – - Washington is the only state where workers and employers each pay half of the medical insurance premiums. When a dispute arises in a claim, the aggrieved party can file an appeal to the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (Board), another State agency. When an appeal is filed with the Board, the Department is represented by the Office of the Attorney General, yet another State agency.
Since the economic crisis hit Washington, as it has in every other state in the union, the Department of Labor and Industries has become very cautious concerning any expenditures.
Since the economic crisis hit Washington, as it has in every other state in the union, the Department of Labor and Industries has become very cautious concerning any expenditures. After all, audits have found mis-spent money — nothing worthy of headlines, but the media loves a good fraud story as much as they love a government waste story. Fraud investigations and video surveillance have increased dramatically in recent years at great expense to the Department with minimal economic benefit. The Department was recently found to have spent a significant sum on no-show fees to independent medical examination companies without recouping those charges from the claimants who failed to attend the examinations or, in some of the cases, without properly notifying those companies to avoid the charges when a cancellation was known to have occurred. The end result of the Department’s caution is that benefits clearly payable to a claimant are being delayed or denied simply based on the amount of money at stake.
Payments of minor amounts can be made by Department claims managers at their discretion, based on the records on file. Amounts over a few thousand dollars, however, trigger the need for supervisor review and approval before payment can be made. Consequently, we are working much harder to obtain payment administratively because the Department increasingly requires proof of entitlement to benefits “beyond a reasonable doubt” rather than simply based upon the opinion of a treating physician. One doctor’s opinion of a worker’s inability to work seems no longer enough to establish entitlement to benefits. We increasingly face roadblocks to payment in cases where the Department concocts an issue over whether the inability to work is related to the covered injury or condition or is instead due to some pre- or post-existing condition, even if the disabling condition is clearly shown to be related to the original injury or the treatment procedures for that injury. If payment or authorization for treatment for a condition is denied, we are forced to demand an order be issued. We then file an appeal, and off to litigation we go.
In the current economic climate simply the amount of money involved increasingly drives the decision-making process at every administrative level.
The paralegals and attorneys at our firm work diligently to document the benefits we are seeking and the medical support for the claims we are making. In some cases, the monetary benefit at issue is a fairly significant amount. In the current economic climate simply the amount of money involved increasingly drives the decision-making process at every administrative level. Denials are much more common when a significant sum is at stake, regardless of the validity of the claim. We encounter a “make them prove it” attitude, forcing cases to go through time-consuming and expensive litigation rather than being resolved through mediation discussions or agreement between the parties.
Yesterday, I received phone call apology after a denial order had been issued, expressing condolences but the hope that we will be able to prevail on appeal. Today, I was told by an Assistant Attorney General that she would likely not be able to get authority from her client – the Department — to accept our settlement offer due to the amount of money at issue – “the case will just have to be litigated.”
I can accept these denials when there is a genuine dispute over the facts, over whether a claimant is entitled to the benefits or not. I cannot accept it when the answer is simply “it’s too much money.” I would prefer the other side tell me why my argument lacks merit, tell me that I am wrong in my belief that the claimant is entitled to the benefits at issue, tell me where the hole in my case is – anything – but, please, don’t just say that it’s too much money. That is not a reason for a State Agency which, unlike an insurance company, has no inherent profit motive, to deny benefits.
Consider the relatively low values in workers’ compensation claims: 60 – 72% of pre-injury wages as wage-replacement compensation; surprisingly small awards for permanent impairment, with no consideration given to the impact on lifestyle or earnings ability. If there is a significant sum at stake, it is because of YEARS of delay, or years of benefits at issue, not because the claimant is lucky or greedy. The claimant didn’t win the lottery; he or she was simply injured on the job and denied benefits when they were most needed. That required hiring an attorney, and in many cases expended large sums of money in efforts to support their case. The significant sums often at issue in these cases do not make claimants RICH, nor do they make them WHOLE. They only provide the limited measure of compensation that our workers’ compensation system allows.
Don’t add insult to injury.
My message to our State: Don’t add insult to injury. Show claimants the respect they deserve and promptly make decisions in their claims based on the merits of their arguments and the evidence presented, without being influenced simply by the amount of the check that may be issued.
More articles about "delay"
Oct 21, 2011
Its weaknesses have allowed chemical companies to exploit the act by thwarting the EPA's attempts to finalize health assessments and delaying regulation of chemicals -- sometimes for decades. The chemical industry's ...
Jul 01, 2010
Delay To Reinstate For Tactical Reasons Not Excuseable. The NJ Court of Appeals did not permit reinstatement of a dismissed claim where the claimant's attorney waited more than one year following the entry of a dismissal ...
Sep 27, 2008
Delay has always been a problem when injured workers need medical treatment. Traditionally, insurance companies, especially in hard economic times, have sought to hold onto their money and not distribute benefits.
Aug 08, 2010
A US District Court Judge held that a valid cause of action existed directly against an insurance company for the delay treatment to an injured worker. The court, in denying a motion for summary judgment, held that when an ...
May 27, 2010
The claim of an injured who brought a Federal Court action pro se for “unwarranted delays” of his NJ workers' compensation claim was dismissed by a Federal Court. The action was based on a violation of: The Americans ...
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Monday, March 7, 2011
Washington Workers' Compensation Reform
The State of Washington is in the process of taking drastic action to reform its workers' compensation system as it faces potential insolvency within the next 5 years. A package of bills is advancing that would limit periodic benefits for older workers, restrict medical treatment and reduce costs of the ailing system.
The reform comes on heals of a bitter and contested failed ballot referendum last fall that would have privatized workers' compensation coverage. While the referendum did not succeed, legislators claim that a massive deficit is threatening the solvency of the entire system and that it needs to become much more restrictive in providing benefits.
The reform comes on heals of a bitter and contested failed ballot referendum last fall that would have privatized workers' compensation coverage. While the referendum did not succeed, legislators claim that a massive deficit is threatening the solvency of the entire system and that it needs to become much more restrictive in providing benefits.
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- Too Old to Get Workers Compensation (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Federal Push to Cap Workers' Compensation Based on Age (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- From Doughnuts to Workers' Compensation Dollars (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Straightening Out What is Formaldehyde
The fragrance and cosmetic industry seems to be having a difficult time in straightening out its own product line after being the direct and indirect target of claims from injured workers and consumers. National Public Radio [NPR] reports today that the attempt to remove formaldehyde, a know carcinogen, has been met with new and potentially toxic results.
The Hollywood rage, that is frizz-free hair, has created concern in Washington and in courtrooms as to the toxicity of the beauty products being sold and utilized. A scientist, Sharon Neufeldt, has raised concern the the new products being market maybe no better than the allegedly toxic old products.
The Hollywood rage, that is frizz-free hair, has created concern in Washington and in courtrooms as to the toxicity of the beauty products being sold and utilized. A scientist, Sharon Neufeldt, has raised concern the the new products being market maybe no better than the allegedly toxic old products.
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- A Closer Look: Brazilian Blowout formaldehyde questions continue (ehssafetynews.wordpress.com)
- Health Alert! I Went To The Salon For A Brazilian Blowout And All I Got Was This Lousy Formaldehyde Poisoning (laist.com)
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered from occupational exposures. Please contact our office if you require assistance in filing a claim.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Too Old to Get Workers Compensation
Washington's Governor, Chris Gregorine has proposed legislation to retire older totally disabled workers from the state's workers' compensation system. About 8% of the state's totally disabled workers would have the option of receiving a lump sum benefit to opt out of the system of periodic benefits. The senior beneficiaries amount to 85% of the present systems' cost and amount to only 8% of the total beneficiaries.
Related articles
Related articles
- High Workers Compensation Costs May Force County to Layoff 100 Workers (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Congress Told Workers Compensation is a Deteriorating System (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Dean Emily Spieler Requests Congress to Review The Workers' Compensation Disability Rating System (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- USPS May Declare Bankruptcy Citing High Workers Compensation Costs (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Oldest Postal Retirees Get Most of Costly Payouts
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Ballot Issue in Washington State to Privatize Workers Compensation
The countdown is underway and the rhetoric is becoming inflamed, as private insurance carriers in Washington State battle to privatize the workers compensation system. $1 Million in donations have been accepted to date.
"There is a ballot initiative being presented by the large industries of Washington State in the next election cycle that could divide a worker’s overall notion of how they feel politically and what is in their own personal best interest. It is in regards to workers compensation and the fate of theWashington State Department of Labor and Industries.
"The Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) introduced Initiative 1082. The BIAW is a conservative organization who “fight against” government on behalf of private industry. They are specifically geared to improving the profit of the building industry through deregulation, much like what happened with the banking industry in the early 2000’s, which resulted in a global economic collapse.
"Their intent with I-1082 is to privatize workers compensation insurance in Washington state. In theory this would bring down premiums due to competition, or that’s what many who promote privatization contend. Others who back this initiative say that this would allow employers more choice on their workers compensation plans and thus be able to better protect their workers.
"With help of private donation from Washington businesses large and small, the BIAW spent about $500,000 to put the I-1082 on the ballot. This initiative was also largely backed by those who would reap the profits from it, the insurance companies. Liberty Mutual, the new corporate parent of Safeco, has given $300,000 to the campaign, a mere drop in the bucket compared to the expected profit to be had if the initiative passes.
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational exposures.
...........
"There is a ballot initiative being presented by the large industries of Washington State in the next election cycle that could divide a worker’s overall notion of how they feel politically and what is in their own personal best interest. It is in regards to workers compensation and the fate of theWashington State Department of Labor and Industries.
"The Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) introduced Initiative 1082. The BIAW is a conservative organization who “fight against” government on behalf of private industry. They are specifically geared to improving the profit of the building industry through deregulation, much like what happened with the banking industry in the early 2000’s, which resulted in a global economic collapse.
"Their intent with I-1082 is to privatize workers compensation insurance in Washington state. In theory this would bring down premiums due to competition, or that’s what many who promote privatization contend. Others who back this initiative say that this would allow employers more choice on their workers compensation plans and thus be able to better protect their workers.
"With help of private donation from Washington businesses large and small, the BIAW spent about $500,000 to put the I-1082 on the ballot. This initiative was also largely backed by those who would reap the profits from it, the insurance companies. Liberty Mutual, the new corporate parent of Safeco, has given $300,000 to the campaign, a mere drop in the bucket compared to the expected profit to be had if the initiative passes.
The Complete Ballot Initiative: http://tinyurl.com/2bb8xyl
..........For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational exposures.
...........
Related Articles:
More Related articles:
- Workers comp initiative steps closer to ballot (sfgate.com)
- Workers comp initiative steps closer to ballot (dailycaller.com)
- Workers comp initiative qualifies for Wash. ballot (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- A challenge to BIAW's Tom McCabe (horsesass.org)
- Republicans back BIAW initiative (seattlepi.com)
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