Reallocating resources for enforcement, the US EPA will be targeting large industry for polluters. On the other side of the coin, the employees and potentially exposed bystanders, in smaller industries will potentially suffer occupational exposures. The balancing act could be eliminated by merely increasing funding to the EPA for its enforcement effort. Today's post is shared from the LATimes.org . WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency plans to substantially reduce inspections and civil enforcement cases against industry over the next five years, arguing that focusing on the biggest polluters would be the most effective way to clean up air and water.
In a draft strategic plan, the EPA proposes to cut federal inspections by one-third from the 20,000 inspections it conducted in the last fiscal year, ended Sept. 30. Moreover, it plans to initiate about 2,320 civil enforcement cases a year, compared with the 3,000 cases initiated last fiscal year, a 23% reduction. The EPA said the shift for fiscal years 2014 to 2018 is not a retreat from enforcement but a more effective allocation of resources. |
Showing posts sorted by date for query BP. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query BP. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Saturday, December 14, 2013
EPA plans to sharply reduce inspections
Friday, November 1, 2013
California state Sen. Ron Calderon accepted $88,000 in bribes, FBI affidavit alleges
California workers' compensation scandal headlines the news over medical treatment bribes. Today's post is shared from sacbee.com
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
State Sen. Ron Calderon accepted about $88,000 in bribes from an undercover FBI agent posing as a film studio owner and a Southern California hospital executive during a wide-ranging probe into his conduct as a legislator, according to a 124-page affidavit published online Wednesday by cable news network Al Jazeera America.
No charges have been filed against Calderon, a Democrat from Montebello. His attorney, Mark Geragos, did not return calls Wednesday. The federal affidavit, filed with the court under seal as the FBI sought a search warrant for Calderon’s office, alleges that he worked with interest groups in a pay-to-play fashion, accepting money in exchange for promises to carry or amend legislation to their benefit.  It details an arrangement to funnel money for the Calderon family’s later use through a nonprofit organization run by his brother Tom Calderon. It describes an instance in which Calderon hired a female undercover agent as a staff member as a favor to another undercover agent despite her apparent lack of qualifications for the job. It says that as Calderon steered legislation, he asked those he thought would benefit to secure jobs for his children, Jessica and Zachary.“One way you could be a real help to (my daughter) is, you got any work?” Calderon said to an undercover agent posing as the film studio owner during a June 2012 dinner in Pico Rivera, according to the affidavit. “I told you, man, anything... |
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Kansas SC suspends former AG’s law license indefinitely | Legal Newsline
The Kansas Supreme Court has suspended former state Attorney General Phill Kline’s law license indefinitely.
The high court released its decision Friday. Kline “As fully detailed below, after reviewing each instance of misconduct found by the panel, we find clear and convincing evidence that Kline committed 11 (Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct) violations,” according to the court’s per curiam opinion. “In assessing discipline, we have considered the facts and circumstances of each violation; the ethical duties violated by Kline to the public, the legal system, and the legal profession; the knowing nature of his misconduct; the injury that resulted from the misconduct; the existence of aggravating and mitigating factors; and the applicable advisory American Bar Association Standards for imposing discipline. “Ultimately, after applying that framework, we reject the Disciplinary Administrator’s suggestion of disbarment and conclude Kline’s misconduct warrants indefinite suspension, the discipline recommended by the panel.” In October 2011, a panel for the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys recommended that Kline should have his state law license suspended indefinitely. Kline served as the state’s top lawyer from 2003 to 2007, and as Johnson County District Attorney from 2007 to 2009. The three-member panel pointed to Kline’s actions during investigations of abortion... |
Saturday, October 19, 2013
How OSHA’s West Fertilizer fine stacks up against others
 When OSHA found wrongdoing and decided to fine a company, it proposed an average fine of $12,836 before any negotiations or appeals. The agency actually collected an average of $6,010. Many of the top 25 fines in OSHA’s history are large industrial explosions, usually resulting in multiple deaths, which may be a better comparison to West than the general average. The West explosion, which killed 15 people and injured 300, however, is nowhere close to OSHA’s five largest fines: 1. 2005 BP Texas City explosion, killed 15, injured 170: $84 million in proposed fines 2. 2010 Connecticut power plant explosion, killed six, injured 50: $16.6 million in total proposed fines 3. 1991 IMC Fertilizer/Angus Chemical explosion, killed eight, injured 120: $11.5 million in proposed fines 4. 2008 Imperial Sugar explosion, killed 13, hospitalized 40: $8.8 million in proposed fines 5. 1995 Samsung Guam employee fell from high elevation, killed one: $8.3 million in proposed fines In fact, OSHA fined West Fertilizer 70 percent of the maximum allowed by law for the number and severity of violations alleged, $118,300 out of a maximum $168,000 fine. OSHA cited West Fertilizer... |
Monday, October 14, 2013
Lawsuit claims chemical spill at Armstrong caused worker's neurological disorder
Today's post is sahred from inpews.com
Sandra Cooper remembers the exact date her life started to turn upside down: Sept. 25, 2003. She'd gotten home from her job as an art teacher at Garden Spot High School around 4 p.m. that day. Her husband, Gene, who was on shift work at Armstrong World Industries floor plant, arrived home a short time later. She heard him coming. "I could hear the coughing even before he came up the sidewalk," Sandra Cooper said. "I've never heard anybody cough like that."  His eyes were watering, he had a blinding headache and he was screaming in between hacks. There'd been a spill at work, he told his wife. Chemicals. He had to help clean it up. |
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Claims administrator ordered to halt oil spill claims payments
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier has ordered claims administrator Patrick Juneau to immediately stop business-related loss payments connected to the 2010 BP oil spill.
BP claims Juneau misinterpreted the settlement agreement and allowed businesses that could show little or no economic damages to receive payments. While business claims will be suspended for the time being, all other claims will be allowed to be processed. “This order is issued only as an immediate and interim measure until the Court is able to confer with and receive input from the parties in order to confect an appropriate ‘narrowly tailored’ preliminary injunction order as instructed by the Fifth Circuit,” Barbier wrote. Both BP and the plaintiffs’ steering committee also have been ordered to submit a proposal on how damages for businesses should be handled to eliminate the potential for false claims. The ruling comes after multiple denials by Barbier to revisit the settlement program at BP’s request. BP, the plaintiffs’ steering committee and Juneau will meet in a status conference on Oct. 11 to go over potential new... |
Sunday, September 29, 2013
BP Trial in 2nd Phase, to Set Amount of Oil Spilled
Post shared from the nytimes.com.
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
With billions of dollars in penalties at stake, the civil trial of the British oil company BP begins its second phase on Monday, which will set the amount of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that killed 11 workers and soiled hundreds of miles of beaches.
The government will argue that a total 4.2 million barrels of oil was discharged into the sea over 87 days, the equivalent of nearly one-quarter of all the oil that is consumed in the United States in a day. BP will counter that the number was closer to 2.45 million barrels. This phase of the trial will also determine if BP prepared adequately for a blowout and if it responded properly once the oil started flowing.
Both sides will present their case in Federal District Court in New Orleans using competing technical calculations over the next four weeks. Hanging in the balance are Clean Water Act fines that range from a maximum of $1,100 for every barrel spilled through simple negligence to as much as $4,300 a barrel if a company is found to have been grossly negligent.
“This will be largely a battle of experts,” Blaine G. LeCesne, a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans.
The first phase of the trial, which took place over two months this year, centered on whether BP and its contractors were guilty of gross negligence — tantamount to wanton and reckless behavior — in causing the blowout of the Macondo well.
Judge Carl J....
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Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Public Disclosures Don't Bar Halliburton FCA Suit, Court Says
| Today's post is shared from law360.org. The False Claims Act’s public disclosure bar does not prevent a water purification specialist's lawsuit accusing Halliburton Co and KBR Inc of violating contractual duties to test and purify lavatory and drinking water used by U.S. troops in Iraq, a federal court in Virginia ruled on Thursday. The FCA’s public disclosure bar jurisdictionally bans claims based on matters that were publicly disclosed unless the relator was the original source of the allegations. Although the court ruled that the companies did make public disclosures about the information at-issue, it determined that it was more likely than not that whistleblower Benjamin Carter did not base his claims on that information. “Carter has shown that he had independent knowledge of the facts underlying his claim and that he derived his allegations from his own independent knowledge,” the court wrote. Carter, a former reverse osmosis water purification unit operator, has long been locked in a legal battle against Halliburton and KBR affiliate Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. over claims they billed the government for water purification work they never did at U.S. bases in Al Asad and Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Halliburton had argued that Carter got his information from prior allegations brought against the oil company, but the district court ruled that Carter based his claims on first-hand experiences. “Although the... |
Monday, September 23, 2013
Tribunal finds Chevron not liable for environmental claims in Ecuador
Chevron Corp. announced Wednesday that an international arbitration tribunal has found the company not liable for environmental claims in Ecuador.
The tribunal is convened under the authority of the U.S.-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty, also known as the BIT, and administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
The PCA, located in The Hague, Netherlands, administers cases arising out of international treaties and other agreements to arbitrate.
On Tuesday, the tribunal issued a partial award in favor of Chevron and its subsidiary, Texaco Petroleum Company, or TexPet.
The tribunal found that the settlement and release agreements that the government of Ecuador entered into with TexPet released TexPet and its affiliates of any liability for all public interest or collective environmental claims.
The arbitration stems from Ecuador’s interference in the ongoing environmental lawsuit against the company.
“The game is up. This award by an eminent international tribunal confirms that the fraudulent claims against Chevron should not have been brought in the first place,” Hewitt Pate, Chevron’s vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. “It is now beyond question that efforts by American plaintiffs lawyers and the government of Ecuador to enforce this fraudulent judgment violate Ecuadorian, U.S. and international law.
“Continuing to support this fraud only increases the government of...
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Thursday, September 19, 2013
BP claims investigation finds attorney took $40K kickback in exchange for expediting nearly $8M claim
The results of a two-month long investigation into allegations of fraud within the 2010 oil spill settlement program have revealed an alleged kickback scheme enacted by a claims attorney.
Lionel Sutton, a former senior attorney within the Court Supervised Settlement Program, or CSSP, is accused of taking a $40,000 referral fee from the Andry Lerner Law Firm and attempted to more quickly resolve a claim worth $7,908,460.
The New Orleans firm, which bills itself as “BP Oil Spill Lawyers” on the firm website, is accused of using Sutton’s position within the claims center to make the acceptance of the claim in question faster and easier.
The investigation was headed by ex-FBI Director Louis B. Freeh who was asked to be a special investigator on the case by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in early July after claims administrator Patrick Juneau revealed that an internal investigation into the CSSP showed potential conflicts of interest.
The $7.9 million claim in question was originally a case handled by Christine Reitano, Sutton’s wife, who shortly after receiving the case became an employee of the claims administration office. Subsequent to her appointment Sutton is alleged to have referred the case to the Andry Lerner Law Firm for a referral fee to be paid to Crown LLC, a water reclamation company he owned and in which Andry Lerner partner Glen Lerner had invested $1 million.
Freeh stated in the report that...
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- Freeh: Possible corruption in BP claims handling (thenewstribune.com)
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Federal arbitration board orders FEMA to pay New Orleans Katrina responders
The money reimbursement of one third of the city's regular time salary costs for its police, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS) first responders who performed emergency disaster response work during the first four months after Hurricane Katrina struck the city.FEMA contended in a February 2012 e-mail to the City of New Orleans, and in a May 2012 decision letter, that according to pre-existing agency policy and procedure it was unable to provide funding. The Board rejected FEMA's argument, concluding that FEMA policy does not prohibit FEMA from providing reimbursement of regular pay incurred following a disaster. Numerous legal issues have sprung up in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In 2012 the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) [official website] was not liable for damages caused by canal breaches that occurred during Hurricane Katrina.The ruling overturned a March decision by the same Fifth Circuit panel, which held that... |
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Wednesday, September 4, 2013
One Claim Going OTOC
| By now you've likely heard of this claimant fraud case as reported in the San Diego County News Yolandi Kohrumel, 35, went to work for Staples about 10 years ago. After three months on the job she claimed a box fell on her big toe and broke it. She received treatment and benefits. But the big toe is connected to the foot bone, which is connected to the leg bone, which is connected to the hip bone, which is connected to the back bone.... An EAMS search on her claim reveals wrist, back, lower extremities, nervous system and "other body systems" claimed. The party service list is filled with very familiar names to those who do workers' compensation litigation in Southern California. Eventually Kohrumel even got approval for 24 hour care, provided for, of course, by relatives - her husband at first and then her father. You get the picture. Claim out of control. Which means either something is REALLY wrong with this lady, or it's fraud. The claims administrator, ESIS, followed the law and did what it could to dispute elements of the claim that didn't add up - such as the 24 hour care provided by her South African husband who did not have a work permit (so dad stepped in to "provide care"). Surgeries, pain pills, lots of doctors, crutches, wheelchairs, lots of TTD payments. She even convinced the claims administrator that she needed a bigger place to live for her wheelchair access and the administrator went for it. Well, that became Kohrumel's undoing because the... |
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Friday, August 9, 2013
BP ordered to pay $130 million to oil spill claims administrator
Today's post was shared by JURIST and comes from jurist.org
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill [JURIST news archive] in the Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest commercial disasters in modern history, and was responsible for the destruction of protected wildlife habitats that are still under reconstruction to this day. Two weeks ago, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced that Halliburton Energy Services [corporate website; JURIST news archive] agreed to plead guilty to...
[Click here to see the rest of this article]
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
OSHA and NIOSH issue hazard alert on 1-bromopropane
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health today issued a hazard alert to urge employers that use 1-bromopropane (1-BP) to take appropriate steps to protect workers from exposure.
"The use of 1-bromopropane has increased in workplaces over the last 20 years," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "Workers exposed to this toxic chemical can suffer serious health effects, even long after exposure has ended. Hazardous exposure to 1-BP must be prevented. Employers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their workers."
Exposure to 1-BP has been associated with damage to the nervous system among workers, and it has been shown to cause reproductive harm in animal studies. The chemical is used in degreasing operations, furniture manufacturing, and dry cleaning. The hazard alert was issued in response to information on the increased use of 1-BP as a substitute for other solvents as well as recent reports of overexposure in furniture manufacturing. 1-BP was nominated as a chemical of concern in OSHA's Web Forum to Identify Hazardous Chemicals.
Workers can be exposed to 1-BP by breathing in vapors or spray mists and by absorption through the skin. The most effective way to protect workers from exposure is to eliminate the use of 1-BP, substituting the chemical with a less toxic substance or less hazardous material. Replacement chemicals also may have associated hazards that need to be considered and controlled.
Engineering controls to reduce worker exposure to 1-BP include isolation of workplace operations and the installation of proper ventilation systems. Other controls, such as a reduction in the time a worker is exposed to the chemical, should also be considered
"The use of 1-bromopropane has increased in workplaces over the last 20 years," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "Workers exposed to this toxic chemical can suffer serious health effects, even long after exposure has ended. Hazardous exposure to 1-BP must be prevented. Employers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their workers."
Exposure to 1-BP has been associated with damage to the nervous system among workers, and it has been shown to cause reproductive harm in animal studies. The chemical is used in degreasing operations, furniture manufacturing, and dry cleaning. The hazard alert was issued in response to information on the increased use of 1-BP as a substitute for other solvents as well as recent reports of overexposure in furniture manufacturing. 1-BP was nominated as a chemical of concern in OSHA's Web Forum to Identify Hazardous Chemicals.
Workers can be exposed to 1-BP by breathing in vapors or spray mists and by absorption through the skin. The most effective way to protect workers from exposure is to eliminate the use of 1-BP, substituting the chemical with a less toxic substance or less hazardous material. Replacement chemicals also may have associated hazards that need to be considered and controlled.
Engineering controls to reduce worker exposure to 1-BP include isolation of workplace operations and the installation of proper ventilation systems. Other controls, such as a reduction in the time a worker is exposed to the chemical, should also be considered
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Corporate Liability: Halliburton Pleads to Destroying Evidence in Gulf Pil Spill 2010
The US Department of Justice has announced that Halliburton Corporate Services has pleaded guilty to destroying evidence arising out of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred in the US Gulf of Mexico.
"Halliburton Energy Services Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence in connection with the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Department of Justice announced today. A criminal information charging Halliburton with one count of destruction of evidence was filed today in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
"Halliburton has signed a cooperation and guilty plea agreement with the government in which Halliburton has agreed to plead guilty and admit its criminal conduct. As part of the plea agreement, Halliburton has further agreed, subject to the court’s approval, to pay the maximum-available statutory fine, to be subject to three years of probation and to continue its cooperation in the government’s ongoing criminal investigation. Separately, Halliburton made a voluntary contribution of $55 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation that was not conditioned on the court’s acceptance of its plea agreement.
"Halliburton Energy Services Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence in connection with the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Department of Justice announced today. A criminal information charging Halliburton with one count of destruction of evidence was filed today in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
"Halliburton has signed a cooperation and guilty plea agreement with the government in which Halliburton has agreed to plead guilty and admit its criminal conduct. As part of the plea agreement, Halliburton has further agreed, subject to the court’s approval, to pay the maximum-available statutory fine, to be subject to three years of probation and to continue its cooperation in the government’s ongoing criminal investigation. Separately, Halliburton made a voluntary contribution of $55 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation that was not conditioned on the court’s acceptance of its plea agreement.
Friday, March 2, 2012
BP and plaintiffs reach Gulf oil spill settlement
The Associated Press: BP, plaintiffs reach Gulf oil spill settlement: "BP PLC and a committee representing plaintiffs suing over the 2010 Gulf oil spill have reached an agreement, a federal judge said late Friday night. Specific terms have not been released."
Monday, March 14, 2011
Conference- The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and its Legacy: Out of the Smoke and the Flame
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and its Legacy
March 24, 2011; 9 a.m. — 6:30 p.m.
CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10016
Registration is Free and Open to the Public
Program Click here for a printable PDF version9 – 9:15 a.m. Musical performance from the dramatic oratorio From the Fire
Kris Kukul, pianist Matt Carr Emily Mattheson
Shaunice Alexander Carrie Crow Alicia Olatuja
Catherine Brookman Roe Hartrampf Aaron Schroeder
Music by Elizabeth Swados, www.trianglefromthefire.com
9:15 – 9:25 a.m. Welcome
William Kelly, President, Graduate School & University Center, CUNY
Gregory Mantsios, Executive Director, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
Christine Quinn, Speaker, New York City Council
9:25 – 10:45 a.m. Plenary: The Political Significance and Present Day Legacy of the Triangle Fire
Moderated by Paula Finn, New Labor Forum, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
The Triangle Fire in its Historical Context
Steve Fraser, New Labor Forum, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
From Fire to Ashes: The Changed Contemporary Political Landscape
Frances Fox Piven, Graduate Center, CUNY
The Unfinished Business of Triangle Protest: Challenges and Possibilities Confronting Labor Today
Sarita Gupta, National Executive Director, Jobs with Justice
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Concurrent Panels
Global Perspectives on Sweatshops (LAWCHA)
Beth English, Princeton University; Mary Frederickson, Miami University; Judy Gearhart,* International Labor Rights Forum; Robert Ross, Clark University
Why No Fire This Time? Acquiescence and Resistance in Politics Today
Liza Featherstone, Journalist; Steve Fraser,* New Labor Forum, Murphy Institute, CUNY; Gerry Hudson, Executive Vice President, SEIU; Stephen Pimpare, NYU
Memorializing the Past: Using Memorials and Monuments to Teach NY History
Wendy Aibel-Weiss, Director of Exhibits and Education, Tribute WTC Visitors Center; Julie Maurer,* The Gotham Center for NYC History, Graduate Center, CUNY; Christopher Moore, Historian; Ruth Sergel, Artist; Brian Tolle, Artist; Suzanne Wasserman,* The Gotham Center for NYC History, Graduate Center, CUNY; Maribeth Whitehouse, Teacher, I.S. 190, Bronx, NY
Labor and Immigration Politics: Past and Present
Muzaffar Chishti, Migration Policy Institute, NYU; Janice Fine, Rutgers University; Ruth Milkman,*Graduate Center, The Murphy Institute, CUNY; Mae Ngai, Columbia University
Labor Standards and the State
Melvyn Dubofsky, SUNY Binghamton; Terri Gerstein, Deputy Commissioner of Labor for Wage Protection and Immigrant Services, NYS Department of Labor; Rory Lancman, NY State Assemblyman and Chair of the Subcommittee on Workplace Safety; Ed Ott,* The Murphy Institute, CUNY
Grassroots Organizing for Workers’ Health and Safety Today
Luzdary Giraldo,* New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health; Barbara Rahke, Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health; Richard Witt, Rural and Migrant Ministry
Art and Working-Class Movements
Esther Cohen, Artist, Cultural Organizer; Ellen Todd,* George Mason University; Clyde Valentin, Hip Hop Theater Festival
Combating Domestic Sweatshops, a Roundtable (LAWCHA)
Eileen Boris,* University of California, Santa Barbara; Narbada Chhetri, Senior Community Organizer, Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice, NYC; Jocelyn Gill-Campbell, Domestic Workers United;Premilla Nadasen, Queens College, CUNY
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break
1:30 – 2:45 p.m. Plenary: The Global Sweatshop
Moderated by Ruth Milkman, Graduate Center, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
The Economic Role of the Global Sweatshop
Saskia Sassen, Columbia University & London School of Economics
Workers’ Resistance in the Chinese Sweatshop
Ching Kwan Lee, University of California Los Angeles
Protecting Workers’ Rights in the Global Economy
Jennifer Gordon, Fordham University School of Law
Worker Protest Today in Bangladesh
Kalpona Akter, Secretary General & Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity
3 – 4:30 p.m. Concurrent Panels
Garment Unionism and the Garment Industry: From Triangle to Today
May Chen,* former Vice-President Workers United, currently The Murphy Institute, CUNY; Richard Greenwald, Drew University; Katie Quan, former organizer for ILGWU, currently UC Berkeley; Andrew Ross, NYU
Teaching the Triangle Fire: A Conversation (LAWCHA)
Hillary Broder, Kennedy High School, Bellmore-Merrick, N.Y.; Carmelina Cartei, Women and Gender Studies Program at Hunter College, CUNY; Tara Finneran, Bronx Arts Ensemble Teaching Artist; Rob Linné,* Adelphi University; Sharon Papp, Adelphi University; Kimberly Schiller, Huntington Public Schools, N.Y.
Child Labor: Then and Now (LAWCHA)
Sally Greenberg, National Consumers League; Hugh D. Hindman, Appalachian State University; Kriste Lindenmeyer, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Laura Lovett,*University of Massachusetts
Global Sweatshops and International Solidarity: The Case of Bangladesh
Babul Akhter, Secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation; Mitch Cahn,President of Unionware; Bjorn Claeson, Sweatfree Communities, International Labor Rights Forum; Mark Levinson,* Workers United, SEIU
Feminism, Low-Wage Workers, and Organized Labor
Ileen DeVault,* School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University; Susan Feiner, Francis Perkins Center & University of Southern Maine; Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College
OSHA at 40: From Triangle to Today
Eric Frumin,* Change To Win; Gerald Markowitz, Graduate Center, CUNY; David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Peg Seminario, AFL-CIO
The Legacy of Triangle and Youth Labor Organizing in the US
Laura Binger, Food AND Medicine; Theresa Cheng, United Students Against Sweatshops; Jennifer Polish, STAND, Queens College, CUNY; Andres Puerta,* American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Could Triangle Happen Today?
Peter Amato, Safety Consultant and former president of the NY chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers; Matt Connor, NYFD and The Murphy Institute, CUNY; Robert Solomon, National Fire Protection Association
4:45 – 6:30 p.m. Closing Plenary: The Contemporary Legacy of the Triangle FireModerated by Joshua Freeman, Graduate Center, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
What is the Triangle Legacy?
Alice Kessler-Harris, Columbia University
From the Triangle Fire to the BP Explosion: Protecting Workers Today
David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA
Organized Labor and the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century
Bruce Raynor, President, Workers United, SEIU
* Panel Chairperson
7 – 8:30 p.m. Gotham Center for NY History Plenary Discussion
(Separate Free Registration Required)
Rich Greenwald, Drew University
Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College
Ellen Todd, George Mason University
Jennifer Guglielmo, Smith College
David Von Drehle (Author)
Ruth Sergel (Artist, Organizer, Remember The Fire Coalition)
To Follow: Book signing of Arcadia Press’ The New York City Triangle Factory Fire
March 24, 2011; 9 a.m. — 6:30 p.m.
CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10016
Registration is Free and Open to the Public
Program Click here for a printable PDF version9 – 9:15 a.m. Musical performance from the dramatic oratorio From the Fire
Kris Kukul, pianist Matt Carr Emily Mattheson
Shaunice Alexander Carrie Crow Alicia Olatuja
Catherine Brookman Roe Hartrampf Aaron Schroeder
Music by Elizabeth Swados, www.trianglefromthefire.com
9:15 – 9:25 a.m. Welcome
William Kelly, President, Graduate School & University Center, CUNY
Gregory Mantsios, Executive Director, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
Christine Quinn, Speaker, New York City Council
9:25 – 10:45 a.m. Plenary: The Political Significance and Present Day Legacy of the Triangle Fire
Moderated by Paula Finn, New Labor Forum, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
The Triangle Fire in its Historical Context
Steve Fraser, New Labor Forum, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
From Fire to Ashes: The Changed Contemporary Political Landscape
Frances Fox Piven, Graduate Center, CUNY
The Unfinished Business of Triangle Protest: Challenges and Possibilities Confronting Labor Today
Sarita Gupta, National Executive Director, Jobs with Justice
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Concurrent Panels
Global Perspectives on Sweatshops (LAWCHA)
Beth English, Princeton University; Mary Frederickson, Miami University; Judy Gearhart,* International Labor Rights Forum; Robert Ross, Clark University
Why No Fire This Time? Acquiescence and Resistance in Politics Today
Liza Featherstone, Journalist; Steve Fraser,* New Labor Forum, Murphy Institute, CUNY; Gerry Hudson, Executive Vice President, SEIU; Stephen Pimpare, NYU
Memorializing the Past: Using Memorials and Monuments to Teach NY History
Wendy Aibel-Weiss, Director of Exhibits and Education, Tribute WTC Visitors Center; Julie Maurer,* The Gotham Center for NYC History, Graduate Center, CUNY; Christopher Moore, Historian; Ruth Sergel, Artist; Brian Tolle, Artist; Suzanne Wasserman,* The Gotham Center for NYC History, Graduate Center, CUNY; Maribeth Whitehouse, Teacher, I.S. 190, Bronx, NY
Labor and Immigration Politics: Past and Present
Muzaffar Chishti, Migration Policy Institute, NYU; Janice Fine, Rutgers University; Ruth Milkman,*Graduate Center, The Murphy Institute, CUNY; Mae Ngai, Columbia University
Labor Standards and the State
Melvyn Dubofsky, SUNY Binghamton; Terri Gerstein, Deputy Commissioner of Labor for Wage Protection and Immigrant Services, NYS Department of Labor; Rory Lancman, NY State Assemblyman and Chair of the Subcommittee on Workplace Safety; Ed Ott,* The Murphy Institute, CUNY
Grassroots Organizing for Workers’ Health and Safety Today
Luzdary Giraldo,* New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health; Barbara Rahke, Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health; Richard Witt, Rural and Migrant Ministry
Art and Working-Class Movements
Esther Cohen, Artist, Cultural Organizer; Ellen Todd,* George Mason University; Clyde Valentin, Hip Hop Theater Festival
Combating Domestic Sweatshops, a Roundtable (LAWCHA)
Eileen Boris,* University of California, Santa Barbara; Narbada Chhetri, Senior Community Organizer, Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice, NYC; Jocelyn Gill-Campbell, Domestic Workers United;Premilla Nadasen, Queens College, CUNY
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break
1:30 – 2:45 p.m. Plenary: The Global Sweatshop
Moderated by Ruth Milkman, Graduate Center, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
The Economic Role of the Global Sweatshop
Saskia Sassen, Columbia University & London School of Economics
Workers’ Resistance in the Chinese Sweatshop
Ching Kwan Lee, University of California Los Angeles
Protecting Workers’ Rights in the Global Economy
Jennifer Gordon, Fordham University School of Law
Worker Protest Today in Bangladesh
Kalpona Akter, Secretary General & Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity
3 – 4:30 p.m. Concurrent Panels
Garment Unionism and the Garment Industry: From Triangle to Today
May Chen,* former Vice-President Workers United, currently The Murphy Institute, CUNY; Richard Greenwald, Drew University; Katie Quan, former organizer for ILGWU, currently UC Berkeley; Andrew Ross, NYU
Teaching the Triangle Fire: A Conversation (LAWCHA)
Hillary Broder, Kennedy High School, Bellmore-Merrick, N.Y.; Carmelina Cartei, Women and Gender Studies Program at Hunter College, CUNY; Tara Finneran, Bronx Arts Ensemble Teaching Artist; Rob Linné,* Adelphi University; Sharon Papp, Adelphi University; Kimberly Schiller, Huntington Public Schools, N.Y.
Child Labor: Then and Now (LAWCHA)
Sally Greenberg, National Consumers League; Hugh D. Hindman, Appalachian State University; Kriste Lindenmeyer, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Laura Lovett,*University of Massachusetts
Global Sweatshops and International Solidarity: The Case of Bangladesh
Babul Akhter, Secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation; Mitch Cahn,President of Unionware; Bjorn Claeson, Sweatfree Communities, International Labor Rights Forum; Mark Levinson,* Workers United, SEIU
Feminism, Low-Wage Workers, and Organized Labor
Ileen DeVault,* School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University; Susan Feiner, Francis Perkins Center & University of Southern Maine; Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College
OSHA at 40: From Triangle to Today
Eric Frumin,* Change To Win; Gerald Markowitz, Graduate Center, CUNY; David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Peg Seminario, AFL-CIO
The Legacy of Triangle and Youth Labor Organizing in the US
Laura Binger, Food AND Medicine; Theresa Cheng, United Students Against Sweatshops; Jennifer Polish, STAND, Queens College, CUNY; Andres Puerta,* American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Could Triangle Happen Today?
Peter Amato, Safety Consultant and former president of the NY chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers; Matt Connor, NYFD and The Murphy Institute, CUNY; Robert Solomon, National Fire Protection Association
4:45 – 6:30 p.m. Closing Plenary: The Contemporary Legacy of the Triangle FireModerated by Joshua Freeman, Graduate Center, The Murphy Institute, CUNY
What is the Triangle Legacy?
Alice Kessler-Harris, Columbia University
From the Triangle Fire to the BP Explosion: Protecting Workers Today
David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA
Organized Labor and the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century
Bruce Raynor, President, Workers United, SEIU
* Panel Chairperson
7 – 8:30 p.m. Gotham Center for NY History Plenary Discussion
(Separate Free Registration Required)
Rich Greenwald, Drew University
Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College
Ellen Todd, George Mason University
Jennifer Guglielmo, Smith College
David Von Drehle (Author)
Ruth Sergel (Artist, Organizer, Remember The Fire Coalition)
To Follow: Book signing of Arcadia Press’ The New York City Triangle Factory Fire
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The James Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act of 2010
It Is A Guest Blog Featuring Troy G. Rosaco.......On January 2, 2011, President Obama signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (“Zadroga Act”) providing a total of $4.3 billion in health benefits and financial compensation for victims, responders, and other harmed by the attacks of September 11th and its aftermath.
The Zadroga Act accomplishes two goals important for individuals who suffered injuries or illnesses related to either the actual attacks or the subsequent cleanup.. First, Title I of the Zadroga 9/11Act establishes a comprehensive health plan to monitor and treat injuries suffered by first responders and survivors—including firefighters, police officers, EMT’s, rescue workers, construction workers, cleanup workers, local residents, local area workers, and school children—as the result of the exposure to toxic dust and debris around Ground Zero and other specified areas. Second, Title II of the Zadroga 9/11 Act reopens and expands a number of elements of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.
Title I - Health Benefits
There are a number of health programs funded under the Zadroga Act. The new law establishes a new WTC responders medical monitoring and treatment program to provide medical evaluation, monitoring, and treatment benefits (including prescription drug benefits) to emergency responders and clean-up workers who were impacted by the WTC attack on September 11th. The benefits are delivered through medical “Centers of Excellence”.
The Zadroga Act also establishes a medical monitoring and treatment program to pay for medical monitoring for WTC responders who performed rescue, recovery, demolition, debris clean-up, and related services. If the responder meets the eligibility criteria and is accepted into the program, the responder is entitled to receive treatment if two conditions are met: (1) the condition is among those identified WTC-related listed conditions including a number of “aerodigestive” disorders, listed mental health conditions, and musculoskeletal disorders occurring during the rescue or recovery efforts, and (2) a physician at a Clinical Center of Excellence determines that a condition was caused or contributed to by exposure to airborne toxins, other hazards, or adverse conditions resulting from the September 11th attacks.
The Zadroga Act also establishes a “survivor program” for non-responders who lived, worked, went to school or were otherwise in a defined area of lower Manhattan (and parts of Brooklyn) for a certain time period after the September 11th attacks. The criteria and medical eligibility determinations for survivors are the same as those that apply to the responders program. The survivor program is the “secondary payor” to any applicable public or private health insurance for the conditions that are not work-related.
Title II - The Re-Opened Victim Compensation Fund of 2001
The Zadroga Act also reopens and significantly expands a number of aspects of the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund of 2001. The Zadroga Act amends the original September 11th Compensation Fund by extending the time in which a claim may be filed for a period of five years from the date that Special Master (who has not yet been appointed) updates the regulations under the Zadroga 9/11 Act. The Victims’ Compensation Fund was originally closed on December 22, 2003.
The Zadroga Act also expands the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) in several important respects. The original VCF provided a right to file a claim only to those individuals injured while “present at the site” of the disasters or in the “immediate aftermath” of the September 11th attacks. “Present at the site” was originally defined by the VCF as physically present at the time of the crashes in the buildings, portions of the buildings that were destroyed as a result of the airplane crashes or any contiguous area that was sufficiently close to the crash site that there was a demonstrable risk of physical harm from the impact of aircraft or any subsequent fire, explosions, or collapse of buildings. As a result, rescue and clean-up workers injured at the buildings or areas not adjacent to the site were not originally eligible to file a claim as they were not “present at the site”.
The original VCF regulations defined the “immediate aftermath” of the crashes for claimants, other than rescue workers, as from the time of the crashes for a period of 12 hours after the crashes. For rescue workers the period of time defined as the “immediate aftermath” was extended to include the period from the crashes until 96 hours after the crashes. Again, rescue and recovery workers who arrived more than 96 hours after the crash and were injured were excluded from filing a claim under the original VCF.
The Zadroga Act expands the definition of “immediate aftermath” to well beyond the 12 and 96 hour post-crash periods defined in the original law. “Immediate aftermath” is redefined by the Zadroga Act to mean “any period beginning with the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, and ending on May 30, 2002.” The expansion of what was considered the “immediate aftermath” of the terrorist attacks significantly broadens the pool of claimants in the VCF to include the rescue, construction, an other clean-up workers who suffered injures during the ongoing rescue and clean-up efforts that persisted for many months after the September 11th attacks.
The Zadroga Act also expands definition of the “crash site.” The term “9/11 crash site” is defined by the Zadroga Act to mean: ‘‘(A) the World Trade Center site, Pentagon site, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania site; (B) the buildings or portions of buildings that were destroyed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001; (C) any “area contiguous to a site of such crashes that the Special Master determines was sufficiently close to the site that there was a demonstrable risk of physical harm “ resulting from the impact of the aircraft or any subsequent fire, explosions, or building collapses (including the immediate area in which the impact occurred, fire occurred, portions of buildings fell, or debris fell upon and injured individuals); and (D) any area related to, or along, “routes of debris removal”, such as barges and the Fresh Kills landfill. on Staten Island.
One major issue that is unclear at the time of this writing is whether the residents, workers, and others in lower Manhattan who were sickened by the toxic fallout from the 9/11 attacks are eligible claimants under the VCF. The broadened language of the Zadroga Act amendments would suggest that the area residents and nearby workers are eligible claimants under the reopened VCF.
Within two weeks of the signing of the of Zadroga Act, however, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s staff announced that lower Manhattan residents and workers were not covered by the Fund, only to be contradicted by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (a co-author of the Zadroga Act) the next day, declaring that such area residents/workers were in fact covered. Resolution of this issue will need to be decided by the Special Master and the new rules implemented under the Zadroga Act. As of February 11, 2011, no Special Master has been appointed,
The Zadroga Act places sharp limitations on attorneys’ fees. The Zadroga Act amended the original Victim Compensation Fund law to place a “cap on attorneys’ fees of no more than ten percent” of an award made on a claim. The ten percent attorneys’ fee cap is further limited by fees previously received by attorneys representing VCF claimants who were also part of any settled civil action, including the recently settled litigation in the Southern District of NewYork. The Zadroga Act also prohibits an attorney from charging a legal fee in the case of an individual who was charged a legal fee in connection with the settlement of a prior civil action, except if the legal fee charged in connection with the settlement of a civil action is less than 10 percent of the aggregate amount awarded by a subsequent Victim Compensation Fund.
Bottom Line - attorneys who represented the over 10,000 9/11 responders in the recently settled actions against New York City cannot “double dip”. If their fees in the NYC litigation were higher than the 10% attorney fee cap in the Zadroga Act, they cannot charge any fee for the Zadroga VCF claim. New attorneys who represent the claimant solely in the Zadroga VCF claim are also limited by the 10% aggregate cap, which may dissuade some attorneys from taking claims where claimants previously paid attorneys a 25% fee under the NYC settlements. In some cases, the result might be that the attorney fee on the Zadroga Victim Compensation Fund claim could be significantly less that 10%, and could be offset completely.
Conclusion
The passage and enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 was a huge victory for 9/11 first responders and survivors. Most importantly, it provides much needed medical monitoring and treatment to thousands of individuals who are now sick as a result of the 9/11 attacks and its aftermath. We are all aware now of the “toxic soup” that enveloped the area surrounding Ground Zero.
The Zadroga 9/11 Act also provides a second chance for many individuals, who were either ineligible or became sick after the closure of the original Victim Compensation Fund, to apply for a monetary award for their damages. As of February 11, 2011, President Obama has not selected the new Special Master of the Fund.
The original Special Master of the VCF was Kenneth Feinberg, who is now administering claims related to the BP Gulf oil spill. Mr. Feinberg has offered to act as Special Master in the reopened VCF on a pro bono basis. The Special Master must issue new regulations on Fund procedures within 180 days of enactment of the Zadroga 9/11 Act. Once these regulations are issued, attorneys will be in a much better position to counsel our clients on their rights and potential benefits under the new Zadroga Act.
......
Troy G. Rosasco is a Senior Partner at Turley, Redmond, Rosasco & Rosasco, LLP with offices in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens. He has been representing 9/11 victims and first responders since soon after the September 11th attacks. He authors the nationally recognized New York Disability Law Blog.
Daniel J. Hansen is a personal injury trial attorney with his own practice and offices in the Woolworth Building in Manhattan. They are jointly handling 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund claims.
The Zadroga Act also establishes a medical monitoring and treatment program to pay for medical monitoring for WTC responders who performed rescue, recovery, demolition, debris clean-up, and related services. If the responder meets the eligibility criteria and is accepted into the program, the responder is entitled to receive treatment if two conditions are met: (1) the condition is among those identified WTC-related listed conditions including a number of “aerodigestive” disorders, listed mental health conditions, and musculoskeletal disorders occurring during the rescue or recovery efforts, and (2) a physician at a Clinical Center of Excellence determines that a condition was caused or contributed to by exposure to airborne toxins, other hazards, or adverse conditions resulting from the September 11th attacks.
The Zadroga Act also establishes a “survivor program” for non-responders who lived, worked, went to school or were otherwise in a defined area of lower Manhattan (and parts of Brooklyn) for a certain time period after the September 11th attacks. The criteria and medical eligibility determinations for survivors are the same as those that apply to the responders program. The survivor program is the “secondary payor” to any applicable public or private health insurance for the conditions that are not work-related.
Title II - The Re-Opened Victim Compensation Fund of 2001
The Zadroga Act also reopens and significantly expands a number of aspects of the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund of 2001. The Zadroga Act amends the original September 11th Compensation Fund by extending the time in which a claim may be filed for a period of five years from the date that Special Master (who has not yet been appointed) updates the regulations under the Zadroga 9/11 Act. The Victims’ Compensation Fund was originally closed on December 22, 2003.
The Zadroga Act also expands the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) in several important respects. The original VCF provided a right to file a claim only to those individuals injured while “present at the site” of the disasters or in the “immediate aftermath” of the September 11th attacks. “Present at the site” was originally defined by the VCF as physically present at the time of the crashes in the buildings, portions of the buildings that were destroyed as a result of the airplane crashes or any contiguous area that was sufficiently close to the crash site that there was a demonstrable risk of physical harm from the impact of aircraft or any subsequent fire, explosions, or collapse of buildings. As a result, rescue and clean-up workers injured at the buildings or areas not adjacent to the site were not originally eligible to file a claim as they were not “present at the site”.
The original VCF regulations defined the “immediate aftermath” of the crashes for claimants, other than rescue workers, as from the time of the crashes for a period of 12 hours after the crashes. For rescue workers the period of time defined as the “immediate aftermath” was extended to include the period from the crashes until 96 hours after the crashes. Again, rescue and recovery workers who arrived more than 96 hours after the crash and were injured were excluded from filing a claim under the original VCF.
The Zadroga Act expands the definition of “immediate aftermath” to well beyond the 12 and 96 hour post-crash periods defined in the original law. “Immediate aftermath” is redefined by the Zadroga Act to mean “any period beginning with the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, and ending on May 30, 2002.” The expansion of what was considered the “immediate aftermath” of the terrorist attacks significantly broadens the pool of claimants in the VCF to include the rescue, construction, an other clean-up workers who suffered injures during the ongoing rescue and clean-up efforts that persisted for many months after the September 11th attacks.
The Zadroga Act also expands definition of the “crash site.” The term “9/11 crash site” is defined by the Zadroga Act to mean: ‘‘(A) the World Trade Center site, Pentagon site, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania site; (B) the buildings or portions of buildings that were destroyed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001; (C) any “area contiguous to a site of such crashes that the Special Master determines was sufficiently close to the site that there was a demonstrable risk of physical harm “ resulting from the impact of the aircraft or any subsequent fire, explosions, or building collapses (including the immediate area in which the impact occurred, fire occurred, portions of buildings fell, or debris fell upon and injured individuals); and (D) any area related to, or along, “routes of debris removal”, such as barges and the Fresh Kills landfill. on Staten Island.
One major issue that is unclear at the time of this writing is whether the residents, workers, and others in lower Manhattan who were sickened by the toxic fallout from the 9/11 attacks are eligible claimants under the VCF. The broadened language of the Zadroga Act amendments would suggest that the area residents and nearby workers are eligible claimants under the reopened VCF.
Within two weeks of the signing of the of Zadroga Act, however, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s staff announced that lower Manhattan residents and workers were not covered by the Fund, only to be contradicted by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (a co-author of the Zadroga Act) the next day, declaring that such area residents/workers were in fact covered. Resolution of this issue will need to be decided by the Special Master and the new rules implemented under the Zadroga Act. As of February 11, 2011, no Special Master has been appointed,
The Zadroga Act places sharp limitations on attorneys’ fees. The Zadroga Act amended the original Victim Compensation Fund law to place a “cap on attorneys’ fees of no more than ten percent” of an award made on a claim. The ten percent attorneys’ fee cap is further limited by fees previously received by attorneys representing VCF claimants who were also part of any settled civil action, including the recently settled litigation in the Southern District of NewYork. The Zadroga Act also prohibits an attorney from charging a legal fee in the case of an individual who was charged a legal fee in connection with the settlement of a prior civil action, except if the legal fee charged in connection with the settlement of a civil action is less than 10 percent of the aggregate amount awarded by a subsequent Victim Compensation Fund.
Bottom Line - attorneys who represented the over 10,000 9/11 responders in the recently settled actions against New York City cannot “double dip”. If their fees in the NYC litigation were higher than the 10% attorney fee cap in the Zadroga Act, they cannot charge any fee for the Zadroga VCF claim. New attorneys who represent the claimant solely in the Zadroga VCF claim are also limited by the 10% aggregate cap, which may dissuade some attorneys from taking claims where claimants previously paid attorneys a 25% fee under the NYC settlements. In some cases, the result might be that the attorney fee on the Zadroga Victim Compensation Fund claim could be significantly less that 10%, and could be offset completely.
Conclusion
The passage and enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 was a huge victory for 9/11 first responders and survivors. Most importantly, it provides much needed medical monitoring and treatment to thousands of individuals who are now sick as a result of the 9/11 attacks and its aftermath. We are all aware now of the “toxic soup” that enveloped the area surrounding Ground Zero.
The Zadroga 9/11 Act also provides a second chance for many individuals, who were either ineligible or became sick after the closure of the original Victim Compensation Fund, to apply for a monetary award for their damages. As of February 11, 2011, President Obama has not selected the new Special Master of the Fund.
The original Special Master of the VCF was Kenneth Feinberg, who is now administering claims related to the BP Gulf oil spill. Mr. Feinberg has offered to act as Special Master in the reopened VCF on a pro bono basis. The Special Master must issue new regulations on Fund procedures within 180 days of enactment of the Zadroga 9/11 Act. Once these regulations are issued, attorneys will be in a much better position to counsel our clients on their rights and potential benefits under the new Zadroga Act.
......
Troy G. Rosasco is a Senior Partner at Turley, Redmond, Rosasco & Rosasco, LLP with offices in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens. He has been representing 9/11 victims and first responders since soon after the September 11th attacks. He authors the nationally recognized New York Disability Law Blog.
Daniel J. Hansen is a personal injury trial attorney with his own practice and offices in the Woolworth Building in Manhattan. They are jointly handling 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund claims.
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