An article in the RepublicanHerald this week reported that Tobyhanna Army Depot could have its budget cut by more than one-third, or more than $300 million in cuts, if automatic spending reductions happen in March. It is part of $500 billion to be cut from defense spending over the next…
We’ve been hearing reports of Schuylkill County residents receiving calls from scam artists pretending to be employees of their local electric utility provider. In some cases, the caller is asking for personal information, account information, and money. In other cases, the caller is threatening to have electric service to a…
On Jan. 1, the Unemployment Compensation Solvency legislation (Act 60) went into effect in Pennsylvania, limiting unemployment compensation benefits for seasonal workers. This means that workers who made 50.5 percent of their annual income or more in one quarter are no longer eligible for benefits. Previously, the limit was 63…
In last week’s State of the Union address, President Obama said that he wanted to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour in an effort to help working Americans out of poverty. An article on CNNMoney.com explains that this increase would make a full-time job that pays $9 an…
This latest citation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is frightening and sad at the same time. They have cited a Jacksonville, FL company with 12 safety violations after a temporary worker was killed his first day on the job, apparently because he was…
A Pennsylvania painting company will receive $459,844 in fines resulting from violations that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says exposed workers to lead and other safety hazards. Panthera Painting Inc., in Canonsburg, was cited for 38 alleged violations at work sites in Slatington, Harrisburg,…
An article on BusinessInsurance.com reported that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is looking to reduce the state’s Workmen’s Compensation Administration Fund by $6.5 million in the 2013-2014 budget year, according to a proposed budget that was posted online. It’s not clear how this reduction will affect workers’ comp administration here in…
On Fri., Feb. 1, the attorneys and staff of O’Connor Law donned red sweaters, shirts, and scarves in honor of National Wear Red Day to raise awareness of heart disease, the leading killer of women. National Wear Red Day was started 10 years ago by the American Heart Association (AHA),…
We’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating after a recent article we read: Be very careful what you post on social media sites, like Facebook, when you have a workers’ comp claim. In the case we are about to discuss, an employee’s claim for family medical leave Act (FMLA)…
According to an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, Schuylkill County’s jobless rate rose by four-tenths of a percentage point to 9.7 percent for the month of December. The county’s rate is still higher than Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate, which rose one-tenth of a point to 7.9 percent. The national rate stayed the…