Articles Posted in Workers’ Compensation

According to an article on CNNMoney.com, more than 400,000 people have already lost their federal extended unemployment benefits, which provide an additional 20 weeks of unemployment checks to those who have lost their jobs. And it’s estimated that more than 115,000 will lose their extended benefits over this summer.

When this happens, economists say the unemployment rate will fall, simply because these long-term unemployed workers will either be forced to take any job to stay afloat financially, or they will drop out of the labor force completely.

Although the unemployment rate will decrease, it doesn’t mean the job market is improving.

“It will encourage more people to take jobs that may not pay as much. They won’t wait as long to accept a job,” said Lynn Reaser, chief economist with the Fermanian Business & Economic Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University.

Others may go back to school, some will retire earlier than planned, and others may drop out of the workforce entirely.

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The death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau was brought back into the headlines today when a federal judge upheld violations cited against SeaWorld by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the 2010 incident.

According to an article on CNN.com, SeaWorld had appealed the citations, saying its safety protocols were sufficient to protect trainers. However, the judge disagreed, pointing out that erecting physical barriers between the whales and trainers was technically feasible and economically viable.

The judge did reduce the fines against SeaWorld, saying SeaWorld did not intentionally act with disregard in the death of Brancheau. Since Brancheau’s death, SeaWorld trainers have not performed in the water with the whales.

The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) has shared a frightening statistic: over the past 5 years, 40% of working adults had their employer-sponsored benefits either reduced or eliminated entirely. Even though the economy has improved, it appears that many employee benefits that were once guaranteed are now becoming a thing of the past.

An article on CNNMoney.com reports that the NEFE survey, which included 2,210 adults in the U.S., showed that health insurance coverage took the largest cuts, causing employees to assume more costs, including higher deductibles and co-pays, as well as more expensive premiums. Out-of-pocket costs for a family of four rose 5.8% to an average of $3,470.

According to a study by the Corporate Executive Board, a Washington, D.C.-based research firm, it is estimated that more than 50% of large Fortune 1000 organizations may drop health care coverage altogether by 2017. And with the Affordable Care Act, many businesses won’t have much reason to continue to offer health care coverage said Brian Kropp, a managing director at Corporate Executive Board.

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A new report by researchers from Wake Forest School of Medicine has described two cases of poultry workers who developed a rare skin condition known as pachydermodactyly.

According to an article on Reuters Health, the condition has caused the workers to experience joint swelling, pain, itching, and burning in their hands, as a result of repeated injuries to the skin and tissue changes.

In the article, dermatologist Dr. Rita Pichardo-Geisinger, one of the study’s authors, is quoted as saying, “Although there are not many cases reported, and pachydermodactyly is rare, I believe other poultry workers may have this condition despite the sue of protective measures, such as gloves.”

The two cases were discovered in a study on skin disease among more than 500 Latino immigrant poultry workers in western North Carolina.

In both cases, the men worked as both chicken catchers and chicken hangers. Their duties included scooping up five to seven chickens at once in each hand and putting them into cages. Then they would put the chickens into metal shackles on a conveyor belt. In both jobs, the workers must move quickly and go through the same motion for hours at a time.

Both men complained that the swelling in their fingers interfered with their jobs as well as their life outside of work. Symptoms improved when the workers took time off work; however the swelling did not go away.

The article notes that wearing gloves and rotating jobs can prevent pachydermodactyly and may ease symptoms for workers who have developed it. But according to Pichardo-Geisinger, “The long-term prognosis is deformity of the hands and inability to perform (the) patient’s job and daily activities.”

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The U.S. Department of Labor announced recently that because Pennsylvania’s declining unemployment rate is too low it will no longer authorize continued payment of Extended Benefits.

The EB program provided 13 weeks of unemployment compensation benefits beyond federally funded Emergency Unemployment Compensation, and 26 weeks of state-funded unemployment compensation.

The last payable week of EB will be the week ending May 12. Claimants currently filing for EB may continue to file claims for weeks they are fully or partially employed through May 12, 2012.

According to the Easton Express Times Lehigh County must reimburse a total of $357,600 to about 200 employees who were improperly denied 2011 wage increases.

The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board ruled in favor of the union representing nurses and human services employees at Cedarbrook Nursing Home stating the county violated state law in denying the raises.

In the 15-page ruling the board stated four Lehigh County Commissioners said the reason behind eliminating the raises was to send a message to the unions who would be negotiating in 2011 for their collective bargaining agreements.

In March Pennsylvania began a Shared-Work Program allowing an employer to temporarily reduce the work hours of a group of employees as an alternative to lay-offs.

Employees covered by the plan receive a percentage of the unemployment compensation weekly benefit amount while they work the reduced schedule, if they are otherwise eligible for UC.

The percentage by which each employee’s work hours are reduced is determined by the employer and the reduction percentage must be the same for all employees participating in the shared-work plan.

As we try to remain hopeful about the county’s economic future, it’s hard to ignore when a local hospital like Saint Catherine Medical Center closes its doors. Right on the heels of this news comes the announcement that Gap and Gap Kids in the Schuylkill Mall will close in May.

The RepublicanHerald.com reported that the last day for the Gap stores will be May 26. Gap has been in the mall since 1980. It’s not known how many employees will be affected.

An October 2011 press release from Gap Brand Management seems to explain the closure by saying, “At Gap, the company is committed to rebalancing its specialty and outlet stores within North America, resulting in about 700 Gap specialty stores and about 250 Gap Outlet stores by year-end 2013.”

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Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced recently that Certech Inc., a manufacturer of ceramic cores, will create 80 new jobs and retain 185 positions by consolidating an out-of-state operation into its Hanover Township facility near Wilkes-Barre.

The company will also purchase new equipment and will train new employees at the Luzerne County facility.

Certech Inc. received $346,000 in funding from the state Department of Community and Economic Development including $160,000 in job creation tax credits, $36,000 in job training assistance and a $150,000 Pennsylvania First grant.