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February 19, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ — The condition of workers’ compensation programs across the country has sparked Congress to examine the issue. In November, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee held hearings to gain insight on the shortcomings of state-run workers’ comp programs in New York and throughout America.

At first glance, it appears odd that Congress is so interested in workers’ compensation: each U.S. state funds and administers its own program. However, many believe that the failure of workers’ comp programs across the U.S. has stressed a federal welfare program, the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) system.

Because of the alleged impact on SSDI, Congress has become increasingly interested in the failure and successes of workman’s compensation. Experts from around the country testified before Congress to share their views on the condition of workers’ comp.

What Are the Problems?

One of the testifying experts, John Burton of Rutgers and Cornell, said he has seen the nation’s workers’ compensation programs deteriorate over the past two decades. He believes that the need for compensation benefits is as high as ever, but that increasingly stringent standards prevent people from obtaining the needed benefits.

California State Representative Lynn Woolsey shared her worries regarding the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Guides to Permanent Impairment. The latest edition of the guides has a stricter view of “impairment” which can make it more difficult for workers’ compensation claimants to obtain benefits if their respective state adopts the AMA’s views.

What Can be Done to Help Injured Workers?

On the federal level, most lawmakers agree that changes must be made to the workers’ comp benefits system or federal welfare programs, such as SSDI, will continue to endure overwhelming amounts of claims, and will be forced to reduce the amount of payouts that are made. There is much less agreement about whether those changes should be made at the federal level and how Congress should go about it.

John Burton believes the federal government should enact uniform permanent disability standards more aligned with what most states had in the 1980s — before the push for stricter provisions were put in place. He also calls for changes regarding claimant applications in the SSDI program.

Will New York Claimants See Changes Soon?

While the serious problems in the nation’s workers’ comp system have gained visibility on the federal level, the Congressional power shift to the Republicans will likely keep workers’ comp reform in its infancy. However, if state welfare programs continue to provide inadequate benefits to injured workers, the federal welfare programs will continue to shoulder the burden. Eventually the burden may be too great and lawmakers will have to put aside their partisan beliefs to rescue America’s injured workers.

If you have suffered serious work injury or disability, speak with a skilled New York workers’ compensation attorney. A workers’ comp lawyer can help you obtain all benefits you are entitled to, state and federal, and also explore any personal injury claims you may have against responsible parties.

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) — The U.S. Postal Service reported a loss of $329 million in the first quarter, wider than a year-earlier loss of $297 million, as costly health care payments for future retirees weighed on profits.
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The Postal Service is required by law to prefund its future retiree health care benefits. Without including these charges and adjustments to its workers’ compensation liabilities, USPS said it would have earned $226 million in the quarter.

Despite its efforts to reduce costs, the Postal Service projects that it will inevitably have a cash shortfall and will have reached its borrowing limit by Sept. 30, the end of its 2011 fiscal year. It urged Congress to change its prefunded health care laws.

“The Postal Service continues to seek changes in the law to enable a more flexible and sustainable business model,” Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe said. “We are eager to work with Congress and the Administration to resolve these issues prior to the end of the fiscal year.”

Mailing services revenue dropped 3.3% to $15.3 billion despite a 1.5% increase in overall volume to 45.9 billion pieces.

“The increase in revenue from standard mail was not sufficient to offset the loss of revenue from the reduced volume of first class mail,” the Postal Service said in a statement.

USPS said operating revenue dropped 2.6% to $17.9 billion from $18.4 billion in the same period a year earlier

The service cut total work hours by 2.1% in the quarter in an effort to reduce expenses. The number of USPS employees is down 15.1% from Dec. 31, 2007.

“The Postal Service is aggressively pursuing a plan to reduce total expenses, which include organizational redesign initiatives,” the agency said. “The Postal Service projects $2 billion in cost savings in fiscal year 2011, including a reduction of some 40 million work hours across the organization.”

–Written by Theresa McCabe in Boston.

NEW YORK, NY (02/11/2011)(readMedia)– Accidents are often on the upswing during the winter and it’s no surprise since snow and ice-covered roads test even the most skilled drivers. So, it’s essential that motorists understand what to do in the unfortunate event that they are involved in an accident.

“It’s always important to drive carefully and to be particularly cautious during bad weather. It’s also important to know how to file a claim just in case you’re in an accident or your car is damaged in some other manner. Knowing how to use your insurance can go a long way in helping you avoid unnecessary problems,” Insurance Superintendent James Wrynn said.

Motorists should always have their insurance identification cards on hand, as well as the phone numbers of their insurance company and agent, Wrynn said.

In addition, he urged motorists to keep these pointers in mind in the event they need to file a claim:

• After taking care of any injuries first, report the accident to police regardless of the circumstances and find out how to get a copy of the police report.

• Write down the names, addresses, phone number of the other drivers involved, as well as those of any passengers or witnesses. Always write down the make, model and license plate numbers of the other vehicles.

• Ask to see the other driver’s insurance card to get the name of his or her insurance company and the policy number.

• Ask to see the other driver’s license and write down the license number.

• If possible, photograph the accident scene.

• Notify your insurance agent or company as soon as possible, even if you believe you are not at fault.

After filing a claim, policyholders have the right to choose where they want to have their vehicles repaired. Insurers may ask policyholders whether they want recommendations on where to have car repairs made. However, insurers cannot require policyholders to use particular shops.

If the cost of repairing a car is greater than its value, an insurer may choose to declare the vehicle a total loss. The insurer is required to pay you the value of the vehicle at the moment before the crash.

Insurers may determine value in several ways, but policyholders should always independently research auto values before agreeing to a settlement. If you don’t agree with the insurance company’s offer, you should try to negotiate a settlement with the company.

Consumers who need help understanding their insurance needs should contact their insurance agent, broker or company. They should also feel free to use Insurance Department resources. Detailed information about personal auto insurance, including coverage for rental cars, is on the Department’s website at http://www.ins.state.ny.us/cauto.htm.

Consumers may also speak with Consumer Services Bureau personnel between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday toll-free at 800-342-3736.

Brett McEnroe and Roy Powell loved their families and their jobs.

Over nearly three decades, they worked steel for big projects in the Hudson Valley and New York City.

For Powell, it was a family business.

When McEnroe wasn’t on a job, he worked on the side, a friend said.

Today, their family and friends are mourning the loss of these mid-Hudson Valley men, killed in a sudden, tragic incident on the job.

McEnroe, 49, of Dover Plains, and Powell, 51, of New Paltz, were pronounced dead at New York City hospitals following a 911 call at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The men fell from the fifth floor through an open elevator shaft at a church construction site, where they were installing steel. The men were working on a planned expansion of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan as part of a four-person crew.

McEnroe, a married father of two, died at Roosevelt Hospital. Powell, who was married and had a son, died at St. Luke’s Hospital.

McEnroe’s wife, Dorothy McEnroe, said her husband worked on repair projects for the Newburgh-Beacon and Tappan Zee bridges. In recent years, he was based in New York City. In his leisure time, he enjoyed weightlifting and trips to the Caribbean , she said.

“He was a loving husband, father and son,” she said.

Locally, McEnroe worked on the Gap warehouse in Fishkill, IBM East Fishkill and the Palisades Center mall in Rockland County, said Michael Gaydos, business manager at Local 417 and a close friend.

“I worked on almost every job with him,” Gaydos said. “We worked on every bridge in the Hudson Valley, from the Tappan Zee to the Mid-Hudson Bridge … and the Kingston-Rhinecliff.”

McEnroe loved working, and when he wasn’t working, he was working on a side project, Gaydos said.

“I never would have imagined things going this way,” he said. “He and I had big plans when we retired .”

Powell was a member of Ironworkers Local 40 in Manhattan. McEnroe was a member of Local 417 in Wallkill, said Bob Walsh, business manager for Local 40.

Powell came from a family of ironworkers. His father was an ironworker, and his son, now in his 20s, also is an ironworker, Walsh said.

“He was a very hard-working ironworker. A very good family man,” he said.

Powell was a member of Local 40 since 1994 and belonged to the union since the early 1980s, he said.

Powell worked on projects for the George Washington Bridge and the Tribeca Grand Hotel, among many others, Walsh said.

A woman who answered the phone at Powell’s home said the family was taking it hard and would not be able to comment.

By LUCIAN McCARTY, The Saratogian

Saratoga County is slated to pay out $60.6 million in salaries in 2011 to its 1,395 full- and part-time employees.

There are about 200 part-time employees. The 26 highest-paid employees make more than $90,000 a year, and all of them are department heads, attorneys, doctors or seconds-in-command in three departments. Three-hundred seventy-five employees make more than $50,000 a year.

Fringe benefits for full-time county employees are not included in those numbers. In 2011, for every $100 paid out to employees, they received about $54 in fringe benefits. Of that, $32.53 accounts for medical benefits, $10.95 accounts for retirement and the remainder accounts for FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions act), workers compensation, unemployment and disability.

That means someone who makes $100,000 a year actually costs the county $152,885.

The highest-paid employee in the county is an associate psychiatrist for the mental health department, Jesse Hilsen, whose take-home salary in 2011 will be $187,196.28.

In fact, as the year began, the three highest-paid employees were psychiatrists. But since then the top-paid employee, Gary Oberg, who made $204,897, retired; and the third-highest paid employee, Ginger Simor, who made $172,081, was hired by Saratoga Hospital. Both changes were a result of a new arrangement between Saratoga Hospital and the county for the Mental Health Department to contract services with the hospital rather than employ the expensive doctors year-round.

“These are medical doctors,” County Administrator Spencer Hellwig said. “We’re going to save in the payroll.” Hellwig also pointed out that that was not the impetus behind the arrangement.

In another cost-saving arrangement, the county recently announced it will reorganize several departments and eliminate 13 positions after 91 employees announced retirement at the end of 2010. “We saw $500,000 (in savings) from job abolishment,” Personnel and Insurance Committee Chairman Arthur Johnson said. “And that’s not a one-shot-deal; that is savings we’ll see year-in and year-out.”

Unfilled positions were not the only aspect of the 91 retirements that saved the county money. Many employees had been with the county for decades; 40 of them made more than $50,000, and nine of those made more than $90,000 per year, plus benefits.

Johnson said the county is conservative in its compensation and estimated that it was on par with counties around the state.

“Knowing Saratoga County in general, we’re fiscally responsible and conservative in our spending,” Johnson said. He said that, given the government of Saratoga County, he would not expect high-paying salaries. “It wouldn’t fit the way we do business.”

Johnson said that when determining compensation for employees, the county does canvass other counties in the state. “We don’t want to be on the top or on the bottom,” he said.

And according to Mark LaVigne, deputy director for the New York State Association of Counties, Saratoga County is somewhere in the middle to high end of the compensation spectrum for many of its top-paid employees. LaVigne said county administrators in the state make between $80,000 and $130,000. Saratoga County Administrator Spencer Hellwig will make $123,906 in 2011. Similarly, Public Works directors’ salaries fall within the $80,000 to mid-$130,000 range. Saratoga Public Works Commissioner Joseph Ritchie makes $134,896 annually.

On the other hand, personnel department directors can make between $50,000 in small municipalities and $160,000 in some of the larger counties. Personnel Director Jack Kalenkewicz is set to make $98,227 in 2011.

“A lot of it depends on the size of the department, the budget and the population of the county,” LaVigne said.

Of the 56 other counties in the state, only 10 are more populous than Saratoga.

Use the database below to find salary information on Saratoga County employees, as well as the date when they were hired.