Congress Took No Action on COBRA Subsidy Extension Bill before Thanksgiving Break

Sad news for unemployed workers who are expecting an extension of the government’s COBRA premiums subsidy, it looks like no action would be taken by both houses of congress on the issue at least until December.

The government subsidy of COBRA insurance premiums are set to expire this December 31 and most of those who availed the subsidy will exhaust the benefit this November.

The two bills, HR 3930 and S. 2730, aim to extend the subsidy to about 15 months with the latter even proposing to increase the subsidy to 75% from the original 65%.

However, Congress left on Thanksgiving break without any progress on the bill.

So many Californians are disappointed right now.

The subsidy was a welcome turn for those who wished to continue their insurance policy after being unemployed, especially for those who have existing medical conditions that will not be covered if they shifted to another insurance provider because of pre-existing condition clauses.

The subsidy covered 65% of the COBRA premiums for maximum 9 moths.

However since the cost of COBRA insurance is too high, very few will be able to continue to pay and a lot will be forced to drop their plans after the expiration of the subsidy at the end of the year.

All they can do now is wait till December and hope that Congress will work fast enough to pass the bill.

That is if they actually pass the bill.

Taking the High Road during Recession

Recession has taken its toll on a lot of businesses and employees these days. Even big companies were not spared from it.  They have let go a lot of employees just to keep up with the economy.

In most cases, companies have chosen to merge with others to share the costs of manufacturing their products.  Others have taken the drastic path of cutting a lot of their employees from their respective jobs.  Although some have lessen the number of hours or days but still kept them inside the company.

It is not an unfamiliar scenario with AOL Inc. They have plans to decrease the number of their employees by one-third (estimate of almost 2,300) when their spinoff from Time Warner Inc. happens.  They aim to reduce costs by $300 million.

It is not easy trades off since a lot of lives are affected by such drastic cut.  They tried to revive a business that used to be soaring but it was still not catching up.

Others have followed suit, varying from pharmaceutical companies to clothing lines. People are finding new ways to solve their problem.  They have families to support, wallets to fill.  It is never easy to experience such economy crunch.  Some are venturing into other types of work that are far from what they used to do.  Others handle three jobs all at the same time.

There are some who have used grocery coupons to supply all their basic needs.  Others have sold their houses and other properties in order to survive.  There are many ways people can do to deal with the present situation. It may be hard but then there is hope for those who are losing their fight to recession.

Companies who have terminated others without valid basis may trigger employees to file a case against them.

In case you know of someone who has been involved in an employment case, he/she can consult with an employment and labor law attorney.

Two Nuclear Plant Employees Complain of Retaliation

Ideally, employees should report any illegal practice maintained by employer in its work premises. However, employees refuse to make a report for fear of retaliation. For two plant employees, this has been a bitter realization.

Busnardo and Mike Mason of San Onefre nuclear plant filed complaints for retaliation with the U.S. Department of Labor. They alleged that the plant managers retaliated against them by attacking their reputations and cutting off their responsibilities. They added that the retaliation was caused by their report on the plant’s procedural violations, which is a clear case of whistleblowing violations.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission had been eyeing on the plant due to its declining performance during 2008 and 2009 and its previous violations.

In a public confrontation, Busnardo raised the issue of retaliation. He added many employees refused to raise other concerns for fear of retaliation.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission revealed that retaliation has been the fastest growing discrimination reported to it. The fact that retaliation existed in the workplace significantly disrupts and reduces productivity.

In California, Fair Employment and Housing Act makes it illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee who objects to unlawful discrimination in the workplace.

If you have been a victim of retaliation, an employment lawyer may help you pursue a case against your employer for violations of labor laws.

ER Deaths more Common to Uninsured Patients

An insured individual has a lot of advantage over an uninsured one. In case of injury, an insured victim is assured of doctor’s services, rooms, medical care, equipment and other medical resources.

In a study conducted by several Harvard University researchers, uninsured patients with traumatic injuries were most likely to die in the hospitals than patients with health insurance.

Some hospitals could even order transfer of uninsured patients in hospitals with fewer resources. In most cases, the delay in hospital transfer would also mean delay in getting medical care.

The findings which appeared in the November issue of Archives of Surgery came out when Congress was debating on the expansion of health insurance coverage to millions of Americans.

The study revealed that the overall death rate for emergency room patients was 4.7 percent.

With the above findings, Congress should gear its decision towards the approval of health care expansion.

In U.S., lack of access to healthcare has always been a problem. About 4.7 millions of Americans have no health insurance and 8.7 million more of them are children. Alarmingly, these numbers are growing. Even Medicare, the most successful public health insurance program has been under attack.

Since the U.S. system of providing health care coverage is employer-based, authorities must require employers to pay their fair share. In case of violation, a case should be filed against those who violate employment laws. An employment lawyer may be hired to initiate a case against them.

LA to Use Money from Stimulus Fund for Worker’s Training

LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced that some $10.3 million of the stimulus fund the city will be receiving will be used for worker’s training programs.

The training grants will be issued through the Community Development Department.

According to reports, about $4 million will be used for vocational training for about 1,000 workers while $6.3 million will be used to train 2,000 people for jobs in health care, construction, transportation, etc…

The city, according to Villagroisa, has received $43.7 million in training funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and about $400 million in overall stimulus money.

This is good news for a lot of Californians, who have been stretching their unemployment benefits throughout the recession.

Since the projected job opportunities between 2006 and 2016 will be for mid-skill jobs like carpenters, computer technicians, paralegals and licensed vocational nurses, the training would be invaluable for those who are looking to find any job even if it is different from their previous work.

It actually makes more sense. There are about 5-10 paralegals to 1 lawyer, more carpenters and technicians under 1 engineer, more nurses under a doctor, and so on and so forth.

The only problem before is that the state had a budget deficit that prevents it from implementing a training program.

Now that the state has funds from the stimulus package, it can prepare its workforce for the type of jobs that will be available in the future.