Saturday, June 29, 2013

Q&A: Beckye Sprouse on contractor classification and worker's ...

Effective July 1, Tennessee will enforce a recently passed state law (SB233) that penalizes construction services providers that misclassify employees to avoid proper classification of workers' compensation insurance premium calculations. Specifically, the new law will fine a construction services provider up to the greater of $1,000 or 1.5 times its average yearly workers' compensation premium for misstatements and inaccuracies involving payroll, employees or duties.

With the law in place, companies may need to classify some people they previously listed as contractors as employees, which could lead to additional costs due to the state's increased opportunity to crack down on worker?s comp coverage. Post Managing Editor William Williams recently talked to Beckye Sprouse, director of risk management at The Crichton Group, which bills itself as Middle Tennessee?s largest independent insurance provider. Sprouse, who is responsible for large commercial accounts and key accounts for the agency, is a certified risk manager who has worked within the insurance industry since 1968.

Do industry professionals understand the ramifications of the change and why it is being made?

Senate Bill 833 is designed to put teeth into an existing law by imposing monetary consequences for not following the already existing rules. Many construction businesses are already classifying their employees correctly as employees rather than independent contractors and allocating their payroll to the correct construction classification. However, the contractors that abuse the rules ? or make a mistake ? by misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor maintain an unfair competitive advantage because their insurance costs are lower and their payroll taxes are lower than [those of] their counterparts that follow the rules.?

How will enforcement of the law play out in the construction industry ? both in terms of cost and policy?

Enforcement with consequences for non-compliance will increase costs for the companies that misclassify. It should have no effect on the construction companies that are already properly classifying their employees, paying the taxes and paying the correct work comp premium. It will shift the cost of workers compensation insurance and coverage for injured workers to the party where it should be. According to the Tennessee Employee Misclassification Advisory Task Force, based on estimates using 2006 data, Tennessee lost between $2.1 million and $3.7 million in uncollected workers? compensation premium taxes. And its estimated losses from unpaid unemployment insurance premiums range from $8.4 million to $14.9 million.

What are you hearing from industry officials regarding the law? Do they feel it will help the construction sector? Hurt it?

There is nothing clearly announcing the change on the AGC and ABC websites. We have only heard about it from one insurance carrier. So, there needs to be some additional publicity so that those not currently in compliance can take steps to correct their situation.

Do you anticipate lots of fines?

It is difficult to predict what will happen when the law is enforced, but we know that violations will be subject to a penalty up to the greater of $1,000 or one and one half time the average yearly workers? compensation premium for such construction services provider. So the potential is there.

Source: http://nashvillepost.com/blogs/postbusiness/2013/6/28/qa_beckye_sprouse

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Stockton taxpayers want bigger role in California city's bankruptcy case

By Jim Christie

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A group of California taxpayers went to court on Friday to demand a greater role in how the city of Stockton would raise taxes to exit the bankruptcy it filed a year ago.

The group asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Sacramento for official committee status so its members could see details on Stockton's plan for increasing its sales tax. If granted this status, the group could also participate in talks about the city's plan to adjust its debts.

Stockton officials aim to file their debt-adjustment plan with the bankruptcy court in September following a vote by the city council on a sales tax increase.

Stockton's city manager wants the council to hold a vote next month on putting a ballot measure to voters in November that would ask them to raise the city's sales tax to 9.0 percent from 8.25 percent.

If approved by voters, the increase would go into effect next April and raise revenue to help Stockton exit bankruptcy, put more money into public safety programs and hire more police officers to help tackle crime in a city that ranks among the 10 most dangerous U.S. cities.

According to a draft of the tax plan, the increase would raise about $219 million over 10 years for public safety spending.

Over the same time, about $112 million in proceeds would fund the city's exit from bankruptcy. The effort would get a larger share of revenue initially as police staffing ramps up.

The taxpayers group wants more details on how the revenue would be allocated and it is concerned Stockton's creditors could press for a bigger share, which would set back plans for hiring more police officers.

"Creditors will no doubt seek as large a recovery as possible leaving taxpayers with significantly reduced health, safety and welfare services," according to an exhibit attached to the taxpayers group's court filing.

A city of about 300,000 residents in California's Central Valley, Stockton is the biggest U.S. city to have filed for bankruptcy and is trying to impose steep losses on its bond insurers and bondholders to restructure its finances.

The U.S. municipal debt market is watching to see if the Stockton prevails or its so-called capital markets creditors can convince the bankruptcy court to have the city cut its pension spending as part of a plan to exit bankruptcy.

Stockton has refused to cut pensions, saying it is prohibited by state law, and that its employees have suffered several years of pay and job cuts while its retired workers are losing subsidized medical coverage.

(Reporting by Jim Christiel Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stockton-taxpayers-want-bigger-role-california-citys-bankruptcy-020314638.html

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Friday, June 28, 2013

Millions of fans fete victorious Blackhawks

Fans cheer during a rally in Grant Park for the NHL Stanley Cup hockey champion Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Fans cheer during a rally in Grant Park for the NHL Stanley Cup hockey champion Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

The 2013 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks ride in a victory parade down Washington Street as an elevated train passes by Friday, June 28, 2013 in Chicago. The Blackhawks celebrate the team's second championship in four years. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews holds up the 2013 Stanley Cup during a victory parade down Washington Street Friday, June 28, 2013 in Chicago. The Blackhawks celebrate the team's second championship in four years. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews holds up the 2013 Stanley Cup during a victory parade down Washington Street Friday, June 28, 2013 in Chicago. The Blackhawks celebrate the team's second championship in four years. (AP Photo/Scott Eisen)

Chicago Blackhawks' fans takes pictures as Jonathan Toews and the Stanley Cup pass by during a victory parade down Washington Street Friday, June 28, 2013 in Chicago. The Blackhawks celebrate the team's second championship in four years. (AP Photo/Scott Eisen)

(AP) ? From the jubilant parade all the way to the boisterous rally, millions of excited fans spent a sun-drenched Friday celebrating another Stanley Cup title for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Dressed mostly in red and black, they came out to say thanks for the memories. Turns out, captain Jonathan Toews and Co. wanted to return the favor.

"This shows how unbelievable this city is," Toews said, addressing the rapt crowd at Grant Park. "Unbelievable. Thank you."

The Blackhawks rode to the rally in red, open-topped buses, passing waving and screaming fans of every age as the parade traveled from the United Center to the downtown party. Toews hoisted the Stanley Cup over his head to show it off to the crowd, which was cooled by large water misters placed along the route with temperatures in the low 80s.

One of the many signs read "Thank you, guys" on the top line and "Best 17 seconds of my life" for the second part ? referring to the pair of late goals that lifted the Blackhawks to a 3-2 title-clinching victory over the Boston Bruins on Monday night. And there was at least one expression of love for Andrew Shaw, the hardscrabble forward who required stitches on his face after he was hit by a puck Monday.

It was the second championship in four seasons for the Blackhawks, and authorities thought Friday's crowd was even heartier than the 2 million that came out in 2010.

"What do you say we get back here and do it again next year?" forward Patrick Sharp said to a big cheer at the rally.

The Grant Park crowd also enjoyed a brief but colorful speech by normally reserved goaltender Corey Crawford, who drew wide grins and chuckles from his teammates.

"It's tough to follow that speech by Corey Crawford," Toews said after he carried the Cup onto the stage.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said 42 people were taken to hospitals with heat-related health problems. He also said 20 people jumped into a restricted part of Lake Michigan and the fire department made sure that all 20 came out of the water.

The massive crowd at the park grew steadily all morning long, with the most ardent supporters camping out overnight, ready to sprint to the big stage the minute police swung the barriers aside. By the time buses delivered the players and their families, the park was packed.

Some fans brought along homemade versions of the Stanley Cup, including one fashioned from an empty beer keg. Twenty-somethings Courtney Baldwin and Meghan O'Kane, from the city's suburbs, slapped together their tribute from a jumble of jugs and plastic bowls painted grey.

It was empty Friday morning, but Baldwin said they planned to fill it with an adult beverage in the afternoon ? a common occurrence for the actual silver trophy over the past week.

One fan who dashed to the front near the stage was Michael Wilczynski, a 26-year-old sales associate from the suburbs. His father took him to his first game and they partied together downtown after the last Stanley Cup victory.

"My dad died in February. We came to 2010. I'm not going to miss this. I had to be here," he said.

The Blackhawks gave the city something to celebrate as the Cubs and White Sox grind through another lost summer. And fans took note.

"We love the Blackhawks. This is history and this is a championship, unlike the Cubs," O'Kane said, taking a shot at a team that hasn't won a World Series since 1908.

The franchise's fifth Stanley Cup was the culmination of a banner season for the Blackhawks, who set an NHL record when they recorded at least one point in the first 24 games ? half of the lockout-shortened schedule. They finished with the best record in the league.

The dramatic Game 6 victory in Boston sparked a raucous party in parts of Chicago. Fans poured out of bars after the thrilling finish and celebrated in the streets in the several neighborhoods.

Sarah Schmidt, 22, who grew up in Chicago and made the pilgrimage to Friday's celebrations from Milwaukee, told her boss she was taking the day off no matter what. She hoped her bartending gig would still be there when the party was over.

"I can't miss this," she said.

___

Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-28-HKN-Blackhawks-Parade/id-f796f6caca01465ea9b35f94c28caeb6

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60% Say Climate Change Hurts Businesses - Environmental Leader

June 27, 2013

60% Say Climate Change Hurts Businesses

The majority of small employers ? about 60 percent ? believe climate change and extreme weather events are an urgent problem that can disrupt the economy and harm businesses, according to a scientific opinion poll.

The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling on behalf of Small Business Majority, found four in 10 strongly believe this (see chart). It also found a third of American small businesses have seen extreme weather impact their business or someone around them.

Small businesses want to know the government is equipped to help them rebuild from future extreme weather events, the poll found. Forty-two percent of respondents believe the Small Business Administration should track small business claims related to extreme weather events as a way to increase the amount of aid the government provides small businesses. Meanwhile, 21 percent said they weren?t sure if the SBA should track claims and 37 percent said it shouldn?t.

Small Business Authority notes that the political affiliation of the poll?s respondents was varied, with 37 percent identifying as Republican, 30 percent as Democrat and 33 percent as independent.

Last month, Small Business Majority released additional polling that found a majority of small businesses support the EPA regulating carbon emissions and setting standards for existing power plants, refineries and other major emitters.

Extreme weather events like last summer?s drought and Hurricane Sandy affected businesses and exposed the US? economic vulnerability to climate change, according to the 500 firms including Nike and GM that have signed Ceres? Climate Declaration. The declaration calls upon federal policymakers to address climate change as an economic opportunity.

?

Stay Up-to-Date On Environmental Management, Energy & Sustainability News with EL's Free Daily Newsletter


Source: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/06/27/60-say-climate-change-hurts-businesses/

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Supreme Court ruling sets up new wave of gay marriage battles (reuters)

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Paula Deen's 'Today' appearance ends in tears

NEW YORK (AP) ? Paula Deen dissolved into tears during a "Today" show interview Wednesday about her admission that she used a racial slur in the past, saying anyone in the audience who's never said anything they've regretted should pick up a rock and throw it at her head.

The celebrity chef, who had backed out of a "Today" interview last Friday, said she wasn't a racist and was heartbroken by the controversy that began with her own deposition in a lawsuit. Deen has been dropped by the Food Network and as a celebrity endorser by Smithfield Foods.

"I've had to hold friends in my arms while they've sobbed because they know what's been said about me is not true and I'm having to comfort them," she said.

Deen told Lauer she could only recall using the "n-word" once. She had earlier said that she remembered using it when retelling a story about when she was held at gunpoint by a robber who was black while working as a bank teller in the 1980s in Georgia. In a deposition for the lawsuit involving an employee in a restaurant owned by Deen and her brother, she had said she may also have used the slur when recalling conversations between black employees at her restaurants.

Looking distressed and her voice breaking, Deen said if there was someone in the audience who had never said something they wished they could take back, "please pick up that stone and throw it as hard at my head so it kills me. I want to meet you. I want to meet you.

"I is what I is and I'm not changing," she said. "There's someone evil out there that saw what I worked for and wanted it."

An uncomfortable Lauer tried to end the interview, but Deen repeated that anyone who hasn't sinned should attack her.

Deen said she appreciated fans who have expressed anger at the Food Network for dropping her, but said she didn't support a boycott of the network.

"These people who have met me and know me and love me, they're as angry as the people who are reading these stories that are lies," she said.

___

Online:

http://www.today.com/

___

Follow Dave Bauder on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dbauder

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/paula-deens-today-appearance-ends-tears-120225940.html

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Doctor in Maine stopped taking insurance, cut prices 50% (Americablog)

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