Workers Archives - Zxcoachoutlet

Worcester city workers targeted in insurance benefits scam

October 12, 2020

Updated

2:49 pm EDT, Monday, October 12, 2020

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — More than 550 employees of Worcester have been targeted in a nationwide unemployment insurance benefits scam, city officials say.

The scam involves identity thieves using the victims’ personal information to file claims for unemployment benefits.

The city received about 40 fraudulent claims from March to mid-August, Dori Vecchio, the city’s human resources director told The Telegram & Gazette. Since then, more than 500 have come in, she said.

Employees in every department have been targeted. About 100 people who work for the Fire Department and another 100 who work for the schools have been affected. The city employs about 6,800.

“Several high-ranking officials and elected officials in the city have been compromised,” Vecchio said.

Schools Superintendent Maureen Binienda said she has been targeted three times.

Security experts say much of the fraud appears to be committed by scammers

Underground insulin exchanges emerge as workers lose jobs amid pandemic, insurance co-pays fall short

October 12, 2020

| No Comments

| insurance

DENVER — D.j. Mattern had her Type 1 diabetes under control until COVID-19’s economic upheaval cost her husband his hotel maintenance job and their health coverage. The 42-year-old Denver woman suddenly faced insulin’s exorbitant list price — anywhere from $125 to $450 per vial — just as their household income shrank.

She scrounged extra insulin from friends, and her doctor gave her a couple of samples. But, as she rationed her supplies, her blood sugar rose so high that her glucose monitor couldn’t even register a number. In June, she was hospitalized.

“My blood was too acidic. My system was shutting down. My digestive tract was paralyzed,” Mattern said, after three weeks in the hospital. “I was almost near death.”

So she turned to a growing underground network of people with diabetes who share extra insulin when they have it, free of charge. It wasn’t supposed to be this way,

Airlines Used Cares Act Funds To Pay Workers. Airline Contractors Took The Money And Let Workers Go, Report Says

October 12, 2020

| No Comments

| money

Coronavirus COVID-19 Good Friday Food Distribution UNITE HERE LOCAL 11 — A UNITE HERE member distributes food in Inglewood, CA. in April. (Photo by Irfan Khan)

Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

In the months after Congress allocated billions of dollars to keep airline industry employees working, passenger airlines applied for shares of that money and then laid off less than 1% of their workers, until the funding ran out.

Airline contractors similarly applied for money and then laid off about 58,000 people, about 35% of their workers, a new report says.

“Contrary to congressional intent, Treasury permitted aviation contractors to lay off thousands of workers and receive full payroll support calculated based on the companies’ pre-pandemic workforce,” according to a report, released Friday by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

The report, “Unnecessary Costs: How the Trump Administration Allowed Thousands of Aviation Workers to Lose Their Jobs,” was issued by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

Factbox: How Norwegian Oil Workers’ Pay Compares to Other Countries | Investing News

October 9, 2020

| No Comments

| business

By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Nerijus Adomaitis

LONDON/OSLO (Reuters) – Oil and gas is seen as a sector that offers relatively attractive pay, although average wages vary significantly from one country to another.

While workers in Norway are currently on strike over pay, they are among the highest paid in Europe, data shows, and receive double the salary of workers in Latin America. Still, they are far less well paid than Australian or American workers.

Following are details of how pay compares.

The average salary of full-time employees in oil and gas extraction, including support activities, in Norway was around 930,000 crowns, or $100,000, in 2019, according to Norway’s statistics office. The figure includes allowances and bonuses, and excludes overtime.

Norwegian workers’ union Lederne called a strike that began on Sept. 30, demanding higher wage rises this year than proposed by oil companies and equal pay and conditions for workers at

Trump steel tariffs raised prices, shriveled up demand, led to job losses, some Michigan workers say

October 9, 2020

| No Comments

| business

President Donald Trump promised a new dawn for the struggling U.S. steel industry in 2016, and the lure of new jobs in Midwestern states including Michigan helped him eke out a surprise election win.

Four years later, Great Lakes Works — once among the state’s largest steel plants — has shut down steelmaking operations and put 1,250 workers out of a job. A year before the June layoffs, plant owner United States Steel Corp called off a plan to invest $600 million in upgrades amid deteriorating market conditions.

Trump’s strategy centered on shielding U.S. steel mills from foreign competition with a 25 percent tariff imposed in March 2018. He also promised to boost steel demand through major investments in roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

But higher steel prices resulting from the tariffs dented demand from the Michigan-based U.S. auto industry and other steel consumers. And the Trump administration has never

11-Year-Old Making Masks for Health Care Workers Surprised with Money for New Sewing Machine

October 9, 2020

| No Comments

| money

11-Year-Old Making Masks for Healthcare Workers Surprised With Money for New Sewing Machine

Holli Morgan was presented with a $1,200 check for a new sewing machine and YouTube channel

A young girl was gifted a sizeable check to purchase a new sewing machine and equipment after making 1,200 masks for health care workers fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

Holli Morgan, an 11-year-old girl from Stone Mountain, Georgia, has made hundreds of protective facial coverings for those on the pandemic’s frontlines, according to WGCL. She initially started with a goal of sewing 500 masks, but was motivated to surpass that mark once she reached it.

“I’m going to be honest, I was relieved because I thought — good we can stop,” Holli’s mother, April McMillian, told the news station of her daughter making her first 500 masks.

“She said, ‘No mommy, I’m going to make 1,200,’ ” McMillian recalled. “I’m like, ‘You

Pelosi says no to standalone airline relief bill, as workers and their families say they ‘just need help now’

October 8, 2020

| No Comments

| business

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called off talks for a standalone airline relief bill Thursday, dashing hopes that a narrow measure to support the airline industry could continue after President Donald Trump abruptly shot down overall stimulus talks earlier this week.

“There is no standalone bill without a bigger bill. There’s no bill,” the speaker said during her weekly press conference.

Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have had several daily phone calls this week to discuss the viability of a standalone airline relief bill, but after barring his surrogates from holding any more stimulus negotiations, Trump tweeted that “The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support.”

It was not clear what the gap was between the two sides, but a Democratic measure put up for vote last Friday was opposed by Republicans and failed to pass. Republicans wanted details on how it would

Workers With Health Insurance Face Rising Out-of-Pocket Costs

October 8, 2020

| No Comments

| insurance

The high cost of health care is persisting during the pandemic, even for people lucky enough to still have job-based insurance.

The average annual cost of a health plan covering a family rose to $21,342 in 2020, according to the latest survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit group that tracks employer-based coverage. Workers paid about a quarter of the total premiums, or $5,588, on average, with their employers picking up the rest of the cost.

An analysis of the results was published Thursday online in Heath Affairs, an academic journal. While premiums rose only slightly from the 2019 survey, the increase in premiums and deductibles together over the last decade has far outpaced both inflation and the growth in workers’ earnings. Since 2010, premiums have climbed 55 percent, more than double the rise in wages or inflation, according to the foundation’s analysis.

About 157 million Americans had coverage

Remote workers are being recruited, but WFH doesn’t work for some

October 8, 2020

| No Comments

| business

DALLAS — Working from home has become more than a way to get through the pandemic.

It’s now a favored perk for some employees and a necessary lifestyle for others. For some companies, it’s also become a powerful recruiting tool.

AmeriSave Mortgage Corp. has been hiring people from around the country to report to the office in Plano, Texas. By leading with the opportunity to work remotely, it’s attracted a flood of candidates even while raising the qualifications to apply.

“I jumped on it because I’ve known about the opportunities at AmeriSave, and I didn’t want to leave my family in Nebraska,” said Noah Peters, who worked for the city of Omaha before becoming a work-from-home loan originator in July. “I’m an in-person kind of guy, but this was pretty seamless. I love what I’m doing and I’m happy I made the change.”

Bottle Rocket, a technology firm based in

Exclusive: Chevron workers face demands to reapply for jobs under global restructuring – sources

October 8, 2020

| No Comments

| business

By Jennifer Hiller, Devika Krishna Kumar

The logo of Chevron is seen at the company’s office in Caracas, Venezuela April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello/Files

HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Chevron Corp employees worldwide are being asked to reapply for positions as part of a cost-cutting program expected to eliminate up to 15% of its workforce, people familiar with the matter said.

The No. 2 U.S. oil producer has begun taking steps to streamline its organization this year to reduce costs and revive declining profits. Oil companies have posted huge losses on asset writedowns and slashed spending as economic downturns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic undercut fuel demand.

Employees who are not chosen for jobs should know within weeks, Chief Executive Michael Wirth said in an interview on Monday. He did not discuss how cuts would be decided nor how many employees were asked to reapply for positions.

The company took a