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Monday, 09 March 2009 17:51 |
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Signals from the House of Representatives continue to point toward a reintroduction of the Protecting America's Workers Act, the package of Occupational Safety and Health Act reforms introduced in the previous two sessions of Congress, according to a congressional aide.
On Feb. 26, an aide with the House Education and Labor Committee told a Washington, D.C., gathering of safety and health lawyers and practitioners, organized by the law firm Ogletree Deakins, that the bill's reforms—increasing penalties for violations, making felony charges available for certain worker safety violations, expanding whistleblower protections for workers, and extending federal workplace safety and health protections to public sector and government employees—rank as the committee's top legislative priority. The aide said there was “general agreement that there is a problem” but no consensus on how to rectify it.
The remarks echo those of Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), chair of the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, who told BNA Jan. 28 that she would reintroduce the reform legislation this year (39 OSHR 93, 2/5/09).
Points under discussion are whether the legislation should be proposed in a single bill or as separate pieces of legislation; whether felony charges should be made available for OSHA violations; and whether any action should be taken on ergonomics legislation.
Source: Excerpts by Stephen Lee condensed from a UAN H&S Bulletin |
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Friday, 06 March 2009 08:03 |
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The following Children's health insurance update is from
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1. Hawai`i: 2009 Income Limits Increase
A family of four can now earn around $76,000 annually and their children may qualify for the state's free QUEST and Medicaid programs. That is about $3,000 more than in 2008. Hawai`i Covering Kids and its 200 federal, state, business, and community partners are working extremely hard during the current downturn to enroll eligible uninsured children and youths in free health insurance programs.
Visit http://www.coveringkids.com/community/Section_23.asp to view monthly household income limits.
2. National: August 17 Directive Rescinded
On 4 February 2009, President Obama rescinded the August 17 Directive which had made it difficult for states to provide health insurance for children on households above 250% FPL. CMS issued a letter to state health officials withdrawing the directive and a clarifying letter. More information is at http://ccf.georgetown.edu/index/cmsdirective.
3. National: Citizenship Documentation Rules Hampering Children's Health Insurance
Federal regulations that took effect in 2006 require that individuals provide proof of citizenship when applying for or renewing Medicaid or other public health insurance coverage. In the new Commonwealth Fund report, Getting and Keeping Coverage: States' Experience with Citizenship Documentation Rules, Laura Summer examines the impact the documentation rules have had on the stability of public coverage for low-income families in seven states: Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Virginia, and Washington. According to Summer, a senior research scholar at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute, the new requirements have increased the complexity, administrative burden, and costs of enrollment and renewal in each state, making it more difficult for children and their families to get and keep health coverage. In some cases, states' ongoing efforts to simplify enrollment processes have been curtailed, as resources were diverted for citizenship documentation purposes. The report also found that a state's approach to implementing the rules, as well as its organizational and technological capacity, can mitigate the impact. For example, Washington State established a "Citizenship Central Unit" to help current and potential program participants document their citizenship, and state officials conduct database searches to find birth certificates for applicants and enrollees. These actions not only promoted coverage stability but also saved time for workers in the field. [L. Summer, The Commonwealth Fund, January 2009]The report is at
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Fund-Reports/2009/Jan/Getting-and-Keeping-Coverage--States-Experience-with-Citizenship-Documentation-Rules.aspx |
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Wednesday, 11 February 2009 10:22 |
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UAN Executive Council members attended a rally on February 4, 2009 in Washington, D. C. to build support for the Employee Free Choice Act. Union leaders and workers delivered more than one million signed cards calling for passage of this legislation. UAN and HNA Vice President Joan Craft, RN, carried signed cards from the State of Hawaii to the steps of the Russell Senate Office Building. Boxes of cards from each state were delivered by other workers.
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Monday, 26 January 2009 00:00 |
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by James Parks from the AFL-CIO Blog
Wilma Liebman
As an NLRB member over the past eight years, Liebman has challenged the Bush administration’s war on workers. The board’s Republican majority made it harder to form unions through majority sign-up, limited the ability of illegally fired workers to recover back pay and allowed employers to discriminate against union supporters in the hiring process.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says Obama made the right choice.
America’s working men and women will finally have the fair and committed leader they deserve with Wilma Liebman as chair of the National Labor Relations Board. What a refreshing change it will be to have a labor board that aims to safeguard rather than blockade workers’ rights. Liebman will work to help the NLRB serve one of its key missions–to undergird all workers’ right to collective bargaining as a cornerstone of our economy and democracy.
In a statement, Liebman says:
The Board’s work matters, just as it did when the National Labor Relations Act was passed in 1935. Democracy in the workplace is still basic to a democratic society, and collective bargaining is still basic to a fair economy. The statute we administer is the foundation of America’s commitment to human rights recognized around the world.
Liebman was first appointed to the NLRB by President Clinton in 1997. Her current term expires in 2011. Before joining the NLRB, Liebman served from 1994 to 1997 at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, first as special assistant to the director and then as deputy director. She began her legal career as an NLRB staff attorney in 1974, then served on the legal staff of two unions: the Bricklayers and the Teamsters. |
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