Workplace injuries remain a very real concern for employees throughout New York, Brooklyn and the Bronx. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has the responsibility to establish workplace safety regulations, to inspect worksites and to enforce those regulations. However, a workers' compensation lawyer knows that OSHA has many shortcomings. OSHA is very understaffed and...
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Lawmakers Creating an "Artificial Crisis" To Cut SSD Benefits?
Social Security provides both retirement and disability benefits to people throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and surrounding areas. There are separate trust funds for the retirement and the disability insurance program. Although both are funded by payroll taxes, unlike supplemental security income benefits, the money for the retired and disabled is kept separate. Although this...
Read MoreDisability Benefits NOT a Shadow Unemployment Program
Of the many attacks made on the federal system designed to provide disability income to residents of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the rest of the nation, one of the most common allegations is that Social Security Disability (SSD) is functioning as a de facto unemployment program. This allegation has been raised yet again by research published...
Read MoreSocial Security Disability Judges Again Under Attack
Social Security Disability judges have a difficult job to do. They are asked to preside over a huge number of appeals because so many initial applications for benefits are denied even when people have a legitimate need for benefits. Unfortunately, as part of ongoing efforts to undermine an important lifeline providing benefits to the disabled,...
Read MoreCould a CEO Be Imprisoned for Worker Deaths?
Criminal prosecution after a workplace injury is very rare. Prosecutors and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are frequently lacking in resources to conduct comprehensive investigations and impose criminal responsibility on companies or employers when workers get hurt. Further, proving the elements of a crime can also be very difficult, even when willful OSHA...
Read MoreOSHA Identifies Top Workplace Safety Violations
Workers in New York City and Long Island have the right to a safe workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) established guidelines for worker protection and enforces those guidelines by issuing citations to employers who violate safety rules. OSHA citations may be issued as a result of periodic inspections identifying problems in the...
Read MoreA Look at the Social Security Disability Repair Initiative
The Social Security Disability Insurance program (SSDI) is a lifeline for many disabled workers who are not able to have a job because of an injury, illness or other disabling medical condition. Unfortunately, the SSDI trust fund is in very serious financial trouble. The SSDI trust fund is expected to run out of money towards...
Read MorePreventing On-the-Job Accidents at Small Businesses
Employers have a moral and legal responsibility to keep their employees safe from harm to the best of their ability. This is especially true for small businesses, which may face considerable difficulty facing lost productivity and higher workers' compensation costs after an on-the-job accident occurs at their workplace. Unfortunately, many businesses looking to keep spending...
Read MoreIs the Government Doing Enough to Protect Workers?
Federal contractors are paid with taxpayer money to provide goods and services for government projects. Federal contracts can be very lucrative. Unfortunately, some federal contractors accepting millions in taxpayer money violate worker safety laws designed to protect employee health. Recently, President Barack Obama issued an executive order designed to ensure that federal contractors are complying...
Read MoreDisability Benefits Under Attack to Fund Road Construction
The federal highway fund that pays for road construction is broke and lawmakers can't agree on the best way to replenish the money. Unfortunately, Social Security Disability benefits are once again a political target and money that should be going to care for the disabled is in danger of being redirected to fund roads. As the...
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