ALBANYThe
Business Council today urged the reform or elimination of the "second injury
fund" in New York's workers' compensation system, saying it has outlived its
intent and driven up workers' comp costs.
In testimony
before the Governor's Study Commission on Workers' Compensation Special Funds,
Ed Reinfurt, vice president of The Business Council, said business is recommending
this action even though, in the short term, it could mean higher comp costs
for some employers
ALBANYBetween
1999 and 2000, New York State's workers' compensation costs for manufacturers
moved farther above the national average for those costs, an authoritative
new study shows. Only nine states in the study were farther above the national
average in these comp costs.
As costs in most
states declined, New York manufacturers paid average workers' comp costs that
were 29
The Business Council is cosponsoring
the 13th Annual Pollution Prevention Conference sponsored by the state Department
of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Sept. 19-21 at the Hotel Syracuse.
At the conference, business,
government, and environmental leaders will address issues related to pollution
and the environment
ALBANYNew
York's ongoing labor shortage is prompting employers to compete for new workers
by offering higher starting pay and quicker first raises, a new Business Council
survey of employers' compensation practices shows.
The new survey
was conducted by Compdata Surveys of Kansas City, the survey company with
the nation's largest database on pay and benefits information
The New York State Board
of Regents is asking New York's business community for its opinions of a
new set recommendations for changes to align the state's career and technical
education programs with new higher academic standards.
The new recommendations were
developed by a Career and Technical Education Advisory Panel that SED created
to examine various issues related to New York's career and technical education
program
The Business Council is inviting
all members to identify priority issues that The Council should address
in its legislative advocacy next year.
This question will be the
main focus of a meeting next week of the Steering Committee of The Council's
Government Affairs Council
Strong job growth statewide
last month "proves again that we've been right all along in saying that
a better business climate means a better New York," said Daniel B. Walsh,
president/CEO of The Business Council.
In June 2000, New York State
had 159,900 more private-sector jobs than it did in June of 1999, according
to figures released by the state on July 20
An updated analysis of all
states' efforts to deregulate energy utilities shows that New York State
remains ahead of most of the country in the quest for energy deregulation.
A July update of an
analysis originally released in February gave New York a score of 64,
well above the national average of 21
The Business Council is planning
to testify Sept. 6 in Albany at a hearing of the Governors Workers
Compensation Special Funds Study Commission, said Kerry Kirwan, The Councils
workers comp specialist.
In its testimony, The Council will likely outline a range of possible changes,
from reforms to contain the costs of the funds to complete elimination of
the most costly fund, the second-injury fund, Kirwan said
Workers' comp rates in New
York will be reduced an average 2.5 percent effective Oct. 1.
However, "assessments"-a
surcharge on comp premiums that employers also must pay-will increase by
an average of 2.6 percent. As a result, overall costs are unlikely to go
down.
Those assessments pay for
the Second Injury Fund and other special funds, as well as operating costs
of the state Workers' Compensation Board