Work-related Fatalities Declined in 2011

Finally some good news from The Bureau of Labor Statistics-- There was a decline in worker-related fatal accidents in the American job force comparing the years 2011 and 2010.  In 2010, 4,690 workers lost their lives due to various accidents and incidents.  In 2011, the number was 4,609.  But even one death is one too many, particularly because we know that most of these incidents are preventable, assuming the employers are motivated to spend the time and money to prevent them.

One question that occurred to me is why the drop in number?  I wonder if it's because of the high unemployment rate, i.e., when there's less people working, there are less work injuries.

Emergency Unemployment Compensation

President Bush signed into law H.R. 2642, the supplemental appropriations bill that provides up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits in all states.

Over the next two weeks, potentially eligible claimants will be contacted by the Department of Labor & Industry by mail with information and instructions on filing for EUC benefits. The earliest individuals can file for EUC weeks, either by PAT or on the Internet, is during the week of July 20, 2008. The first payable week is July 12, 2008. We ask that claimants wait to receive this information in the mail. Please do not call the Unemployment Compensation Service Center.

General Provisions of the EUC Program:

1. The first week of EUC that may be paid is the week ending July 12, 2008.

2. To be eligible for EUC, a claimant must meet the following requirements:

--The claimant had a regular UC claim with a benefit year that ended on or after May 1, 2007, OR, the claimant currently has a regular UC claim on which the claimant received the maximum amount of benefits.

--The claimant is ineligible for regular UC from Pennsylvania, any other state, the federal government or Canada.

--The total amount of wages in the claimant’s base year is equal to or greater than 1½ times the amount of wages in claimant’s highest quarter of the base year.

--The claimant is totally or partially unemployed.

--The claimant is legally authorized to work in the United States.

3. The EUC weekly benefit amount is the same as the regular UC weekly benefit amount payable for a week of total unemployment.

4. A claimant’s EUC maximum amount is 13 times his or her weekly benefit amount if the claimant qualified for 26 times the weekly benefit amount on the claimant’s regular UC claim.

5. The EUC maximum amount is 8 times the claimant’s weekly benefit amount if the claimant qualified for 16 times the weekly benefit amount on the regular UC claim.

6. The eligibility provisions of the Pennsylvania UC Law also apply to eligibility for EUC benefits.

7. EUC Phase-out - A claimant may not begin to receive EUC later than the week ending March 28, 2009. The last week of EUC that can be paid is the week ending July 4, 2009.

You can find frequently asked questions on this extra benefit here.