Unemployed Boston man overpaid by state can’t find anyone to take money back
A seasonal ferry worker from Cape Cod who gets his walking papers at the end of every tourist season told MyFoxBoston.com that he received an unemployment payment from the state for about 10 times the normal amount and has been running in circles trying to get an agency to take the money back.This story is like an onion. It has many layers, and all of them stink... First off, can anyone explain to me why a SEASONAL employee is eligible for unemployment benefits? Here's an idea: At the end of the season, GET ANOTHER JOB. The "season" is, at best, six months long, from mid-April to mid-October. So this guy gets by on $468 a month for six months out of the year? I don't buy it.
"I've called probably eight or 10 different numbers. I once got a hold of a woman and I told them my story and she said to me, ‘Oh my God.' Then she said, ‘Well that's way above my pay grade to deal with'… It just went nowhere," he said. "It's wicked frustrating."
THEN, to top matters off, the state's brand new 46 million dollar computer system cuts him a check for ELEVEN FRICKIN' GRAND?!?!?!? This is what we needed to jack the state sales tax up for? This is why Cadillac Deval wants to crank up the income tax? So we can have YET ANOTHER FAILURE? And the best part is, it happened last year to the same guy.
So, to recap: We have someone working a seasonal job who gets unemployment in the off-season. Our $46 MILLION computer "upgrade" has caused this worker to get checks in excess of what he's supposed to get two years in a row. And when he calls to see about returning the money, they give him the brush-off or simply tell him to cash the check.
This would be humorous if it wasn't my money - oh, wait, in a few more weeks, it won't be...
That is all.
1 comment:
Well, here's the kicker about that: in order to do the job, the person in question must have current licensure and relevant endorsements in line with Federally-mandated Coast Guard regulations based on STCW, the convention on Standards of Training and Certification for Watchkeepers... and that shit ain't cheap to keep. In order to attract employees, the Steamship authority must pay them enough to prevent them from working elsewhere, which, with their large ferries requiring licenses and endorsements that also enable holders to work on Unlimited-tonnage ships, means they have to pay Unlimited tonnage wages. Which they don't really want to do. Funemployment means that they can retain qualified mariners across seasons. When you don't do that, you get what you're not paying for.
More simply, a mate with a large limited-tonnage license or an unlimited license making 60-70k for a season, including unemployment, is paying the opportunity cost to live close to home, rather than making $800 a day working 2 weeks on/2 off to work in the Gulf of Mexico. Cut the unemployment, and he won't be willing to face the uncertainty of working for cash- minimum-wage level shit money on the back of a Hyannis lobster boat for the winter.
The one trusim about my industry is that after you get the license and endorsements, you'll never be unemployed for more than 3 days again.
Post a Comment