Deal in Albany Overhauls Pay for Worker Aid

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

(Left to Right): Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Governor Eliot Spitzer, Lt. Governor David Paterson, NYS AFL-CIO Director Art Wilcox, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE and N. R. KLEINFIELD
Published: February 28, 2007

After years of stalemates and false starts, New York leaders yesterday announced a far-reaching deal to overhaul the state’s much-criticized workers’ compensation system by significantly increasing the weekly benefits that go to injured workers while cracking down on employers who cheat the system.

Read the New York Times article: Overhaul

BALCONY Supports a Level Playing Field for NY State Worker’s Compensation

Statement by Bruce E. Ventimiglia, Co- Chair BALCONY,
The Business and Labor Coalition of New York
Re: Workers’ Compensation Reform

“The proposed reform of New York State’s Workers’ Compensation law which requires that business provide coverage for all workers is a positive step in the right direction toward leveling the playing field. As a businessman, I am well aware that the under-reporting of workers gives companies an unfair advantage over those who fully comply with the law. This Workers’ Compensation reform plan clearly shows that business and labor can find common ground to strengthen our economy and provide a better workplace for our workers.”

New York State AFL-CIO Hails Workers’ Compensation Agreement as Historic Victory for Both Injured Workers and Business Community

New York State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes hailed today’s announcement on a conceptual agreement on workers’ compensation reform as historic. The New York State AFL-CIO believes this agreement addresses some of the most pressing needs and concerns of injured workers and immeasurably improves a system long believed to be broken beyond repair.

Read New York State AFL-CIO Press Release: AFL-CIO

2006 Small Business Survival Index & New York State

For over a decade, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council has ranked all the states on how friendly their regulatory and tax environments are to the community of nearly 26 million small businesses that provide the lifeblood for American productivity and innovation. New York State has consistently ranked in the bottom fifth on these rankings, and it is one of BALCONY’s most cherished goals to identify impediments to small business growth in New York and ease them. What follows is the Small Business Survival Index for 2006, the detailed basis for the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s annual rankings.

Read the article: SBS Index 2006