The Ghost Workers

Cheating businesses make it tough for honest employers

Masonry company owner Doug Burton, center left, checks on a worksite in Raleigh on July 9, 2012. Burton plays by the rules: taxes, unemployment, workers comp. But, through the years, Burton lost his foothold in the commercial market in the Triangle. Two years ago, he discovered the problem: his competitors broke the law. They didn't pay taxes for their workers and saved 25 to 30 percent in labor costs. They were subbing their labor needs to a middleman who treated his workforce as independent contractors - or often as an invisible workforce, paying cash under the table. A single employee cost Burton nearly 20 percent or more to pay state and federal taxes, withholding and workersâ€™ compensation insurance.

Off the books and under the table, some companies slash labor costs by flouting North Carolina and federal laws. Those in the construction industry say the scheme is now prevalent across the trades. A News & Observer review shows the practice is ...

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Archive by category ''The Ghost Workers

LOCAL/STATE

Inept bureaucracy lets dishonest businesses win

If they would share data, North Carolina agencies could level the playing field for honest employers.
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LOCAL/STATE

Injured worker pays for employer's gamble

Jimmy Worrell used a common insurance scheme to get work on the cheap. But now Clementé Gonzalez must fight for the medical care he needs.
POLITICS

When N.C. employers dodge workers' comp costs, employees pay the price

Tens of thousands employers in the state haven’t bought required coverage. Employees hurt on the job struggle to collect benefits required under the law.
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- Two N.C. widows mourn lost husbands - and lack of insurance
LOCAL/STATE

N.C. Industrial Commission to review workers' comp policies

Commission chairwoman Pam Young said in a statement that the review will "examine overall strategies and enforcement." A recent News & Observer investigation found that tens of thousands of businesses don’t buy workers' compensation insurance.
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- Link: Read more state and local political news
- Link: Read more state and local business news
LOCAL/STATE

N.C. agency will force employers to pay injured workers

The N.C. Industrial Commission will call back business owners who failed to keep workers’ comp and who put their workers in peril. Hearings could result in jail time.
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- Gov. Bev Perdue wants fast action on workers' compensation
LOCAL/STATE

N.C. orders uninsured businesses to pay injured workers

The state Industrial Commission brings back hundreds of cases in which uninsured employers have ignored their orders to pay workers hurt on the job. Many of the employers say they have no money.
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- See employers targeted in workers' compensation hearings
ECONOMY

North Carolina employers find mercy on workers’ compensation

During a day of hearings on holding employers in contempt, a deputy commissioner gives them more time to pay. A legislator files a bill to move fraud investigations to the Department of Insurance.
BUSINESS

Governor, candidates, legislators promise action on cheating businesses

Gov. Bev Perdue appoints a task force to get state agencies to share information on employers that dodge taxes and workers' compensation. The men who want her job both say they'll fix the problem, too.
THE GHOST WORKERS

NC leaders promise to crack down on cheating businesses

A task force of state leaders convened Monday to figure out how to ensure that businesses pay taxes and provide workers' compensation insurance for their employees.
Related
- Link: Editorial: Workers in the dark
THE GHOST WORKERS

Lawmakers say they will reverse course on worker comp law

The same state lawmakers who passed a law making it impossible for workers to find out whether their employers carry workers' compensation insurance are now promising to reverse course.
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- Link: Get the latest political news at our Under the Dome blog
THE GHOST WORKERS

Legislators: Employers' insurance data will be public again

While legislators will need to sign off on the measure early next year, leaders don't anticipate any hurdles. The announcement of an agreement among the interested groups came Wednesday during a special legislative committee studying problems with workers' compensation.
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- Link: Read more state political stories
THE GHOST WORKERS

Advocates seek a safety net for injured NC workers

At least half of the states, including many that border North Carolina, offer compensation to workers hurt while working for companies that fail to buy required insurance. Some say it's time for similar help here and want state leaders to create a fund to pay for lost wages and medical bills quickly...
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