Contesting Jobless Claims Becomes a Boom Industry

[Joanne98]

WASHINGTON — With a client list that reads like a roster of Fortune 500 firms, a little-known company with an odd name, the Talx Corporation, has come to dominate a thriving industry: helping employers process — and fight — unemployment claims.

Talx, which emerged from obscurity over the last eight years, says it handles more than 30 percent of the nation’s requests for jobless benefits. Pledging to save employers money in part by contesting claims, Talx helps them decide which applications to resist and how to mount effective appeals.

The work has made Talx a boom business in a bust economy, but critics say the company has undermined a crucial safety net. Officials in a number of states have called Talx a chronic source of error and delay. Advocates for the unemployed say the company seeks to keep jobless workers from collecting benefits.

“Talx often files appeals regardless of merits,” said Jonathan P. Baird, a lawyer at New Hampshire Legal Assistance. “It’s sort of a war of attrition. If you appeal a certain percentage of cases, there are going to be those workers who give up.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/us/04talx.html?hp

[Hello_Kitty]

1. My last employer appealed mine, and then didn't show up for the telephone hearing.

I suspect they just automatically appeal every UI claim.

[earth mom]

2. Bastards!!!

:grr:

[madrchsod]

3. nice thing about illinois....

real live union unemployment office workers who go by the rules. if you are laid off there`s no bullshit...

[cdsilv]

4. How does this work w/IT contractors?

I've been on contract to a large IT firm through an agency as what they call a 'W2 contractor' - the agency pays me, does the witholding etc. and sent me a W2 this year. My contract ends in July and I will have been on contract at the same place for 16 months. Will I be eligible for UE? I'm in Texas.

[notadmblnd]

6. I woould think that if they don't place you in another assignment

then you're eligible for unemployment.

[patrice]

5. More fucking leeches on the backs of the working class. Ain't Capitalism just

fucking dandy!