Two key Business Council committees have named new chairmen for 2002.
Laurie DeLong, manager of human resources for Ball Metal Beverage Container in Saratoga Springs, is the new chairman of the Labor and Human Resources (HR) Committee. Patrick McLaughlin, training manager for United Parcel Service in Syracuse, is the new chairman of the Workers' Compensation Committee.
The Labor and Human Resources Committee is charged with shaping and advocating a policy agenda on legislative and regulatory issues that affect employers' policies and practices in these areas.
The Workers' Compensation Committee is charged with shaping and advocating a policy agenda on legislative and regulatory issues that affect employers' policies and practices in these areas, with an emphasizing on containing comp costs that have long been well above the national average.
McLaughlin has long been active on this committee. In March 2000, Governor George Pataki named him, at The Business Council's recommendation, to a special state commission that is studying special funds in New York's workers' compensation system.
New York's workers' comp system includes several special funds intended to ensure long-term payout of certain claims. The costs of these special funds are distributed among all employers in the state. The commission is reviewing the purposes, effectiveness, and financial conditions of the funds, including payout patterns, assessment patterns, and unfunded liabilities.
Many states have reformed or eliminated comparable funds, and some Council members have raised questions about the continuing need for some of these funds, their high costs, and their unfunded liabilities, said Kerry Kirwan, The Council's staff liaison to the Workers' Compensation Committee.