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Friday, October 11, 2024

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Florida picks up the pieces after Hurricane Milton; Georgia elected officials say Hurricane Helene was a climate change wake-up call; Hosiers are getting better civic education; the Senate could flip to the GOP in November; New Mexico postal vans go electric; and Nebraska voters debate school vouchers.

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Civil rights groups push for a voter registration deadline extension in Georgia, federal workers helping in hurricane recovery face misinformation and threats of violence, and Brown University rejects student divestment demands.

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Hurricane Helene has some rural North Carolina towns worried larger communities might get more attention, mixed feelings about ranked choice voting on the Oregon ballot next month, and New York farmers earn money feeding school kids.

CT home health care workers still facing payroll issues

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Wednesday, September 11, 2024   

Despite a changing of the guard, Connecticut home health care workers still face payroll issues.

Personal care attendants dealt with late paychecks and pay errors with little response when the state worked with Allied Community Services.

Cynthia Johnson, a personal care assistant and member of the Service Employees International Union Local 1199 New England, cares for her daughter who has a rare seizure disorder and said payday delays were agonizing.

"Even though you turned in the paperwork that they wanted from you, you still had to hold your breath that Friday to make sure you got paid," Johnson recounted. "Sometimes we would get a notice from them saying, 'We'll be paying everybody at 5 p.m. instead of the direct deposit.'"

Though the state's Department of Social Service has since switched payroll contractors to GT Independence, some issues remain.

Johnson feels the new contractor is an improvement since she does not have to worry about getting paid on Friday. Given SEIU Local 1199NE has more than 12,000 members, some problems were expected, though Johnson and others hope they will not linger.

Along with the stress of worrying about money, the payroll problems home health care workers face affect their ability to care for people.

Jonathan Stakley, another personal care assistant and SEIU member, cares for his brother with Down syndrome and said tracking down Allied to deal with payroll issues cost him time when he needs to provide care.

"Dealing with my brother can be a challenge and I want to make sure I can give him all my attention," Stakley emphasized. "The other time, I have something hanging over my head like a storm; maybe not getting paid on time and having to deal with the chaos of getting a hold of somebody that still may not be able to rectify the problem in a timely manner."

Recently, some Connecticut consumers received emails stating their personal care attendants would not be paid due to questions about unresolved Medicaid eligibility. The union worked with the state to ensure all workers got paid.

Diedre Murch, home care director and vice president, SEIU Local 1199NE, said the union wants a better relationship with GT Independence and added some ways to do it include advance notice when Medicaid eligibility problems could disrupt services.

"It shouldn't take 4 months of requesting a meeting on a systemic problem to be able to speak to them directly," Murch argued. "Secondly, getting the local call center up and functional (with) people who are trained in contractual benefits and wages."


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