Thursday, January 10, 2013
Issue first came to light last year with letter from Lynnfield town administrator.
Governor Patrick has announced new legislation aimed at closing loopholes in the municipal unemployment system that first came to light locally last year. Patrick noted that he convened a task force last spring to address loopholes in the unemployment system that have cost municipalities tens of thousands of dollars, and that the task force released its recommendations in November. Lynnfield Town Administrator Bill Gustus and 23 other colleagues from municipal government wrote to Governor Patrick last March seeking relief on the issue. A retired Lynnfield Police officer received a considerable amount of regional media attention at the time because his unemployment case – while also collecting a pension – is the one that led Gustus to draft…
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Boston Herald calls retired officer Hartley Boudreau "Poster Boy" for questionable municipal unemployment claims.
A Saturday Boston Herald report says that retired Lynnfield police officer Hartley Boudreau has had his controversial unemploymenent benefits reinstated by the Mass. Department of Unemployment Assistance. The report even refers to him as a "Jobless Claim 'Poster Boy,'" stemming from the late February selectmen's meeting when Town Administrator Bill Gustus said he had written to the state seeking help with the financial burdens towns sustain from dubious unemployment claims by municipal workers. Gustus was quoted in this Herald report as saying that "This is allowed under the current law. That’s why we asked them to change the law... We’re disappointed, but I’m not surprised." For his part, Boudreau told the Herald that he knew the matter …
Friday, March 16, 2012
Lynnfield alone has spent about $120,000 in past three years on unemployment claims that are drawing increasing attention from state officials.
In the past three years, Lynnfield has spent about $120,000 on unemployment benefits for municipal workers whose claims were approved despite having circumstances that other jobless people might envy. Two weeks ago, Lynnfield Town Administrator Bill Gustus estimated that the town could save about $40,000 per year if state lawmakers and Governor Patrick can find common ground on tightening up unemployment laws. This Friday, he confirmed that this is about what the town has been spending on this in each of the past three years. In that period, according to Gustus, the town has spent: - $67,861.22 for nine bus drivers who filed for unemployment during times when school was not in session, typically summer. - $10,557 to teachers who have …
Thursday, March 8, 2012
State Republican lawmakers and Governor Deval Patrick both addressing questionable unemployment claims by municipal workers.
Less than 10 days after Lynnfield Town Administrator Bill Gustus wrote to Governor Deval Patrick about a retired police officer whose request for unemployment benefits was approved, some statewide changes to the system could already be on the horizon. On Wednesday, the Governor announced legislation aimed at preventing a repeat of situations like the one that saw retired Lynnfield Police Officer Hartley Boudreau approved for unemployment benefits while also collecting a pension and doing part-time detail work. However, state Republican lawmakers were quick to point out that Patrick's legislation only goes so far given the various issues that go beyond the Boudreau case. For example, Gustus told Lynnfield Patch last Friday that some of the …
Friday, March 2, 2012
Media spotlight focused on retired officer, but bus drivers in town have also apparently been known to collect unemployment during non-school time. Mass. towns and cities of all sizes have their own stories to report.
If the state were to implement reforms aimed at municipal workers who file for unemployment under questionable circumstances, the town of Lynnfield alone could save as much as $40,000 per year, said Town Administrator William Gustus during a conversation with Lynnfield Patch on Friday. Recently, Gustus sent a letter to Governor Deval Patrick seeking state assistance on the issue - and in the space of several days, the effort showed signs of getting some results, not to mention ongoing attention from the regional media. (Editor's Note: For the background information in this story, scroll down and check out the various links at the bottom. For the material from Friday, read on.) So far, the story has mostly revolved around retired Lynnfield …
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Letter from town administrator to Governor Patrick gets considerable attention from region's media outlets as well as a prompt legislative response.
A letter from Lynnfield officials seeking help from the state with questionable unemployment claims is doing more than just generating heavy media interest – it’s also got the attention of state officials and lawmakers. At Monday night’s selectmen’s meeting, Town Administrator Bill Gustus talked briefly about the letter, and in his presentation did not name the retired town officer whose unemployment claim helped trigger the current media attention. And, this case is apparently just one of many similar ones that have frustrated local officials statewide and diminished numerous budgets in recent years. "We think that all of these instances are way over the top," said Gustus. The full text of the letter to Governor Deval Patrick can be read …
Thomas Melancourt
8:51 pm on Saturday, June 30, 2012
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