May 11, 2001

State Government News

ESC flooded with applications to document foreign workers
The state Employment Security Commission received more than 3,700 applications during April from employers wanting to hire foreign workers, an enormous increase over the previous year, the agency said Wednesday. The April figure brought the application total for the year to date to 6,106, which is more than 15 times higher than the 396 applications the ESC received over the same period last year.

As the federally-imposed deadline of midnight April 30 approached for filing the applications, the ESC’s Raleigh central office saw a steady stream of people bringing in applications. The last one was received just minutes before the cut-off. Other ESC officers across the state reported they were very busy receiving applications.

Applications approved by the federal government will allow those aliens to receive no-fault residency status. Employers, or potential employers, of aliens had to sign the applications, showing that a workforce need existed. The purpose of this program is to protect American workers and the wages they are paid. Because illegal aliens might work for lower wages, and thus impact both opportunities for domestic workers and earnings they could receive, this program seeks to make sure that aliens working in the U.S. are legally employed and subject to the same wage and hour laws.

ESC ready to help you hire summer workers
The state Employment Security Commission will be helping young people fill thousands of job openings as this year’s Summer Youth Employment program kicks off in ESC offices statewide. Each year, the agency embarks on a special effort to provide job opportunities for people 16 to 21 in a variety of industries. Last summer, ESC provided service to 4,301 youth between the ages of 14 and 21. Of this number, 889 resulted in job placements.

ESC’s Summer Youth Employment Program seeks to place youth, without regard to income, into private or public sector jobs. The agency also administers the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Summer Youth Program, which seeks to place youth that are eligible for WIA services in private or public sector jobs.

In addition to these programs, ESC can provide employers with information on the Work Opportunity/Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit (WOTC/WtW) program, which allows a federal income tax credit for private-for-profit employers who hire youth 16 and 17 years of age who live within an Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community.ESC also offers information for youth interested in working in agriculture-related jobs or positions with the federal government. (Students inquiring about summer employment with the federal government should contact the agencies where they are interested in working.) Students or other youth seeking work, and employers who have job openings these workers qualify for are encouraged to contact their nearest ESC office for more details about the Summer Youth Employment program. Additional information can be found on the ESC website at www.esc.state.nc.us.


Program started to hear complaints about lawyers
The Wake County bar has agreed to establish a pilot program to hear complaints from people about their lawyers. The pilot program is an outgrowth of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, which was established by the N.C. Supreme Court in 1998 to emphasize professionalism in the practice of law.

Mel Wright, executive director of the Commission on Professionalism, said Wake County agreed to develop a system in which people are offered a confidential conference to talk about problems they have with their attorneys. Wright said this type of peer pressure would help. “This peer influence helps get them to take that first step,” Wright said. “One attorney who was approached about a complaint said, ‘I can do better, I will do better.’ There was never another complaint about that lawyer.”

Bobby White, head of the State Bar Client Assistant Program, said he gets 20,000 calls a year from people upset with their attorneys for various reasons such as not communicating with their client or not returning phone calls. “Often, it’s the same grievance against the same people over and over again,” White said. “A pattern has developed.”

The new pilot program will provide a means to see whether someone has a valid claim for a grievance. “When there is not probable cause, this procedure will give attorneys an avenue to deal with those grievances, other than a formal grievance process,” White said. “This plan is designed to deal with lawyer-lawyer complaints, lawyer-judge complaints, and lawyer-client complaints. We hope to get retired judges to help in cases where complaints are against other judges who may be sitting on orders or not coming to court on time. This confidential conference will help the Bar Association become a little more proactive with dealing with attorney complaints,” Wright said.

Wright said If the pilot program in Wake County is successful, the initiative will be expanded to other judicial districts. We want all of North Carolina’s attorneys to be responsible for their actions and uphold the professional requirements of their office.” 

Wright is a former chairman of the Forsyth County Bar Association. The Commission on Professionalism consists of 16 representatives of the general public, practicing lawyers, judges and law school faculty. It meets quarterly.


Berry urges employers to obtain free labor law posters
Businesses are required by law to post notices informing employees of their rights under OSHA, wage and hour and employment security laws. But Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry reminds employers that the posters are free for the asking by calling a toll-free number.

Berry urged businesses to call 1-800-LABOR-NC to order the posters, which contain updated information. She said the posters will be mailed at no charge. Poster information can also be viewed on the Department of Labor web site at: http://www.dol.state.nc.us.

Berry said some poster companies have sent notices out to employers, seeking to sell the information. Advertisements often ask for various sums of money — as much as $50 — for information contained in the poster. The ads often maintain that paying for the poster is better than paying the maximum fine for not having the poster displayed.

State safety and health inspectors supply employers with the posters during the course of an inspection. “They typically issue fines only if an employer refuses to display the information,” Berry said.

Other available materials that can be ordered include a labor law booklet, guides containing occupational safety and health requirements for specific industries, and a book and videotape lending library of safety training materials.


DOT board awards $15 million in highway contracts
The N.C. Board of Transportation recently awarded contracts totaling $15.2 million for highway improvements in Lenoir, Onslow, Pender, Robeson, Sampson and Wilson counties. Included were contracts to:

Prepare a roadbed and build bridges for a 4.3-mile section of U.S. 117 from north of the Wayne County line to south of U.S. 301 south of Wilson in Wilson County. The $11.6 million contract was awarded to PLT Construction Co. Inc. of Wilson. Work begins May 28 with completion scheduled in April 2004.

Build an 0.8-mile extension of Marine Corps Exchange Road on the Camp LeJeune Marine Corps Base in Jacksonville in Onslow County. The $786,972 contract was awarded to Onslow Grading and Paving Inc. of Jacksonville. Work begins May 28 with completion scheduled in November.

Replace the Neuse River Overflow bridge on Elmore Davis Road (S.R. 1153) south of LaGrange in Lenoir County. Dellinger Inc. of Monroe was awarded the $512,801 contract. Work begins May 28 with completion scheduled in December.

Replace the Long Creek bridge on Malpass Corner Road (S.R. 1120) south of Rhyne Crossroads in Pender County. Dellinger Inc. was awarded the $711,219 contract. Work begins May 28 with completion scheduled in December.

Replace the Six Runs Creek and Six Runs Overflow bridges on Old Warsaw Road (S.R. 1919) north of Clinton in Sampson County. Dellinger Inc. was awarded the $822,404 contract. Work begins June 15 with completion scheduled in May 2002.

Replace the Big Raft Swamp bridge on N.C. 71 north of Red Springs in Robeson County. Dellinger Inc. was awarded the $742,199 contract. Work begins May 28 with completion scheduled in December.

The board rejected contracts to realign a section of Duluth Loop (S.R. 3317) in Greensboro in Guilford County and replace the bridge over Foundary Branch on U.S. 15 in Oxford in Granville County because bids were too high.

Meanwhile, the DOT said it has begun widening a one-mile stretch of Hillsborough Road in Carrboro between Old Fayetteville Road and Lorraine Street, and building sidewalks and bike lanes. Motorists can expect flaggers and lane closings during construction. All lanes will remain open from 7 a.m. through 8:30 a.m., Monday through Friday and on all holidays and during special events. The $3 million project was awarded to S.T. Wooten Corp. and is anticipated to be complete in late 2002.  


Governor revamps hurricane recovery effort to expedite relief
Gov. Mike Easley on Tuesday unveiled plans to restructure and expedite the state's Hurricane Floyd recovery efforts. "For 18 months, the rules in place have not worked," Easley said at a meetng of the Low Income Housing Coalition. "Today, we're changing the rules and regulations to reflect the urgency, rather than continuing to move at the pace of business as usual.

The governor noted that the $836.6 million approved for relief by the legislature was the largest state-funded disaster relief program in the history of the United States. "Despite good intentions, bureaucracy got in the way," Easley said. "Over 4,000 families are still awaiting the assistance they deserve. Of the $464 million designated for housing relief, only $65.8 million has been spent. Grants for infrastructure are bogged down in red tape. Today, we are cutting that tape and moving forward."

Easley announced these steps:

. David Kelly, former Secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety (CC&PS), will spearhead consolidation of all the Hurricane Floyd employees, currently scattered over various departments, to the Redevelopment Office. The consolidation will take place at CC&PS and Kelly will report directly to Secretary Beatty.

Amendment of performance contracts with local governments to include enforceable deadlines for inspections, permitting and construction, and will require bundling of bids for maximum efficiency.

Attorney General Roy Cooper's office will assist with the contract renegotiations and will ensure that all legal obstacles related to the rebuilding and repair of homes are eliminated.

Dempsey Benton, Chief Deputy at the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources and former Raleigh City Manager, will provide assistance to cities and counties to expedite the permitting process.

Assurance that the requirements for permits are not changed on a daily basis.

Regular reporting to legislators on the progress of the local governments in their districts in completing the buyout process and the overall recovery effort.

Establishment of a Citizens' Advisory Council to be co-chaired by Robert Barnhill, a Tarboro contractor, and Charles Penny, an assistant city manager of Rocky Mount.

Changing the rules and regulations to reflect this emergency, rather than continuing to move at the pace of business as usual.

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