CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Criminal charges against former Massey CEO Don Blankenship have returned attention to a basic question: How can America's coal mines be made safer?
Blankenship stands accused in connection to the 2010 tragedy at Upper Big Branch where 29 miners died.
Ellen Smith, editor of Mine Safety and Health News, is one of the nation's experts on the issue.
She says a problem at Upper Big Branch was that it's almost impossible for Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors to keep a mine shut until a bad operator changes its way of doing business.
"MSHA can only shut down a section of a mine or a piece of mining equipment,” Smith points out. “They just don't have the capability to say, "Shut down this mine and clean everything up."
Blankenship has said he is innocent and that he's been indicted because of his criticism of federal mine safety officials. The industry argues that Upper Big Branch was the exception.
Smith says it's true that most mines are well run, and a few operators cause most of the problems.
Smith worked on an investigation with National Public Radio that found a few especially dangerous mine operators essentially ignore millions of dollars of mine-safety fines.
Smith says they routinely put their miners at risk.
But a bill sponsored by the Democratic Party to give mine safety officials more power to target operators died in gridlock.
"Legislation that is now dead in Congress would have allowed MSHA to shut a mine down like UBB if it has delinquent penalties and it's not paying attention to safety," she points out.
Blankenship is accused of heading a conspiracy to make Massey's mines look safer than they were.
Smith says a key part of this was the practice of having supervisors calling into the mines and ordering the miners to repair violations before the inspectors arrived.
"Mr. Blankenship allegedly ordered people to tell the miners when mine inspectors were coming so they could fix problems and violations underground," she maintains.
Smith adds another specific charge against Blankenship is that he cheated investors by claiming in financial documents that Massey's mines were safer than he knew them to be.
"They're saying that he filed false information when he said that Massey obeyed the law, that they were not in violation of the mine act, that he ran a very safe operation, which clearly wasn't true," she says.
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A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are prioritizing coordination so potential cases do not fall through the cracks.
Since Minnesota adopted a wage theft law in 2019, it has seen a handful of high profile examples of state and local officials going after companies accused of shortchanging workers.
John Choi, Ramsey County Attorney, feels Minnesota is starting to come around to the idea such matters should not just be resolved through civil penalties. He said there are some keys to taking the next step in seeing a wave of additional cases.
"It's really doing the investigations," Choi explained. "Then also making sure that we get referrals from other agencies that might be doing that civil enforcement."
Choi's office has hired a wage theft investigator, though stakeholders acknowledged not all county prosecutors and sheriff's departments around the state have such resources.
Choi co-chairs the Labor Advisory Council in the Twin Cities, which leads discussions with key partners and labor leaders about working more closely on the issue, including knowing when it is appropriate to pursue a criminal investigation.
Minnesota's Attorney General has been aggressive in combating wage theft but is only allowed to file civil lawsuits. The decision on criminal charges is up to county prosecutors. Choi emphasized the good news is the Attorney General can lend support to under-resourced offices. He suggested community members can spur more interest, too.
"I also think, just locally around the state, a lot of local sheriffs would be interested in undertaking some of these investigations once they start hearing from the public," Choi noted.
Under Minnesota's wage theft law, an employer can now be charged with a felony. Choi added there are other legal tools, such as charges sought by the revenue department, and said it is a matter of ensuring agencies are not working in silos.
The Labor Advisory Council said wage theft is rampant among nonunion construction activity. It estimates in the Twin Cities, employers steal more than $3 million in wages each year.
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Legislation proposed by Maine Gov. Janet Mills would ensure thousands of farmworkers are eligible to receive the state minimum wage.
Current law requires they be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, compared to the state minimum wage of $14.15.
Cynthia Phinney, president of Maine AFL-CIO, said the bill still lacks protection from excessive forced overtime or the allowance for an unpaid rest break after six hours of work.
"Those are things that other workers are entitled to already and farmworkers are not," Phinney pointed out. "Certainly farmworkers work hard enough."
Phinney noted the legislation would require employers to keep records of their workers' hours and provide them with pay stubs. Some farmers have opposed the increase in wages and overtime protections, saying it could force them to cut workers' hours.
Farmworkers were intentionally excluded from benefits and protections in the National Labor Relations Act, which protects the rights of workers to unionize and collectively bargain. They were also originally exempted from wage and overtime protections in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Phinney argued it is time to correct the historical injustice.
"It's not lost on us that they were classifications that included largely workers of color," Phinney observed. "They included domestic workers, farmworkers."
Gov. Mills vetoed previous bills to ensure wage and other protections for farmworkers, only to develop a committee of union organizers, farmers, state agencies and lawmakers to develop the new legislation. If passed by the Legislature, the minimum wage for farmworkers would take effect Sept. 1, peak harvest time for Maine's blueberries and apples.
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With tax season winding down, efforts continue to spread the word about Minnesota's new Child Tax Credit.
Outreach leaders say it's another way to help struggling households land on firmer financial ground.
Under the plan approved by lawmakers last year, families who qualify will receive up to $1,750 per child, with no limits on the number of children for filers claiming the credit.
The Children's Defense Fund's Economic Justice Outreach Manager Natletha Sumo Kollie said the extra refund will complement aid programs these households might be relying on.
"Public programs, right now as they exist, are really something that we call expense reducers," said Kollie. "If you have SNAP, it can only go towards food. But the idea of flexible cash, from tax-credit refunds, it's something that you can use for other things."
That might include a car repair or paying off some medical debt. State revenue officials say so far, about 145,000 filed returns have claimed the credit.
Among those eligible are households with little to no income that aren't required to file taxes.
Kollie said there are barriers to reaching those families and easing their fears about going through the process of receiving the tax benefit.
To help as many people as possible learn about the Child Tax Credit, the Children's Defense Fund has added it to its "Bridge to Benefits" platform.
Kollie said you can find out if you're eligible through this online screening tool.
"You just answer a few questions about the county that you live in, your family makeup - to see if you're a single or married household, the ages of the children, your income," said Kollie, "and then the tool tells you what public programs and tax credits you're potentially eligible for."
And there's information on free tax prep sites in your area.
Her organization also partnered with the Minnesota Budget Project and Prepare & Prosper in developing a website with specific details on the CTC called ClaimYourMoneyMN.com.
Kollie said the new benefit isn't a cure-all in addressing poverty, but it should help.
She said benefit cliffs remain a challenge.
That's when a household gains a little more income, then loses a public aid benefit - and what they earn doesn't make up for that loss, leaving them economically unstable.
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