FRANKFORT, Ky. - With blustery winter cold blasting the bluegrass, a statewide social service agency wants to blunt the chill of home heating costs for low-income families in financial crisis.

Rob Jones, executive director of Community Action Kentucky, says Kentuckians who are facing utility disconnection or running low on heating fuel can apply for relief through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

"What we're looking for specifically is qualified families that are in imminent danger of losing heat, either because it will be shut if they have gas or electric and the bills aren't paid or there's proof they're going to run out of that heating source."

Michael Moynahan, Community Action's energy program director, says the crisis component of LIHEAP has run through March in the past, but with a nearly 23 percent reduction in federal dollars from last year, funds are likely to be tapped before then.

"It's not an increase from last year. We're still going to receive less money this year for LIHEAP than we did last year. But, it's an increase in what we thought."

Congress has awarded $44 million to Kentucky to run the LIHEAP program. Last year, says Moynahan, Kentucky spent $57 million in energy-assistance benefits. The program helps struggling households threatened with utility shutoff and with vouchers for bulk fuels such as propane, wood, kerosene and coal.

"We just want everybody to know that it is there. If they have a disconnect notice or they're within four days of running out of a bulk fuel, they go to their nearest Community Action office and apply. "

The crisis component of the federally funded LIHEAP program begins today and operates until funds are exhausted. Applicants must be at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level - just over $2,300 for a family of four - and meet other criteria.

More information about eligibility is available online at communityaction.org or by calling toll-free 1-800-456-3452.


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Illinois voters approved a "Workers' Rights Amendment" to the state constitution which broadens the state workforce's rights to collective bargaining.

The Nov. 8 ballot initiative, passed by 58% of Illinois voters, is a broadly worded expansion of the collective bargaining process extending beyond traditional terms and conditions of employment. Backers predict it will have a significant impact on bargaining rights, in both the public and private sectors.

Ann Lousin, professor of Law at the University of Illinois-Chicago, said the amendment could bring major changes to the labor movement in Illinois.

"I think that's going to be a huge thing," Lousin contended. "We're getting a resurgence of workers saying, 'We want to be able to have collective bargaining.' Now, you have an interesting question as to what more rights would workers feel that they should have?"

Lousin said the Illinois amendment, which was originally a resolution passed by the General Assembly, goes beyond the standard protections in current labor law, giving workers the added ability to bargain to, quote, "protect their economic welfare and safety at work." Language in the amendment also blocks Illinois from passing a so-called "right-to-work law," which would end compulsory union membership.

Business groups and others opposed the measure, claiming the amendment would give unions too much power, lead to more labor strikes, and force companies to move to other states.

Lousin noted opponents used fear tactics to gain "no" votes, but more than 2.1 million Illinoisans voted "yes."

"People from the conservative side will say, 'You know, we have a Workers' Rights Amendment in our state constitution, and we have a public pension right, and these are killing us. This is why your taxes are so high.' "

The Illinois State Board of Elections is scheduled to meet Dec. 5 to review the election results and make them official.

Women of color working in health care are the most likely to lose out on wages they have earned because employers fail to pay what they owe, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Investigations have found 80% of violations affect home-care aides, nursing aides and licensed practical nurses, especially women working in Black, Hispanic and Asian communities.

Joseph Callihan, wage and hour investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor, said the most common violations are a failure to pay overtime or federal minimum wages, or misclassifying employees as independent contractors.

"These cases can be either complaint-driven cases or they can be target-driven," Callihan explained. "Where we know this industry is problematic, and we will go ahead and do a directed investigation."

Earlier this month, the Labor Department recovered $1.2 million in back wages for 599 home health care workers at three employers in Texas and one in Louisiana. In Texas, the department found the employers' pay practices violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and calculated 400 employees were owed $841,000 in overtime back wages.

The three Texas employers found to have violated laws were located in Laredo, Pharr and San Juan. Callihan noted an employer's failure to pay is not always intentional, and can be because they do not know the rules, even though the Labor Department provides "fact sheets."

"There's generally overtime violations in the industry, where they could be paying straight time for overtime, or they could be backing into the overtime rates," Callihan added.

Since 2021, the federal agency has completed more than 1,600 investigations, and recovered almost $29 million in back wages and damages for nearly 25,000 workers, with employer fines totaling more than $1 million.

A new proposal from the U-S Department of Labor would clearly define what it means to be an independent contractor. Currently, the Department of Labor's definition refers to independent contractors as, "workers who, as a matter of economic reality, are not economically dependent on their employer for work and are in business for themselves."

A new definition would more clearly distinguish between them and regular employees, who are covered by more federal labor protections.

Jack Fiorito, a distinguished professor at Florida State University, explained what the new definition would do.

"The Department of Labor is saying, in effect, there are too many instances where people are, for all practical purposes, employees," Fiorito said, "but are being excluded from these laws because they're technically considered, according to the contracting party, they're considered independent contractors."

Fiorito said some opposition has come from employers who do not see themselves as such. Others are worried the gig economy would decay since independent contractors would be classified as employees, meaning they would not be making as much money. November 28 is the deadline to submit comments to the Department of Labor about the proposal.

Rapid growth in the recent decade of gig-economy companies that utilize independent contractors has made this rule necessary. But, there could be some big challenges ahead. Fiorito said one of the big ones is that the recent elections will impact whether this proposal comes to fruition.

"If they could do something before the next Congress takes office, that's about another month or so, that would probably be their only chance to do it, really. Because I think the new Congress with a Republican majority in the House is probably going to be looking to roll back any such regulations that the Department of Labor might be considering rather than expanding those," Fiorito said.

He remains uncertain as to whether the new Congress will stall on this issue or come together on it. The new rule would have sweeping implications if enacted. According to the Department of Labor estimates, there are about 22.1-million independent contractors across the nation.