Contesting jobless claims becomes a boom industry

[brentspeak]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/us/04talx.html?hp

Contesting Jobless Claims Becomes a Boom Industry
By JASON DePARLE
Published: April 3, 2010

WASHINGTON — With a client list that reads like a roster of Fortune 500 firms, a little-known company with an odd name, the Talx Corporation, has come to dominate a thriving industry: helping employers process — and fight — unemployment claims.

snip

The work has made Talx a boom business in a bust economy, but critics say the company has undermined a crucial safety net. Officials in a number of states have called Talx a chronic source of error and delay. Advocates for the unemployed say the company seeks to keep jobless workers from collecting benefits.

“Talx often files appeals regardless of merits,” said Jonathan P. Baird, a lawyer at New Hampshire Legal Assistance. “It’s sort of a war of attrition. If you appeal a certain percentage of cases, there are going to be those workers who give up.”

When fewer former workers get aid, a company pays lower unemployment taxes.

[Lasher]

1. Just like the health insurance companies.

Claim denied = CEO bonus.