State officials are still working overtime to shield government unions from the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME. This week, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office has issued new guidelines effectively giving the unions the first say on efforts by employees to opt out of union dues payments. Read More
For New Yorkers wondering whether a statewide single-payer plan would be feasible and affordable, the RAND Corporation’s just-published report provides only partial answers. Read More
Desperate to minimize a potential loss of dues under a recent Supreme Court ruling, one of New York State’s largest public employee unions is telling public employers to disregard the union’s own previously stated conditions for letting workers stop paying dues. The tactic employed by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) in response to the Janus v. AFSCME decision will put local governments in a bind—which is likely to end up generating added legal bills for taxpayers. Read More
The number of retirees receiving pensions over $100,000 from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) increased by 20 percent during the system’s 2018 fiscal year, according to data posted today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
New York's unfunded liability for state government retiree health coverage has reached $90.5 billion—an increase of $3 billion over last year's estimate, and nearly $13 billion in just two years, according to the just-released First Quarterly Update to the state's FY 2019 Financial Plan. The liability for other post-employment benefits, or OPEB, reflects the net present value of continuing state health insurance coverage available to all employees who retire directly from a state government payroll after at least 10 years of service. Read More
At least 856 New York state and local government employees under age 65 have received special permission to collect both public pensions and full government paychecks, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
This is only the latest instance in which politics seem to be taking precedence over public interest at a consumer-focused regulatory agency. Read More
As the state awaits the RAND Corp.’s analysis of a proposed single-payer health plan for New York, the organization’s study of a similar plan in Oregon offers a potentially instructive preview. Read More