Railroad Retirement Board Can't Say No to Disability Applicants

2008_12_nyrrb.jpgThe NY Times follows up its look at how over 90% of Long Island Rail Road employees apply for—and get—disability payments with an examination of the federal Railroad Retirement Board that approves disability. Apparently LIRR president Helena Williams wanted to attend a meeting (after learning about the LIRR employees' alleged abuse of the system), but "The board, with about $34 billion in assets, had not met formally in nearly two years, and no new meeting was scheduled. The three board members, all full-time presidential appointees, rarely met even in private, employees of the agency say." Last year, the board approved 98% of applications. and the NY Times reports the doctor who is meant to monitor the disability grants never ordered capacity evaluations to see if the applicants are truly disabled: "And of the 120 cases she reviewed last year, how many disability decisions did she disagree with? According to board officials: zero."

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And the UAW (and the press) wonders why so many voters are anti-union...

Disability: the best (and apparently the easiest) thing that can happen to a civil service worker.

Hope Obama cleans house there after he takes office. This is par for the course for the Bush administration. Did any of his appointees ever do a good job?

@ #1
WTF does this have to do with the UAW?
Oh, they're both unions- they're all the same right?

Maybe voters like you should get their heads out of their asses before they go shooting their mouths off.

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