Payroll Deductions

Two ethnically oriented charities in Los Angeles are trying to step up competition in the workplace for donations by paycheck deduction--long the fund-raising domain of the philanthropic powerhouse United Way. The Brotherhood Crusade, a black-run foundation formed in the aftermath of the Watts riots, is trying to expand its rights to conduct office campaigns from the public sector to private companies. The crusade's overtures have been resisted so far by two large utilities, but officials take heart from the fact that Safeway in Northern California and Pacific Power & Light in Oregon, among others, have acceded to similar requests from so-called "alternative funds."

Fiona Henlon still relives the shock of the letter that arrived three years ago. Citing a breakdown in its payroll system, Los Angeles County health officials explained that they had mistakenly paid the registered nurse an extra $6,200 over a two-year period. And the government was demanding the money back. Henlon, 45, said she hadn't realized that she'd received the added money because she has no set schedule and her paychecks fluctuate. "It is unfair," she said. "They made an error, and we are going to suffer for it. " Henlon is one of roughly 600 relief nurses used to fill county hospital staffing gaps who officials now say must repay a total of $1.8 million.

Democratic presidential front-runner Michael S. Dukakis called today for a new national student loan program that would rely on payroll deductions for repayment. The Massachusetts governor, speaking at the state's newest community college in Boston's Roxbury section, the core of the city's black community, said he is committed to providing opportunity in higher education.

SACRAMENTO - California voters appear poised to reject a November ballot measure that would ban political contributions by payroll deduction, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. Forty-four percent of those surveyed said they opposed Proposition 32, which would eliminate the main fundraising tool of unions. Just 36% said they supported the measure, which would also bar corporations and unions from contributing directly to candidates. Proponents of the measure, having focused squarely on unions in two past attempts to end paycheck deductions for political purposes, adopted the language of the Occupy Wall Street movement this time around and rebranded their campaign as an effort to curb the power of special interests.

Seeking to raise about $60 billion to pay for health care reform, the Clinton Administration is eyeing a new payroll deduction akin to the taxes already being taken out of paychecks for Social Security, Medicare and disability insurance, Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday. Consulting with more than 50 Republican and Democratic senators in a morning meeting, the First Lady also made clear that the White House has all but ruled out a national sales tax, also known as a value-added tax.

Fiona Henlon still relives the shock of the letter that arrived three years ago. Citing a breakdown in its payroll system, Los Angeles County health officials explained that they had mistakenly paid the registered nurse an extra $6,200 over a two-year period. And the government was demanding the money back. Henlon, 45, said she hadn't realized that she'd received the added money because she has no set schedule and her paychecks fluctuate. "It is unfair," she said. "They made an error, and we are going to suffer for it. " Henlon is one of roughly 600 relief nurses used to fill county hospital staffing gaps who officials now say must repay a total of $1.8 million.

"Campaign Reform Bill in Jeopardy" (July 12) demonstrates the main reason that such legislation is undesirable. Restricting the right of American industrial corporations to use their own resources to present their views will only enhance the already excessive influence of the news media, the entertainment industry, the education establishment and the rabid environmentalists. These groups include all manner of Luddites who would limit our scientific and industrial strength and progress and the higher standard of living that this strength and progress can provide.

The state has levied a $186,000 fine against the firm building the city of Compton's hotel and convention center for failing to provide workers with itemized statements of their payroll deductions. The fine, which involves 95 workers and 1,868 separate payroll violations, was levied against Tucon Development Co. of Sepulveda by the Department of Industrial Relations. State and federal labor and tax officials are still investigating allegations that workers were paid in cash, that they did not get overtime and that taxes were not deducted, according to Roger Miller, regional manager of the department's Bureau of Field Enforcement in Los Angeles.

While publicly reluctant to hike taxes, Gov. Gray Davis quietly signed legislation that will raise payroll deductions by as much as $74 next year to boost state disability benefits for workers. But the bigger deduction will not be enough to pay for the expanded benefits, which Davis' labor allies helped push through the Legislature this year, interviews and internal state documents suggest.

The controversy over Brotherhood Crusade leader Danny Bakewell's campaign to shut down a Korean grocery store moved to a new front Wednesday, as his backers and detractors clashed over whether Los Angeles County government workers should fund his organization through payroll deductions.

Brian Mulholland and Charlie Mettam play poker for a living, so keeping an eye on their money is second nature. But the two gamblers say even they can't figure out what happens to their 401(k) contributions after the money is deducted from their paychecks. Their employer, Hawaiian Gardens Casino, routinely takes nearly two weeks to deposit the contributions in their 401(k) accounts, the men say. Sometimes it takes even longer.

President Bush on Thursday flatly rejected a payroll tax increase to shore up Social Security, narrowing the range of options available to lawmakers to address the retirement system's long-term financial needs. "We will not raise payroll taxes to solve this problem," Bush told reporters following a meeting at the White House with Social Security trustees.

Brian Cashman has worked his way through the frustration and sleepless nights that immediately followed the four-game loss to the Angels in the division series. There is less pain now as the general manager of the New York Yankees talks about being "steamrolled and outplayed" in the series that catapulted the Angels to their first American League pennant and World Series title.

"Campaign Reform Bill in Jeopardy" (July 12) demonstrates the main reason that such legislation is undesirable. Restricting the right of American industrial corporations to use their own resources to present their views will only enhance the already excessive influence of the news media, the entertainment industry, the education establishment and the rabid environmentalists. These groups include all manner of Luddites who would limit our scientific and industrial strength and progress and the higher standard of living that this strength and progress can provide.

Moving against employers who refuse to withhold taxes from employee paychecks, state officials have raided the offices and home of an Orange County businessman who repeatedly has defied tax authorities. George "Nick" Jesson, in broadcasts and newspaper interviews, even brags that federal tax authorities refunded $217,000 in personal taxes he paid in the past.

A bitter labor clash in Huntington Beach took a new turn Tuesday when city negotiators said a $200-a-month deduction in police pay is needed to cover medical expenses but officers called the move an unexpected and unappreciated pay cut. Police said the deduction is being used to bail out the city's "failing" health care plan, but city leaders counter that officers were well aware of the monthly deduction and that the city's medical plan is sound.

An innovative plan allowing Los Angeles city employees to make child support payments through payroll deductions took its first baby steps just two months ago. Now the program, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, is off and running like a curious toddler.

Los Angeles School Supt. Bill Anton and two of his top aides have yet to make good on public pledges to cut their salaries by 10% and "share the pain" wrought by district budget cuts. Anton on Thursday called the failure "an oversight" and ordered the district's payroll department to begin immediate deductions to reduce his $161,390 annual salary by $16,139 this school year. "It's unfortunate . . . it was something I overlooked," Anton said.

While publicly reluctant to hike taxes, Gov. Gray Davis quietly signed legislation that will raise payroll deductions by as much as $74 next year to boost state disability benefits for workers. But the bigger deduction will not be enough to pay for the expanded benefits, which Davis' labor allies helped push through the Legislature this year, interviews and internal state documents suggest.

After spending more than $17 million on a long-anticipated overhaul of Los Angeles' computerized payroll system, the city controller has decided to scrap it. In a letter sent to Mayor Richard Riordan on Friday, Controller Rick Tuttle essentially recommends that the current, nearly 30-year-old computer system continue to handle the job of issuing paychecks to the city's 32,000 workers. With the project a year behind schedule and millions over budget, Tuttle said the city should cut its losses.