Penn State and Restitution

June 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Artist Michael Pilato this week painted a blue ribbon — a symbol for awareness of child sexual abuse — on the portion of his “Inspiration State College” mural in State College, PA, that once included the image of recently convicted pedophile Jerry Sandusky.

So now what? It’s over?

Although the U.S. Supreme Court insists that corporations have the same free speech rights and citizens, it is not likely that Penn State – the institution – will be indicted and hauled into court as an accessory in the Sandusky matter.

Some former Penn State officials do face prosecution. Gary Schultz, Penn State’s former vice president of business administration, and Tim Curley, the university’s former athletic director, await trial on one count each of perjury and failing to report an alleged instance of child-sex abuse in a Penn State athletic-facility shower in 2001. The men have pleaded not guilty. However, former Penn State President Graham Spanier  who was ousted by Penn State’s trustees in November, continues to draw a salary. No criminal charges have been filed against him.

It can be argued that Penn State as an institution looked the other way where Sandusky was concerned, placing vulnerable children in harms way.  Penn State’s complacency allowed Sandusky, a former assistant football coach, to use his affiliation at Penn State, not to mention the athletic department shower room, to accomplish many of his evil acts.

Penn State will be sued civilly by some of Sandusky’s immediate victims but it seems to me that the university owes a greater debt.  I propose that Penn State consider restitution for its role in the Sandusky tragedy.

Penn State has among the largest endowments ($1.7 billion) of any private university in the world. Why not use some of that money to fund a scientific research program on pedophilia?  How can society combat this insidious menace. What kinds of treatments might really work? And what should the legal system do with pedophiles, who have alarming rates of recidivism.

Also, I propose that Penn State endow a scholarship for the type of poor and vulnerable “at risk”  children who were targeted by Jerry Sandusky. Maybe even ten scholarships, one for each of Sandusky’s victims. Maybe 45 for each count for which Sandusky was convicted?

While I’m at it, here are some other suggestions for Penn State:

  • Next time someone complains to a university official (not to mention the University President) about a potential crime, consider it an opportunity to act to limit the university’s liability..
  • Even the best personnel policies in the world are meaningless if they are not followed. Personnel policies should apply to everyone on campus — not just the cafeteria staff and janitors. There should be basic procedures in place that kick in whenever a complaint is lodged with the campus administration regardless of who is involved.
  • It’s easy to forget that the university’s reputation is more important than the reputation of the football team. Hey, maybe that should be painted on the Penn State mural?

Sandusky was found guilty last week on 45 of 48 counts related to sexual abuse of boys over a 15-year period.

 

Filed Under: DISPATCHES Tagged With: , , pedophilia, , personnel policies, Restitution, Second Mile, State College

I Will Ruin … Who?

June 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

NOTE:  State College of Florida President Lars Hafner subsequently  resigned on Oct. 30, 2012 with a $363,000 settlement agreement.  The board  voted 7-0 in January 2013 to hire a new president,   Dr. Carol Probstfeld,  formerly vice president for business and administrative services at the college.  Carlos Beruff, a realtor, remains on the board.  Sigh.

Go quietly or I will ruin you.
That alleged threat is at the heart of what promises to be a costly battle between two titans at State College of Florida (SCF) in Manatee-Sarasota.

The Bradenton Herald reports that the college’s board of trustees voted  5-2 this week to ask Florida’s Attorney General to investigate an allegation of forgery against SCF President Lars Hafner.

Hafner says the vote stems from a campaign of bullying by SCF board chairperson Carlos Beruff.  He recounted a private conversation with Beruff about nine months ago in which Beruff allegedly told Hafner, “If you don’t go quietly, I’m going to ruin you and ruin your reputation.”

Beruff has accused Hafner of forging former board president Steve Harner’s name on a 2010 state grant application for SCF’s Collegiate School charter school. Hafner contends he signed Harner’s to the document with Harner’s permission.

Hafner accused Beruff of risking the college’s reputation for the sake of what Hafner called Beruff’s personal and political agenda against him.

“This has been nine months of, basically, a witch hunt, and of you bullying me,” Hafner said to Beruff. “You’ve been doing it in private so other board members were not aware of what you’re saying or doing.”

At a special board meeting called by Beruff , Beruff presented an affidavit from attorney Greg Porges, whom Beruff had hired privately to research the forgery question, in which Porges said Harner did not authorize Hafner to sign the grant application in his stead.

Hafner presented an affidavit directly from former president Harner, in which Harner stated he believed that in up to four instances he had authorized Hafner to sign his name on Harner’s behalf and with Harner’s “direction and instruction.”

Meanwhile, board member Jennifer Saslaw, one of two board members to vote against taking the case to the attorney general, said Harner told her that Hafner’s signature on the application was made with Harner’s approval.

Joe Miller, the other board member to vote against involving the attorney general, questioned whether Beruff was attacking Hafner at the behest of Gov. Rick Scott, whose has proposed eliminating tenure for university employees and cutting the pay of university and college presidents.

Judge Ed Nicholas, a member of the SCF Foundation, accused the SCF board of “destroying the morale of this school” and driving away donors.  “Ever since you’ve been chairman, you’ve done nothing but attack this college or attack the staff,” Miller said. “I’m not sure who’s running things, the governor or this board.”

Hafner also said he was exploring whether Beruff violated state statutes by sharing information about Hafner’s evaluation.

One can’t help but wonder whether at any point the above officials considered other options to settle their difference? Say, mediation?  Counseling about the proper role of the administration versus the board? A duel?

Filed Under: DISPATCHES Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wage Theft Goes Unpunished

June 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

If you rob a liquor store and get caught, you may serve time in prison.

But nothing much happens when an unscrupulous employer steals money from an employee’s paycheck.

That’s the sad conclusion of a national report recently released by the Progressive States Network (PSN), entitled,  Where Theft is Legal: Mapping Wage Theft Laws in the 50 States.

The PSN report finds that state laws are grossly inadequate to combat the epidemic of “wage theft” by unscrupulous employers in the United States. Some states levy no fines at all for wage theft, according to the report, while most others invoke penalties smaller than a speed­ing ticket.

 Wage theft is the systemic non-payment of wages that owed to workers.

The PSN estimates that more than 60% of low-wage workers suffer wage violations each week. On average, the PSN reports, low-wage workers lose $51 per week to wage theft, or $2,634 per year.  For low-wage workers, that amounts to 15% of their annual income, at average earnings of $17,616 per year.

The problem also costs states millions of dollars each year in lost revenue.  Yet, according to PSN, the vast majority of states have few, if any, protections against wage theft.   “Our comprehensive survey of state laws … reveals that 44 of the 50 states (plus Washington, DC) do not receive passing grades on combat­ing the wage theft epidemic,” states the PSN report.

Even states that ranked highly in the PSN survey –  New York and Massachusetts –  received barely passing grades.

Two states — Alabama and Mississippi — scored zero points in the survey, indicating they essentially offer workers no protection at all against wage theft.

Wage theft typically occurs when employers misclassify workers as exempt employees under federal or state wage and hour laws to avoid paying overtime. For example, a cashier may be called a manager even though he or she has no management duties.. Or employers fail to pay workers the minimum wage or cheat them of earned benefits.  Subcontracting employers often try to shirk their responsibilities under wage-and-hour law by claiming that a temp agency or another inter­mediary is actually the sole employer responsible for wage payment.

The PSN reports the ability of the federal and state governments to enforce wage and hour laws has sharply declined in recent years.

The U.S. De­partment of Labor (USDOL) has only one enforcement agent for every 141,000 workers, down from one per 11,000 workers in 1941.  The PSN reports that state revenue shortfalls and layoffs have resulted in less than 15% of the enforcement coverage offered by state agencies several decades ago.

In 2008, the National Employment Law Project (NELP) and a team of advocates, policy groups, and academic research centers surveyed workers in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York and  found:

  •  64% of low-wage workers experience wage theft each week.
  • 26% are paid under the legal minimum wage.
  • 76% of workers owed overtime go unpaid or underpaid.

Since the NELP report, New York passed the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2010, which is considered to be the strongest state law in the country, with beefed up anti-retaliation provisions, requirements for notification, and a remedy that allows workers to recover damages.

Founded in 2005, the PSN provides coordinated research and strategic advocacy tools to state legislators and their staffs, empowering these decision-makers to adopt progressive policies.

Filed Under: DISPATCHES Tagged With: Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, low-wage workers, National Employment Law Project, New York Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2010, , PSN, , , Where Theft is Legal Mapping Wage Theft Laws in the 50 States
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