SC

More SCDEW Layoffs Coming

S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s embattled, incompetent “jobs agency” is shedding at least seventy-five employees – its second major reduction in force in the last four months. Last October, the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) shed 136 jobs. Sources tell FITS the employees being laid off are “people working the…

scdew sign

S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s embattled, incompetent “jobs agency” is shedding at least seventy-five employees – its second major reduction in force in the last four months.

Last October, the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) shed 136 jobs.

Sources tell FITS the employees being laid off are “people working the front lines with customers.” Meanwhile the agency’s upper management – led by retired general Abraham Turner – continues to add staff and enjoy lavish taxpayer-funded retreats.

“If things are so bad, why does (leadership) keep hiring highly paid supervisors?” a source familiar with the layoffs tells FITS. “Look at the listings on the job portal, almost everyone is at the management level. Who is going to do the work when all the employees are gone and only the micro managers are left?”

Good question …

Obviously none of these layoffs (or the October layoffs) will result in taxpayer savings – because as we’ve noted on numerous occasions South Carolina state government has no mechanism for rebating surpluses or savings back to the people.

SCDEW has been one disaster after another since Haley took office.  According to federal statistics, one out of every five dollars in unemployment benefits doled out by the agency is awarded erroneously – the eighth-highest percentage in the nation.  Not only that, South Carolinians who use the agency’s reemployment services take an average of 26.5 weeks to get off of the public dole.  Those who do not use SCDEW took only 22.3 weeks to find gainful employment.

That’s astounding … and further proof that government has no business “competing” in the job placement industry.

SCDEW received $231 million in the current fiscal year budget. The agency is still paying down a massive $933 million tab it owes the federal government for recession-era unemployment benefits. Most of this debt is being repaid in the form of tax hikes on businesses, although Haley and the “Republican-controlled” S.C. General Assembly decided in 2011 to shift $146 million of this burden directly onto the backs of individual taxpayers.

“It’s a great day in South Carolina,” right?

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19 comments

hhuuhh?? February 1, 2013 at 9:05 am

“Most of this debt is being repaid in the form of tax hikes on businesses, although Haley and the “Republican-controlled” S.C. General Assembly decided in 2011 to shift $146 million of this burden directly onto the backs of individual taxpayers.”

Individual taxpayers being required to pay back the debt that these businesses incurred over 20+ years of tax cuts during good times (when they should have been storing that grain for the bad times – how does such a “Christian” states forget that Bible story?…Oh, campaign contributions, you say) is one of the most egregious acts of corporate/business welfare we will ever see.

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Ironchef February 1, 2013 at 9:28 am

Unemployment taxes were never cut, fool.

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? February 1, 2013 at 10:23 am

“Individual taxpayers being required to pay back the debt that these businesses incurred over 20+ years of tax cuts during good times”

First of all, businesses didn’t “incur” them-they are thrust upon business by gov’t.

The taxes are based on unilateral decisions made by the SCDEW in a variety of areas, with a variety of metrics.

The decision to give people 2 years of unemployment instead of six months being an example. In one stroke, the SCDEW roughly quadrupled its internal costs relating to this policy.

That’s aside from SCDEW’s failure to stop abusers of the system(temp. labor agencies for example) or establish a reasonable and rigorous method by which to determine eligiblity of said benefits.(which frankly I think shouldn’t exist at all, but I digress)

This agency and the people running it are characterized by one simple word:

Failure

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Bonhoeffer February 1, 2013 at 9:26 am

This is typical SC government. As you state, the people on the frontline who actually do the work are the ones who are laid off–creating more work for the underpaid ones who remain. And at the same time more upper-level positions are filled at the management level, many at ridiculous salaries for what they actually do, which mainly seems to revolve around going to meetings and out of town conferences, or micromanaging things just to have something o do.

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Anonymous February 1, 2013 at 10:43 pm

That’s it exactly! And to top it off, my daughter was job shadowng me at work today, and I was laid off. Nice, huh?!

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JUST ME February 4, 2013 at 12:41 pm

If money is so tight that they have to lay off people, why not cut the ridiculous salaried of the person in charge along with his upper staff that do nothing? Why do they need an assistant to the assistant on some of their job position. Upper management just doesn’t care so long as they look good and get their fat checks.

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Smirks February 1, 2013 at 9:52 am

“Look at the listings on the job portal, almost everyone is at the management level. Who is going to do the work when all the employees are gone and only the micro managers are left?”

Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me! I know!

They’ll ask for more taxpayer funds, and then they’ll hire back a few of the peons with whatever is left over after giving themselves more pay raises.

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BigT February 1, 2013 at 12:15 pm

One good thing (that STUPID MoFo’s like FITS and his minions don’t get) Obama’s HORRIBLE Economy is leading to a cut in money for Government do-nothing employees…

Just like Sanford was able to look capable because of Bush’s GREAT productive economy..even though FITS and Sanford are McCain moderates…and HATED Bush…

Bush made Sanford look competent…just like Obama is making gov’t CUT jobs because of his depression…

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notagain February 2, 2013 at 9:37 am

Stock market has more than doubled in value under Obama. Like finding money!

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Jimmy February 1, 2013 at 1:34 pm

SCDEW gave the notices out today to the employees who are out the door with a swift kick. the worker bees are in unemployment lines and big management keeps getting bigger and bigger.

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SweepTheDeck February 2, 2013 at 4:56 pm

“the worker bees are in unemployment lines and big management keeps getting bigger and bigger”
========

Catherine T. at DHEC is rightly doing just the opposite. It’s not like it can’t be done.

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inciteful February 1, 2013 at 2:13 pm

The agency is also advertising another retreat At Hilton Head. Many of the regional workforce leaders told the SCDEW leader (aka, “da Gen-rul”) that due to decreased funding from him, it’s inapproriate to go to HH and they won’t attend. Reportedly his reply was, “We’re having it and it’s going to be at Hilton Head. That’s my favorite place to play golf.”

So there.

Incidently, the federal Department of Labor auditors chastized SCDEW for directly managing area work site offices telling the director to give them up to the regional workforce boards. With a wink-and-a-nod, Turner gave the regional Boards “functional supervision” but the managers he’s now hiring will be supervising these vary agencies for which he was found in “conflict of interest”. Wait till DOL hears of this! He’ll be back in trouble again.
He even openly campaigned for Obama in his state office! When will the legislature or the governor wake up to this guy?

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sc is on wrong path February 1, 2013 at 3:45 pm

FITS, you obviously do not understand is DEW is almost 99% federally funded from an operational standpoint. Federal Payroll taxes (FUTA- federal unemployment tax act) pays for the administration of the program – salaries, benefits, lights, heat, air, pens, paper etc. The Unemployment benefits are derived from state taxes leveled on business through SUTA (state unemployment tax act) which went bust. I think you need to look at the mid and late 90s when the legislature lowered the rates on businesses when the fund was over 800 million dollars. Although those were the “good years” those times are when you replenish the fund that pays for bad economic downturns which we now have seen (tech bubble burst, 911, double-dip recession etc).

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Henry February 1, 2013 at 4:45 pm

They are having a Veterans Conference this coming Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Myrtle Beach…staying at Embassy Suites in Kingston Plantation

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SC February 1, 2013 at 7:11 pm

Sic,

Only about one-third of what you say is accurate.

I don’t have the time or inclination to show all the errors of your ways, but one thing I do want to say is, until you spend a day in a SC Works Center, you have no idea how hard the front-line staff work to help those who have no other place to turn.

Re-employment services are an essential government function for one reason alone, they cannot turn people away. Staffing firms can chose to work, or not work with someone. For someone who has no, to little marketable skills, what should we do with them? In your little fantasy world it’s easy to just say, “get a job.” But seeing as how you have not had to look for work in over a decade, you have no idea how hard it is, nor how different the world is when it comes to navigating the 21st century hiring process.

Go into an SC Works Center and look around, talk to people, look them in the eye (staff and clients) and say this is not essential. Then post some pics and tell us about your experience. Until then, stop passing judgement on something you know little about.

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Anonymous February 1, 2013 at 10:40 pm

My daughter was job shadowing me at work today, and I was laid off. Classy, huh?!

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Horrified! February 1, 2013 at 10:52 pm

My daughter was job shadowing me today and I was laid off. Nice, huh?! I’m glad the higher-ups could care less about my children eating.

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Mary February 2, 2013 at 4:56 pm

Ah yes the managers with big salaries get hired and the little people that do all the work get fired. Remember how the legislature said this agency was so mismanaged that they restructured it? It’s now piss poor managed and no one got laid off back then. Great job idiots!

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Confused.... February 3, 2013 at 8:50 am

After looking at the postings for upper management in the portal mentioned, help me understand WTF a reemployment operations field manager is???? I thought that position was already occupied by a certain individual? I guess now she will just get to prance around and be even more unproductive and incompetent. Maybe since our work isn’t needed in the centers we should apply for that.

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