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Post by chewey on Nov 8, 2012 16:23:38 GMT -5
Getting health insurance for yourself is not a burden. Millions of Americans do it so why canÂ’t wrestlers? Wrestlers have gotten insurance for themselves forever. It's not a new idea. Anyone who has ever had a job knows you can get full medical coverage or tailor the coverage for your particular financial needs. Hold on a second. Sorry to sound like I'm Fact-Check.org or something. Things might be different now with Obamacare in terms of who you can turn away, but I know I wouldn't insure a professional wrestler for health worth crap if I were an insurance company, would you? |
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Post by swarm on Nov 8, 2012 16:29:20 GMT -5
Getting health insurance for yourself is not a burden. Millions of Americans do it so why canÂ’t wrestlers? Wrestlers have gotten insurance for themselves forever. It's not a new idea. Anyone who has ever had a job knows you can get full medical coverage or tailor the coverage for your particular financial needs. Hold on a second. Sorry to sound like I'm Fact-Check.org or something. Things might be different now with Obamacare in terms of who you can turn away, but I know I wouldn't insure a professional wrestler for health worth crap if I were an insurance company, would you? Of course they would, they just charge them a higher premium than the average Joe. How do you think stuntmen, pro athletes and race card drivers etc...get insurance? It's no different than if the WWE were to try and get a blanket company policy (which is what Pete is proposing). The insurance companies would have gigantic boners whilst forcing Vince to sign to their terms (where else is he going to go?) Difference is as a whole, WWE would not be able to afford such a blanket policy. It would probably ruin them in no time, paying out of pocket annually for hundreds of employees. |
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Post by LWPD on Nov 8, 2012 20:25:38 GMT -5
However, this issue has not been decided by the courts. Raven, Kanyon, and Mike Sanders filed suit in 2008, but the complaint was so poorly drafted that I had no idea what they were claiming as damages or relief, and the judge dismissed the case on a procedural technicality so that no legal questions were ever resolved. (Probably because the judge didn't feel like ruling on it because whatever he ruled on would likely be appealed anyway). Even if I stretch my memory really far, I can't recall Sanders stint in WWE. I know it happened...but it was just so forgettable. A PDF of that lawsuit is below: Scott Levy (known professionally as Raven), Christopher Klucsarits (known professionally as Chris Kanyon), and Michael Sanders (known professionally as Mike Sanders) vs WWEThe most serious challenge to the WWE 'independent contractor' vs 'employee' classification issue was in the form of a Connecticut Department of Labor investigation. It was launched during Linda's first campaign in 2010, at the suggestion of her opponent, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. As one would expect, Blumenthal used it as a campaign issue. In Spring of 2011, the CDOL investigation concluded, and as of today the independent contractor classification remains legal and in tact several decades enduring. Courtesy of wwe.com
Setting The Record StraightAccusation:"The allegations against WWE seem to be criminal in nature…because allegations about independent contractors are investigated by the Department of Labor and the Department of Revenue Services..."
Richard Blumenthal -- Oct. 4, 2010
Truth:
WWE has always complied with the law, and constantly reviews its internal practices and procedures to comply with ever-changing employee laws.
For the entirety of WWE's existence, WWE talent have been classified as independent contractors and not employees.
There is not now, nor has there ever been, any criminal investigation into WWE's treatment of its Superstars as independent contractors.
WWE's treatment and reporting of its talent as independent contractors has never been challenged or questioned by any federal or state regulatory body during the entirety of WWE's existence.
Up until this election, WWE has not been investigated in the past for independent contractor classification. |
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Post by chewey on Nov 8, 2012 23:25:16 GMT -5
Thanks LWPD, I found and read the lawsuit from the same employment law blog that you linked, and was wondering why senate opponents hadn't also raised the issue. I did not realize a state agency had investigated the issue, although I still think the courts would have been tougher on the issue than the agency was.
If we had had any outcome on the merits of this case, it would likely have been appealed to the highest court since it would be an industry-changing decision. Swarm is right in that the WWE would probably be 'ruined' by such outcome. Health insurance, worker's compensation claims, and increased taxes (I doubt most talent would accept the "you're getting less on your paycheck because we are now paying for half of the payroll taxes that you used to be paying for" argument) - all of those costs would be very costly to WWE and their umbrella of in-ring talent. Maybe it would not have been such a problem in the mid-90s when they barely had 30 active competitors working at one time, not with the three or so brands that they have today.
As for Mike Sanders... I don't think he ever competed in a WWE ring except maybe as an extra during the Invasion angle, he was mostly just sent to developmental and eventually let go.
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Post by Sinclair Promotions on Nov 10, 2012 0:07:24 GMT -5
MCMAHON SAYS NO PLANS TO RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE AGAIN
- Speaking to Business Week, former WWE CEO Linda McMahon said that she doesn't see herself running for public office again although things can always change. McMahon is fresh off a second - and much wider - defeat in the Senate elections, having blown almost $100 million for the two campaigns spanning over 4 years. For the first campaign in 2010, McMahon did not accept any donations and funded the whole thing with her own money to a tune of $50 million. "I feel really good about what I've accomplished. I think people were more thoroughly convinced the second time around that I was passionate about these issues," McMahon said. When asked about running again, McMahon said she gave it a really good and strong shot but it didn't work out. "At this moment, it's not a consideration. Things can always change but it's not something I anticipate right now." She noted that she discovered that she lost this year's election when she was sitting by herself while she was gathering thoughts of would would be a victory speech. She said she saw on ABC that Chris Murphy's name popped up as the winner just 40 minutes after polls in Connecticut closed, leaving her "stunned for a moment."
Courtesy Wrestling Online Newsletter
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