Gingersnap
12-09-2010, 11:47 AM
Some unemployed jobseekers trying to double dip
written by: Jeffrey Wolf Eric Kahnert 15 hrs ago
DENVER - He's got jobs to fill, yet one local employer says many applicants will only take the work if the pay is in cash. That cash, he says, would be paid under the table so the worker can continue to collect unemployment benefits.
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A few local industrial companies are starting to see more potential employees trying to cheat the system.
Ed Sleeman, owner of Colorado Drywall Supply, posted two new jobs eight months ago.
Dozens of applications later, Sleeman still can't find two qualified truck drivers willing to load and unload building supplies, despite Colorado's 8.4 percent unemployment rate.
And it's not that all of the jobseekers have been unqualified.
Sleeman says about 40 of the applicants have admitted they're unemployed, and are hoping to double dip.
"They'll come in and say, 'Well, I'd look at the job but if you could pay me cash I'd take the job so I could keep my unemployment,'" Sleeman said.
Sleeman says he isn't the type of business owner to pay under the table.
"There's no way we would do that," he said.
Sleeman says he's aware double dippers have been approaching other businesses in the industrial sector.
What's worse, he says, he's heard of companies willing to pay under the table to avoid extra costs, like health benefits
"I've had other people say that that they question, maybe their competitors are doing things similar to that, paying cash," Sleeman said.
Sleeman didn't think it'd ever be this tough to fill the two jobs in this economy.
At $10 and $15 an hour, more with experience, the jobs come with benefits, but Sleeman says, apparently that's not enough for some people without jobs.
"People don't want to seem to want to work if they're already getting paid," Sleeman said.
:rolleyes:
9 News (http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=168698&catid=339)
written by: Jeffrey Wolf Eric Kahnert 15 hrs ago
DENVER - He's got jobs to fill, yet one local employer says many applicants will only take the work if the pay is in cash. That cash, he says, would be paid under the table so the worker can continue to collect unemployment benefits.
Advertisement
A few local industrial companies are starting to see more potential employees trying to cheat the system.
Ed Sleeman, owner of Colorado Drywall Supply, posted two new jobs eight months ago.
Dozens of applications later, Sleeman still can't find two qualified truck drivers willing to load and unload building supplies, despite Colorado's 8.4 percent unemployment rate.
And it's not that all of the jobseekers have been unqualified.
Sleeman says about 40 of the applicants have admitted they're unemployed, and are hoping to double dip.
"They'll come in and say, 'Well, I'd look at the job but if you could pay me cash I'd take the job so I could keep my unemployment,'" Sleeman said.
Sleeman says he isn't the type of business owner to pay under the table.
"There's no way we would do that," he said.
Sleeman says he's aware double dippers have been approaching other businesses in the industrial sector.
What's worse, he says, he's heard of companies willing to pay under the table to avoid extra costs, like health benefits
"I've had other people say that that they question, maybe their competitors are doing things similar to that, paying cash," Sleeman said.
Sleeman didn't think it'd ever be this tough to fill the two jobs in this economy.
At $10 and $15 an hour, more with experience, the jobs come with benefits, but Sleeman says, apparently that's not enough for some people without jobs.
"People don't want to seem to want to work if they're already getting paid," Sleeman said.
:rolleyes:
9 News (http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=168698&catid=339)