Briefcase

Site aims to help disabled find work

The Washington Department of Social and Health Services has launched a website that will help workers with disabilities find employment.

Pathways to Employment allows users to create resumes, find the names of businesses in their area, and view videos of success stories.

A benefits calculator enables workers to determine how much money they can make without jeopardizing Social Security payments or other benefits.

“Many Washingtonians with a disability want to work,” said Stephen Kozak, a Medicaid purchasing project manager who led the team that developed the site.

But many fear that job income could cut them off from Social Security, he said.

In Spokane County, more than 33,000 report some kind of disability. Of those, more than 9,500 work, 2,700 are out of work but looking, and 21,250 are out of the labor force.

The site, at www. pathways.dshs.wa.gov., was developed with a $416,305 federal grant.

Bert Caldwell

Greek EU official sees euro threat

ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s EU commissioner issued a dire warning Wednesday that the country’s debt crisis threatened its cherished participation in the euro, as Prime Minister George Papandreou pledged to see through new unpopular cutbacks.

The EU’s fisheries commissioner, Greece’s Maria Damanaki warned that “the scenario of removing Greece from the euro is now on the table.”

Damanaki does not represent the Greek government, but she is part of the ruling Socialist party.

Associated Press

Whistleblowers rule offers cash for tips

WASHINGTON – Whistleblowers who report corporate fraud or other misconduct to the government could receive sizable cash awards under new rules adopted Wednesday by federal regulators.

Tipsters would be eligible if they give the Securities and Exchange Commission information that leads to an enforcement action resulting in more than $1 million in penalties. The SEC would pay up to 30 percent of the money it recovers from a company or person.

A divided SEC voted 3-2 to adopt the whistleblower program. The two Republican commissioners objected.

The new rules will take effect in about 60 days.

Associated Press

MGA ups ante in Bratz doll dispute

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Toy company MGA Entertainment Inc. asked a judge Wednesday to follow up its win over archrival Mattel Inc. last month in a trial over who owns the rights to the popular Bratz doll line by awarding MGA more than $339 million in punitive damages, attorney fees and other costs, saying the litigation had done irreparable damage to the smaller company and its finances.

Jurors who heard the case in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana awarded Los Angeles-based MGA more than $88 million after finding Mattel liable for the misappropriation of trade secrets.

Associated Press