Jay-Z, otherwise known as Shawn Corey Carter, has been sued by the Workers’ Compensation board of New York. The issues in the lawsuit has to do with workers’ compensation. There are questions about whether or not Jay-Z lapsed in his payments of this insurance, and if he has to pay a fine as a result.
You may recognize Jay-Z from his music career. He is a rapper, a record producer, and sometimes even an actor. Jay-Z has sold about 50 million albums (worldwide) and is said to have a net worth of around $450 million (in 2010). He has received thirteen Grammy awards. Two of his albums have been ranked in Rolling Stone Magazine’s “List of the 500 greatest albums of all time.”
Or, perhaps you have heard of Jay-Z because he is part owner of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets. He has created a clothing line called Rocawear. He is married to singer Beyonce, and is the father of her soon to be born child.
Recently, Jay-Z has been in the news for something that doesn’t match up very well with his many accomplishments. He has been sued by the Workers’ Compensation Board of New York. The board alleges that he failed to pay for the workers’ compensation insurance for his household staff for three months in 2009. Those workers would include people who he hired as cooks, maids, drivers, and others.
The agency has sued Jay-Z in order to collect the $18,000 in fines that a court has ordered him to pay, as a result of letting the workers’ compensation insurance lapse.
Workers’ Compensation is often referred to as “Worker’s Comp”. Employers are required to purchase a certain amount of this type of insurance to protect their workers. It was designed to make sure that an employee who becomes injured on the job will be able to receive the appropriate medical care that his or her injury requires.
Typically, workers’ compensation policies include benefits for lost wages, (from the days when the worker’s injury prevents him from doing his job). It can include funds that the employer can use for retraining the employee into a new job (that he or she can still preform despite their injury).
It could pay for the rehabilitation that a worker needs in order to be physically able to return to work. If a worker is killed during his job, the workers’ compensation policy can provide benefits to that worker’s family.
On the other side of this lawsuit, Jay-Z points out that the insurance only lapsed for three months. He says he has since acquired the appropriate amount of workers’ compensation insurance, and that he believed the problem to have been resolved. (Outside of the $18,000 fine, that is). It appears that the fine itself could be due to a clerical error. At this time, that is something that is being sorted out.
Image by Joella Marano on Flickr