Latest news with #Coffey
Axios
16-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Federal workers tell their DOGE stories in new audio series
A dozen current and former federal employees detail how DOGE gutted their workplaces in a new audio series released Wednesday morning. Why it matters: The testimonials are from folks who've worked inside agencies responsible for the health and safety of millions of Americans — including a scientist who studies hepatitis C at the CDC, an FAA employee who supports air traffic controllers and a VA worker who counsels veterans. They warn that mass firings will have devastating consequences for real people. Zoom in: The series is called " I Do Solemnly Swear," based on the oath that federal workers take to" support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic..." The 16 short audio clips were put together by Federal Workers Against DOGE, a group that now comprises about 2,000 current and former federal employees and their allies. It's grown quickly from its origins as a Signal thread, and especially as the federal government has ramped back up the pace of firing, says Aisha Coffey, the group's spokesperson, who was just fired on Monday from her job at HHS, along with thousands of her colleagues. Testimonials are anonymous, but Coffey says the group vetted each person and the background of all its members. The point here is not to highlight the personal impact of mass layoffs. "Layoffs happen everywhere," Coffey says. "The idea behind the series is to make people understand what services and protections they're losing." Between the lines: By firing thousands of devoted federal employees, the White House has created a burgeoning and passionate opposition group. What they're saying: An IRS employee says there will be less policing of tax cheats. "It sends a huge signal that it is going to be OK not to pay your taxes." The FAA employee: "If you asked me today if I would feel safe getting on a plane in this country, I would say, yes," she says. "Ask me that question again in six months, and I might give you a different answer." "The impact of this is going to be so detrimental to the American worker," says an employee at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, whose job it is to keep workers safe — from factory employees to firefighters and mine workers. "They're trying to bring more factory work back to the United States. And if you're removing the people who can help you set that up in a safe way, you're going to end up with a lot of really sick people." The other side: The White House has said repeatedly that it is making job cuts in the name of efficiency.
Boston Globe
16-07-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Some Massachusetts parents face hurdles to access paid medical recovery time after childbirth
'It feels like the standard insurance thing of deny, deny, deny, until the person really fights back and understands their rights,' said Coffey, 36, of Arlington. 'And I just think putting mothers who have recently gone through childbirth through that is really egregious.' Advertisement This isn't what state lawmakers had in mind when they passed the family leave law in 2018, with the idea of making life easier for recent mothers, caretakers of elderly parents, and those recovering from illnesses or injuries. But in allowing companies to opt out of a state-run program and operate their own family leave plans, the law opened the door to insurers and other benefit managers. And that has meant hassles. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up It's unclear how many people have had similar experiences — neither the state nor companies collect data on aggravation — but Coffey isn't alone. Facebook pages of mothers' groups are filled with similar stories of frustration, futility, and anger. Most of the time, these disputes are resolved by benefits managers. When they're not, employees can appeal to the state. Since 2021, the Department of Family and Medical Leave has received 26 appeals of decisions by insurers and other plan administrators; all but one were resolved in favor of the claimant. Advertisement Coffey, whose daughter is now 18 months, had lined up child care based on her doctor's recommended leave, but suddenly she faced a scramble to come up child care eight weeks sooner. She eventually convinced The Hartford, her employer's family-leave administrator, to approve all the time prescribed by her doctor. But it required weeks of calls, emails, and gathering additional documentation. 'They didn't tell me [about the six-week limit] until after I had given birth,' Coffey said. 'I was so stressed trying to take care of this little baby and trying to understand if my leave was going to be ending.' The Hartford did not respond to requests for comment. The Massachusetts Paid Family Leave law allows employees to take up to 20 weeks of leave for medical recovery after giving birth and 12 weeks to bond with a new child, although total paid leave is capped at 26 weeks. Employees receive up to $1,170.64 per week in 2025. Most of the 272,000 employers covered by the law participate in a state-run program, funded by employee payroll taxes and employer contributions. The law also allows companies to carve out their own plans, which must provide equal or better benefits than the state program and be approved by state Division of Insurance. About 6,000 companies with an estimated 1.2 million employees use approved private plans, according to the state. Advertisement Employees who receive benefits through the state rarely run into the kind of hassles that Coffey encountered. The state generally accepts what health care providers determine is the appropriate length of medical leave, said Bill Alpine, director of the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave. Erin Coffey playing with her children Charlie, 4, and Natalie Coffey, 18 months. Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff 'If the medical provider says, for example, this individual needs 12 weeks for medical care after birth,' Alpine said, 'we're not going to question that.' But that's not always the case with private plans. These plans sometimes pay employees on leave more than the state program does, but the plans ultimately are designed to give companies more control over how and how much benefits are paid out, said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. 'If you're in a private plan,' Hurst said, 'you can police it better to make sure that there's not abuses going on in the system.' Mike Spinale, a board member at the Massachusetts state council of the Society for Human Resource Management, said some companies might have 'more onerous' claims processes that require more documentation than the state program. 'In the insurance company is a claims adjuster,' Spinale said. 'and like any insurance, their goal is to pay as little as possible, unfortunately.' Under the law, the benefit of the doubt is supposed to go to employees seeking the time off. Still, Coffey and other women said the onus fell on them when benefits managers refused to approve the full leave recommended by their doctors. Coffey said she only succeeded after sending an email to the The Hartford citing specific passages of the law, including, 'All presumptions shall be made in favor of the availability of leave and the payment of family and medical leave benefits.' Advertisement When she recounted her ordeal to her new moms Facebook group, more than a dozen women asked for the email she sent to the insurer. Coffey posted a She said she regularly hears from new mothers thanking her for posting the template and requesting help navigating the process. Susan Wilson, a mom who works for a local university, said her employer's leave administrator, Workpartners, would only approve eight weeks for medical recovery after the birth of her twin boys, despite her doctor signing off on 14. After weeks of phone tag and emails, Wilson said she caved to the benefits manager's requests to provide additional medical reasons for the extra weeks of leave. But even after her doctor sent the documentation, Wilson said, the back-and-forth continued until Workpartners finally approved her full claim. Workpartners did not respond to requests for comment. Wilson said she felt frustrated by the experience, especially since paid leave in the US lags far behind many other countries. In Canada, mothers take up to 15 weeks of maternity leave 'It just felt so sad that I had to fight and be made to feel like I was asking for too much when, frankly,' Wilson said, 'I still think that we get so little.' Advertisement Stella Tannenbaum can be reached at
Perth Now
16-07-2025
- Perth Now
Luxury designer handbags stolen in city centre ram raid
Buyers are warned to be on the lookout for suspiciously cheap designer handbags after a ram raid on a luxury store. Italian designer fashion retailer Fendi was the target of the attack in Sydney's city-centre early on Wednesday, when tens of thousands of dollars worth of items were stolen from the shopfront, police say. Chief Inspector Gary Coffey said a Lexus SUV, stolen on Monday night, was driven on to the pavement on Elizabeth St about 3:45am and smashed the shop window. "Three offenders got out of that that vehicle and entered the store. "They stole a number of luxury handbags and other items," Insp Coffey told reporters on Wednesday. Broken glass scattered across the footpath and empty shopfront displays greeted police and store employees when they arrived at the scene. The stolen Lexus used in the ram raid was left outside the store and the raiders fled in two other vehicles, a white BMW and a grey Audi, which were stolen on Tuesday night. The attackers wore hoods and gloves, making multiple trips into the store. But the car left behind has police hopeful of finding some forensic evidence to track them down. The ram raid appeared to have a degree of planning due to the number of people involved and the use of multiple stolen vehicles, Insp Coffey said. He warned people to be wary of online advertisements spruiking cheap handbags following the ram raid. "If people do see luxury handbags for sale on various platforms at prices that are below normal market value, those bags may well be stolen. "They probably want to get rid of their items as quickly as possible. "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is," Insp Coffey said. Sydney's ram raid comes a few months after five men were arrested over similar attacks in Victoria. Six luxury stores were targeted in a spree of Melbourne ram raids in March and April, with goods worth more than $1 million stolen.
Hamilton Spectator
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Coffey won't return as Oilers assistant coach, Schwartz out as goaltending coach
EDMONTON - A shakeup behind Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch had the NHL club changing goalie coaches and Hall of Fame defenceman Paul Coffey shifting from behind the bench to an upstairs adviser role. Paul McFarland came on board as a power-play specialist after Glen Gulutzan's departure to become head coach of the Dallas Stars, Peter Aubry replaced Dustin Schwartz as goalie coach and Connor Allen will serve in a skills development role. The club stated Monday that Coffey returns to his role as a special adviser to ownership and hockey operations after a more hands-on role as an assistant coach in charge of defencemen. Assistant coach Mark Stuart's contract was extended to continue as penalty kill specialist, while Stuart also assumed responsibility of the defencemen. Knoblauch inherited Coffey, Schwartz and Stuart as assistants when he took over for Jay Woodcroft as head coach of the Oilers on Nov. 12, 2023. Coffey, a four-time Stanley Cup champion, replaced Oilers assistant Dave Manson when Knoblauch was hired. The Oilers have since reached the Stanley Cup final in back-to-back years. Edmonton fell to the Florida Panthers in six games this year and in seven games in 2024. 'First of all, we'll talk about Paul. Very fortunate to be working with him for the two years,' Knoblauch said Monday on a virtual media conference call. 'I was happy to be working with him in that first year and we weren't sure if he was coming back for the second year, but luckily for us, he did decide to come back. 'Throughout the year, we have a lot of conversations, we added a lot to the coaching staff and then got to the point where you're not sure when he was going to step back and just have another role within the organization or what he was doing before. You got to that point where that the change was going to happen. 'We'll still have conversations with Paul and Paul will still give us his insight on how the team's playing, what we could be doing, which will be a great benefit for our coaching staff, especially with so many new guys coming in.' Knoblauch, who has a year remaining on his contract, will have two assistants on the bench with him next season instead of three. Led by Leon Draisaitl, whose 399 career power-play goals ranks fifth among active NHL players, Edmonton boasted the league's top power play for several years until a drop-off this past season. McFarland was head coach of the Western Hockey League's Calgary Hitmen after three years as a Seattle Kraken assistant from the team's expansion year in 2021 to 2024. The 39-year-old was also previously an assistant with the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs. 'He's been running an NHL power play for many years, started in Florida, Toronto, and then Seattle,' Knoblauch stated. 'Power-play success is determined a lot with the personnel that you have. He's done a heck of a job on getting the most out of the personalities he's had, but also very strong is the success that he had with those good power plays in Toronto and Florida. 'He'll be able to bring that over and be able to have a good strong working relationship with the players that we have on our team right now.' Edmonton's penalty kill, integral to reaching the Cup final in 2024, was mediocre in 2025. 'During the playoffs, it was underperforming, so this conversation about changing things up has been ongoing for many, many months and there will be changes to our system,' Knoblauch said. Edmonton's goaltending ran hot and cold in the playoffs. Stuart Skinner started 15 of 24 post-season games this year, but Calvin Pickard was in net for six in a row and nine overall. Schwartz was Edmonton's goalie coach for over a decade, but the Oilers aim for more consistency under 48-year-old Aubry, who was an associate coach at Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA) for two seasons. He also spent eight seasons (2015-16 to 2023-24) as the Chicago Blackhawks' developmental goaltending coach as well as the goaltending coach for the team's AHL affiliate in Rockford. 'It was a very, very difficult decision to make that change, but in the organization, we're always looking at ways that we can get better,' Knoblauch explained. 'We're looking for ways to push our goaltenders and make them better. There's times where they're exceptional. There's other times where we were wanting a little bit more from them. With Peter, he'll be able to push those guys and bring a different perspective and hopefully, elevate them to get those guys to play at their best more often.' Allen, 35, spent last season with the United States' under-17 team and recently worked in skill development with the Sioux City Musketeers. The Oilers also confirmed a contract extension for video coach Noah Segall. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2025.
Boston Globe
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Attorney work stoppage sends court officials scrambling
It's a Thousands of such defendants in criminal cases in Middlesex and Suffolk counties have gone without representation, more than a month for some, a potential violation of their constitutional right to counsel that has forced judges to release defendants otherwise eligible to be held on high bail. Advertisement Soon, judges may start dismissing cases outright, based on an emergency protocol invoked in early July by the Supreme Judicial Court. Advertisement 'Things are going to get worse before they get better,' Coffey said in court as he weighed which defendants must be released from jail because there was no way of providing them a lawyer. The stoppage has raised questions about how the state organizes its indigent defense system. In many other states, the majority of defendants who can't afford an attorney are represented by a public defender from a government agency, and the court only appoints private attorneys if there's a conflict of interest, according to Aditi Goel of the Sixth Amendment Center. Only Massachusetts, Maine, and North Dakota rely this heavily on private attorneys, she said. Other states, such as New York and Ohio, task each county with choosing their own approaches, using any combination of public defenders, court-appointed lawyers, or contracted nonprofit organizations. 'There's no correct answer,' said Goel, a former public defender in Boston. 'But this is an opportunity for Massachusetts to look at how it structures its system as compared to other states.' Massachusetts had a similar work stoppage in 2004 in Hampden County, which led to the creation of what is known as the Lavallee protocol. The Supreme Judicial Court invoked the protocol two weeks ago, affirming the right to counsel. It requires judges to release defendants who've been held for more than seven days without access to a lawyer, and to dismiss cases of those who've gone without an attorney for more than 45 days. Hearings to release people through the seven-day rule began this past week, and separate proceedings to dismiss cases will start July 22. But already, the number of defendants affected by the current stoppage has far outpaced those affected a decade ago. Advertisement 'This is a problem that has happened in the past and unless there is a structural shift the concern is that it will happen again in the future,' Goel said. Maine, which has a similar structure for indigent defendants, also was hit with a work stoppage three years ago. In response, the state hired more staff public defenders and nearly doubled its pay rate for private attorneys, to $150, from $80. 'You have to create a healthy mix,' Goel said. Massachusetts officials say they are discussing ways to resolve the crisis with the private attorneys. But the new state budget recently adopted did not include a pay raise for bar advocates, and a resolution doesn't appear to be nearing. In a statement, a spokesperson for Governor Maura Healey said the governor expressed concern and urged the Legislature and bar advocates to reach a resolution. In Massachusetts, bar advocates in district court make $65 an hour, much less than the equivalent in surrounding states. They are seeking a $35-an-hour raise. 'We're sick of being overlooked and taken advantage of year after year after year,' said Elyse Hershon, a bar advocate in Suffolk County who has stopped taking cases. 'We keep the system intact and we have to be paid in accordance with that.' The chair of the state Senate Judiciary committee, Lydia Edwards, an East Boston Democrat, said tactics by bar advocates, particularly during a difficult budget cycle and cuts to federal funding, have bothered Beacon Hill leaders. 'There's a real anger about the bargaining chip being human capital and civil liberties, and that being the reason why we're supposed to pay $100 million dollars,' she said, referencing the amount legislators calculate the $35-a-hour raise would cost. Advertisement With the stoppage showing no sign of ending, the court system, judges, staff public defenders, and prosecutors are scrambling to manage cases under the Lavallee by the end of July, judges will have to decide whether to dismiss outright hundreds of cases. 'We are constantly rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,' Rebecca Jacobstein, of CPCS, said in court this past week. Over the last week, the crisis was evident in courtrooms from Boston to Lowell. Defendants begged judges for lawyers; some are held, others released. The public defenders with CPCS say they will staff the most serious cases, a pledge that will be challenged as new cases come before the courts. This past week, about 20 people had the first hearings under the protocol, with more than half remaining in custody because either they were assigned a lawyer or CPCS was directed to prioritize their cases. Several of those released were accused of drug offenses or violating probation, though one released man is accused of putting his wife in a headlock until she passed out, and another of stabbing someone with a switchblade. Judges ordered that those men to home confinement monitored by GPS. Meanwhile, a third county, Essex, is 'teetering' on the verge of having too many defendants without representation, Jacobstein said. So, her agency may soon seek to have the recent SJC guidance extend to there as well. The trial court said hearings on releasing defendants will fall into a regular pattern: every Thursday in Boston Municipal Court's central division for all Boston defendants and every Wednesday in Lowell District Court for defendants in Middlesex County and in Suffolk outside of Boston. Advertisement The more consequential hearings on dismissal of cases will begin July 22. There are more than 1,000 defendants who have not had access to a lawyer, and that number is only expected to grow. If a case is dismissed, any conditions of release meant to ensure public safety are removed as well, including GPS monitoring and orders for a defendant not to contact any alleged victim. 'The court has no hold over you,' said Shira Diner, president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 'It's a problem for the victims. It's a problem for everyone.' Coffey, the judge in Lowell, faced that dilemma repeatedly last week. At one point, Coffey weighed Jacobstein's concerns about representing a man accused of violating probation after facing a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. If she took the case, she suggested, her workload would be full, and she could not handle new ones, including more serious cases. 'We've already taken two cases today, that's all we can do,' she said. But Assistant District Attorney Amelia Singh argued the man must be held, she argued, and that means he needs a lawyer. 'We are in crisis, and this is a public safety issue,' she argued. Coffey ordered the man back to jail, deeming the public defender agency must take his case. 'The Lavallee protocol — it's a game of tag," Coffey said. 'Someone has to be the bad guy, and I'm it.' Sean Cotter can be reached at
