Whistleblower: Relief payments get slashed if fishermen refuse to work for BP

[Black Belt Jones]

Boycott BP & Shell and help save the world!

Any relief payment plan established in the wake of the worst environmental accident ever was bound to have its flaws, but this goes to a whole new level of wrong.
According to Gulf resident Kindra Arnesen, who turned whistleblower and full-time activist when she saw how many people were put out of work by the spill, BP will deduct money from individual payments on claims for lost income if the claimant refuses to work in assisting the spill response.
Reading from a letter she'd received from BP, Arnesen quoted the company's line:

"BP will continue its efforts to pay legitimate claims for losses incurred due to the Deepwater Horizon incident. However, federal law clearly provides for adjustments for all income resulting from the incident, all income from alternative employment or businesses undertaken [...] and potential income from alternative employment or businesses not undertaken but reasonably available."

In other words, if you are a fisherman who was put out of work by BP and you do not elect to work in their employ, but you still file a claim for losses over the Deepwater Horizon disaster, that claim could be significantly less than the actual damages incurred.


Whistleblower: Relief payments get slashed if fishermen refuse to work for BP | Raw Story

[Isee]

The fisherman will be claiming against BP for loss of earnings. BP is saying that if they ask a claimant to do work for them and they refuse, they will deduct that amount from any damages payment. So whats the problem? Mitigation of loss is a long standing legal principal that is ALWAYS a consideration on any claim for loss. Its interesting the OP decided not to quote that part of the article

I find it very hard to believe the OH&S claims made against BP in this day and age not to mention with so much media attention in the area. I would have thought that would have made a better 'front page scandal'

If what the article says is true and it is determined by the Court that it was unreasonable for BP to make them do the work as directed - then refusing to work won't be considered a failure to mitigate their loss. So whats the problem?

[sabang]

Absolutely bluddy common sense.

Black belt, you're struggling to even be a green belt on that sad excuse for an OP.