Loopholes in Iraq galore for KBR (Our nation's top Iraq contractor)
The Boston Globe has a very interesting article about KBR (Kellogg Brown & Root) and their interesting tactics when it comes to employees serving overseas in Iraq. It seems that they employ these employees through shell companies in the Cayman Islands so they don't have to pay Medicare or Social Security taxes on those employees nor do they have to pay for unemployment benefits once they return back from Iraq. It's a loophole that should be closed and Congress has been trying to do just that... but with Cheney pulling the strings on Bush 2.0, don't expect anything to happen soon... but there's more...
What's even more interesting is that when those employees are subject to harmful conditions (like being exposed to harmful, toxic chemicals while working at a water treatment plant in Iraq referenced in the article), the employees can't file a lawsuit against KBR for such conditions because of a 1941 law that gives employers working on government contracts for the military immunity for such lawsuits.
So to further break it down, these employees aren't considered being employed by a U.S. company because their employment records are kept on a computer in the Cayman Islands and thus KBR gets out of paying for Medicare, Social Security or unemployment benefits but when they try and sue KBR for exposing them to harmful chemicals, they can't sue KBR because these employees are doing work for the U.S. Department of Defense. Unbelievable.
What's even more interesting is that when those employees are subject to harmful conditions (like being exposed to harmful, toxic chemicals while working at a water treatment plant in Iraq referenced in the article), the employees can't file a lawsuit against KBR for such conditions because of a 1941 law that gives employers working on government contracts for the military immunity for such lawsuits.
So to further break it down, these employees aren't considered being employed by a U.S. company because their employment records are kept on a computer in the Cayman Islands and thus KBR gets out of paying for Medicare, Social Security or unemployment benefits but when they try and sue KBR for exposing them to harmful chemicals, they can't sue KBR because these employees are doing work for the U.S. Department of Defense. Unbelievable.
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