Credit crunch hits some in the paycheck

By NORMA LOVE The Associated Press CONCORD – Roughly 200 New Hampshire workers know firsthand what the national credit crunch does to a paycheck. State Labor Commissioner George Copadis said Thursday that's about the number whose companies had trouble getting needed loans from banks to make payroll over the last two to three weeks. Some – but not all – of the workers have since been paid, he said. Copadis said the companies are mostly very small with operations in several states. He said he knows of no New Hampshire banks involved and the state is working with companies having problems so workers get paid. The Labor Department is getting 800 to 1,000 calls weekly with the majority of the calls related to problems with paychecks. He said 3-4 calls each week are related to companies being unable to get credit to pay workers. So... [read full story]