Porter County Commissioners setting conflict of interest rules for bidding (IL)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By JEFF SCHULTZ
Posted 7/19/2017

The Porter County Board of Commissioners voted in favor of implementing a conflict of interest policy concerning how it hires consultants on Tuesday, and signaled their interest in compiling a responsible bidder policy.

The Commissioners voted 3-0 on first reading for an ordinance to establish the policy that many other states like Indiana have already adopted. Under it, County employees and elected officials would be prohibited from soliciting or accepting gratuities of anything valued at $50 or more from consultants or other parties in contractor agreements, said County Attorney Scott McClure.

McClure said forms of this policy have been put together at the federal level and have trickled down to municipalities. Conflict of interest policies are being required in order to receive matching funds from the federal government that the County would receive for projects through state agencies like the Indiana Department of Transportation, he said.
Commissioner President Jeff Good, R-Center, said that he agrees with the ordinance and not just on the merit that it is being required by the federal government.

“I think it’s just good business,” he said.

“I agree,” said Commissioner Laura Shurr Blaney, D-South.

Next, Marcella Kunstek and Josh Weger of the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting (IIIFFC) came to give the Commissioners a presentation on reasons they recommend the County adopt a Responsive Bidder Ordinance, or RBO.

The organization has been in existence for 20 years but not until recently have RDOs become a growing trend, Weger said. IIIFFC has helped 14 counties in Indiana, 25 in Illinois and seven in Iowa. The mission is to increase market share for contractors, increase hours for workers and drive value for taxpayers.

“We are here to help you in any way improve the value of public works construction to your taxpayers and government,” Weger told the Commissioners.

(Read More)

Education and Infrastructure Grow the Economy. Other Proposals Being Debated in Illinois Don’t. (IL)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

With the State of Illinois finally having a new budget for the first time in two years, the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois Economic Policy Institute evaluated the economic research on policy measures currently under consideration by state lawmakers.

 

PUBLISHED BY – Frank Manzo IV
JULY 19, 2017

Economic and social science research generally finds that investing in K-12 education and postsecondary education- “human capital development”- and investing in infrastructure- “physical capital development”- are the most effective public policies at improving economic growth. Fiscal sustainability through balanced budgets also allows governments to fund these investments and boosts business confidence.

Investing in public education improves the economy.

  • A well-educated workforce raises median wages in a state.
  • An extra year of education increases a worker’s earnings by 7-10%.
  • A 10% increase in spending on public education leads children to complete more schooling and reduces their chances of living in poverty once they hit adulthood by 3.7% on average.
  • In a survey of economics professors and public policy academics from accredited universities in Illinois, 66% say that expanding enrollment in early childhood education programs would improve the state’s employment rate and grow the economy and a majority say the same about raising the share of the workforce with a bachelor’s degree.

Investing in public infrastructure boosts economic growth.

  • For every dollar increase in infrastructure spending, the economy improves by $1.57 on average.
  • 67% of academic studies find that highway spending has positive impacts on the economy.
    Improving an expanding highways, bridges, and public transportation statistically increases the working-age employment rate by increasing connectivity and improving productivity.
  • In a survey of economics professors and public policy academics from accredited universities in Illinois, 79% think Illinois should increase transportation infrastructure investment.

Other policy changes that have been proposed in Illinois have no, mixed, or limited economic impacts.

1. Peer-reviewed studies demonstrate that “right-to-work” laws have no statistical effect on overall employment in a state economy, but research does find that “right-to-work” tends to reduce wages, limit unionization, and redistribute income from workers to owners.

(Read More)

3d_money_construction_dreamstime_xxl_21903206

Wage theft victims have little chance of recouping pay in Illinois (IL)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By Melissa Sanchez and Matt Kiefer
Aug. 9, 2017

Most victims of wage theft in Illinois never see a dime because the system meant to help them isn’t working.

That’s not what labor advocates envisioned in 2010, when the state passed a bill meant to give employees a better chance of recouping stolen wages and to toughen penalties against the employers who stiff them.

The situation, however, has gone from bad to worse for the thousands of mostly low-wage workers who have filed roughly $50 million in wage claims with the state since the measure took full effect in 2014.

Workers who report wage theft now face longer wait times, higher dismissal rates and more red tape, according to a Chicago Reporter review of complaint records and enforcement procedures at the Illinois Department of Labor.

Fewer than 1 in 4 workers recouped wages within a year, the analysis found. The odds are so bad, many labor advocates say workers shouldn’t bother filing a claim.

“The worst that can happen to [employers] is that they can use the workers like a credit card, and pay them months after the claims were first filed,” said Jacob Lesniewski, an associate professor of social work at Dominican University, who has studied wage theft.

The Reporter’s review of wage enforcement records found:

  • More claims are dismissed: 58 percent in 2014, up from 41 percent in 2010. The state doesn’t track why cases are dismissed, but most are scrapped early, before workers get a chance to have the merits of the cases weighed.
  • Cases now take an average of nearly nine months to resolve, about two months longer than in 2010. If a case ends up going to a hearing, resolving it could take well over a year.
  • Even when workers win their cases, they might not be paid. Only about 1 in 10 of nearly 500 cases forwarded to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for collection resulted in payment, and collection can take years.
  • The state has let dozens of deadbeat employers off the hook by allowing them to settle claims early in the enforcement process, avoiding formal violations or financial penalties.

(Read More)

A labor voice at Harvard: ex-union leader to study the underground economy (MA)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

JULY 17, 2017
DEIRDRE FERNANDES

Mark Erlich was a familiar figure at construction sites as executive secretary of the state’s carpenters union. Now Erlich is hitting the hallowed halls of Harvard.

He’s joining the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School as a fellow. He’ll be working with professors and researchers at Harvard and other universities on issues of wages and the underground economy.

It’s a topic, he said, that is important not just for the construction industry but for the broader economy.

The research will focus on the rise of independent contractors and under-the-table compensation and how that affects public revenues, as well as identifying best practices for wage-enforcement programs.

During his 12 years heading the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, Erlich was a consistent voice against wage abuses, pushing legislators to strengthen penalties for wage theft.

Erlich said several heavy-hitters on labor issues from the Obama administration are now in the Boston area, and he hopes to work with them as they explore a changing economy in which companies rely more on contractors, rather than full-time staff.

(Read More)

Massachusetts construction company $160,000 for wage violations on nine public projects in state (MA)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

by Mark Iandolo |
Jul. 19, 2017, 9:40am

BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced on July 12 that a New Hampshire-based construction company will pay roughly $160,000 for allegations of failing to pay employees the proper prevailing wage and overtime for nine public works projects completed between 2014 and 2015.

Healey’s office specifically filed three citations against Northeast Partition Specialties Inc. and owner Fredrick Breth. The defendants purportedly failed to pay prevailing wage,overtime or submit true and accurate certified payroll records.
“Companies that do business in Massachusetts must play by the rules,” Healey said. “Prevailing wage laws are intended to ensure a level playing field for companies and provide a real, living wage to workers.”

The defendants allegedly committed the violations while working on public projects that included SSGT James J. Hill School in Revere, Bresnahan Elementary School in Newburyport, Acushnet Police Facility, Chelmsford Fire Department, Dracut Town Hall, Sudbury Police Department, Park Avenue Elementary in Webster, West Bridgewater Middle-Senior High School, Westborough Fire Department.

Handling the case for Massachusetts are Erik Bennett, assistant attorney general, and investigator Tom Lam.

(Read More)

Michigan petitioners stretch truth for signatures (MI)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Jonathan Oosting
Published 11:32 p.m. ET Aug. 2, 2017 Updated 7:28 a.m. ET Aug. 3, 2017

Lansing – Summer is petition season in Michigan, where paid circulators are taking advantage of warm weather and public events to collect signatures for at least three statewide initiatives – and sometimes stretching the truth in their sales pitch to voters.

A circulator working a park concert last month in Lansing approached a Detroit News reporter and requested signatures for two separate petitions, including one she said was “for the teachers and construction workers to help protect their wages, benefits and pensions,” a claim she repeated twice.

The initiative actually seeks to repeal the state’s prevailing wage law, which guarantees union-level wages and benefits for workers on some government-funded construction projects. It has no direct connection to teacher compensation, but supporters contend it would reduce school construction costs. Critics argue it would drive down worker pay on construction projects.

…

His bill would make it a misdemeanor crime for a paid or volunteer circulator to “knowingly and willfully circulate, publish, or exhibit a false statement or misrepresentation concerning the contents, purport or effect” of a statewide petition. Violators could face up to 93 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $500.

“I believe that the petition process is a fundamental part of our democracy here in Michigan, but you’re stealing that from somebody when you lie to them, when people think they’re signing one thing and they’re actually signing something else,” Hertel said.

Similar anti-lying legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, but the proposals have not yet been taken up by Republican majorities in either chamber.

(Read More)

Cooper signs worker misclassification, tax bills into law (NC)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By Associated Press |
Posted: Fri 9:34 PM, Aug 11, 2017

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Gov. Roy Cooper says legislation he signed will help North Carolina workers when employers intentionally misclassify them as independent contractors to avoid paying taxes and other benefits.

Cooper signed two bills Friday the General Assembly approved last week.

One addresses employee “misclassification” by confirming the creation of an office within the North Carolina Industrial Commission to investigate companies and discourage the practice. Former Gov. Pat McCrory signed an executive order directing the commission’s new work, but the law makes the effort permanent.

The other signed bill makes various tax law changes, including the creation of an income tax refund “checkoff” for breast and cervical cancer detection.

Two other bills remain on Cooper’s desk. He has until late Monday to sign or veto them. Otherwise, they become law.

(Read More)

Immigrant workers rally in NE Portland to shed light on problems in construction industry (OR)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Posted: Jul 28, 2017 12:34 AM EDT
Updated: Jul 28, 2017 12:34 AM EDT
By FOX 12 Staff

A group representing immigrant construction workers say they’re victims of rampant wage theft with many workers too afraid to come forward.

On Thursday the group held a rally that was organized by Portland Jobs with Justice for Immigrant Carpenters in Portland-area construction.

Workers took the podium to talk about instances of wage theft and other abuses they say they’ve experienced.

Workers say Thursday’s rally was to shed light on what they call a huge problem in Portland’s construction industry.

“Portland is under a huge construction boom right now. We got cranes all over, buildings going up left and right. But there’s an underground problem,” said Ben Besom with Northwest Carpenters Union. “It’s a really hard number to quantify because a lot of the people being exploited on these projects are afraid to come out of the shadows and tell their stories.”

(Read More)

Houston’s Attempt To Curb Wage Theft (TX)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Whatever came from Houston’s Wage Theft Ordinance? We take a look.

ALLISON LEE | POSTED ON
JULY 18, 2017, 7:00 AM (LAST UPDATED: JULY 18, 2017, 10:22 AM)

It’s called, “wage theft.” And it’s a problem here in Houston, that the city tried to address. More on how that worked out in a minute.

But first, just what constitutes wage theft?

It takes many forms. Not paying workers overtime they are entitled to, working off-the-clock, minimum wage violations, incorrectly categorizing employees as independent contractors, illegal deductions in pay, and not paying workers at all are all common examples of wage theft.

Stealing workers’ wages is an issue that even compelled President Obama to implement an executive order back in 2014 which, in part, discouraged businesses from committing wage theft, by not allowing them to receive federal contracts. That was repealed by President Trump back in March.

Tom Padgett is a lawyer in Houston, who says he represents lots of wage theft cases.
“The problem is that employers hold all the cards. And employees are afraid. They are afraid of retaliation…. I mean, we’ve had employees who have asserted their rights, and then the employers fire them, and they lose their house. Or they can’t afford their health insurance anymore, and their baby gets sick. So there’s a lot of terrible stories out there,” Padgett said.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (commonly known as FLSA) is a federal statute, put in place to ensure proper payment for workers. But Padgett’s firm says federal and state agencies don’t really have the man power to truly enforce that.

“There’s no specific Texas wage and hour law that would protect people. We have to go to federal court or we have to get a municipality, or a local ordinance, like Houston,” Padgett said. “But I haven’t seen any impact from the Houston ordinance, or any change at all.”

Padgett is referring to the Houston Wage Theft Ordinance, which was passed in 2013. It was put in place to deter businesses from stealing worker’s wages, by banning violators from working with the city. The ordinance even effectively bans businesses from operating in Houston, by way of not being able to renew permits and licenses.

(Read More)

Leroy Miller: Repealing prevailing wage will hurt vets (WI)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Leroy Miller
7/19/17

I love my country. I’ve fought for my country. My brothers and sisters have died for this country. I want to continue to serve my country.

I am a heavy-equipment operator, happily and dutifully building new infrastructure for Wisconsin communities.

My concern is, and has been, what state legislators are proposing in a full repeal of the state’s longstanding prevailing wage law. This is the law that protects Wisconsin workers from low-wage-paying, out-of-state contractors who will be free to pay their workers substandard wages in the interest of undercutting Wisconsin contractors and effectively stealing jobs here. And guess what? It’s working.

Last legislative session our elected leaders in Madison partially repealed prevailing wage for municipal-funded projects, which went into effect this January. Since then, a state review of projects to-date found there has been a more than 53 percent increase in out-of-state contractors securing Wisconsin work. Those are Wisconsin jobs being lost, Wisconsin tax dollars leaving the state and hard-working Wisconsin families being hurt. You don’t have to be a political wonk to understand how and who this hurts – Wisconsin workers.

Why as a proud veteran am I involved? Many of us veterans are drawn especially to two lines of work after our service – law enforcement and construction. I’ve chosen construction because I want to continue to serve my country in a meaningful way but lacked the necessary skills to make the transition. Thanks to many of the construction trades in Wisconsin they have specifically designed apprenticeship programs for veterans to provide them the necessary training and skills to transition into the construction industry.

(Read More)