Repealing prevailing wage laws hurt veterans (WI)

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Paul Gehl, Community columnist
8:12 a.m. CT Jan. 21, 2017

We have to do a better job of supporting our returning military veterans in Wisconsin – whether it is improving their health care, job opportunities, pay scale or all of the above.

I read recently with great irony that the Wisconsin executive director of Americans For Prosperity (Eric Bott) believes that wage protections – specifically Wisconsin’s prevailing wage laws – should be repealed so veterans can actually enjoy more job opportunities and better wages. That is not a misprint. A guy from a group promoting “prosperity” is suggesting less is more for our honorable veterans. No sir, more is more for our veterans.

I am a veteran, a longtime American Legion member and the former president of Lunda Construction. While president of Lunda I was proud to employ many veterans who were extremely interested in continuing their service to country building critical infrastructure like highways, schools and bridges that helped keep our communities safe for our families.

A 2016 study by the Midwest Economic Policy Institute found recent changes to Wisconsin’s prevailing wage laws implemented by the Wisconsin legislature “will have a disproportionate impact on veteran(s)” because veterans are more likely to work in the construction trades than non-veterans and these law changes will result in lower wages for construction workers. Specifically, the study estimates that the changes going into effect this month will result in the loss of more than 2,000 jobs and $13 million in lost wages for veterans. Mr. Bott throws out various red herrings to misdirect and obfuscate but in the end he cannot refute the study’s core findings – veterans work in construction at higher rates than non-veterans so by definition a repeal of prevailing wage disproportionately hurts veterans.

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Amid Talk of Deregulation, Database Documents the Obama Administration’s Final Offensive Against Corporate Crime

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Good Jobs First
21/02/2017

Washington, DC, February 21, 2017-While Washington is focused on deregulation, the country’s first database on corporate crime has documented the wave of cases against major companies resolved by the Obama Administration during its final weeks.

Violation Tracker, a public service of Good Jobs First’s Corporate Research Project launched in 2015, today posted recent enforcement records showing that between Election Day and the inauguration, the Justice Department and other federal agencies obtained more than $20 billion in penalties and settlements from dozens of companies accused of a wide range of offenses involving financial, environmental, health and other harms to large numbers of people.

Violation Tracker is available and free at http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/violation-tracker.
“Given the Trump Administration’s focus on deregulation rather than enforcement, the Obama Administration’s wave of case resolutions may represent Uncle Sam’s last hurrah against business misconduct for some time,” said Good Jobs First Research Director Philip Mattera, who leads the work on Violation Tracker. “The data in Violation Tracker should give pause to those who argue for less oversight.”

…

In addition to the recent cases, Violation Tracker now includes data from nine additional federal agencies, bringing the total to 39. Among the nine are the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, both of which deal with allegations of workplace discrimination. Wage theft cases brought by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division as well as related private litigation will be covered in an update to Violation Tracker later this year.

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EXCLUSIVE: Cuomo to propose bill that clamps down on wage theft from out-of-state companies (NY)

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KENNETH LOVETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, January 7, 2017, 9:00 PM

 

ALBANY – Gov. Cuomo is set to propose legislation that will allow the state to aggressively go after wage theft in New York, the Daily News has learned.

The bill, to be announced as part of the governor’s State of the State agenda he’ll be releasing this week, would hold the top 10 officials from out-of-state limited liability companies, or LLCs, personally financially liable for unsatisfied judgments for unpaid wages.

The legislation will empower the state Labor Department commissioner to enforce such liabilities.

The idea, Cuomo said, is to recover more money employees were cheated out of when businesses went bankrupt – and went on to create spinoff limited liability companies registered in other states or hid their assets in other ways.

“New York is committed to ensuring a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work and has zero tolerance for those who seek to exploit their workers,” Cuomo said.
“With this proposal we will help ensure that no matter where bad actors try to hide, they will not be able to skirt their obligations to hard-working New Yorkers. ”

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Battles Over Labor’s Wages Heats Up At Capitol (CT)

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By KEITH M. PHANEUF
February 21, 2017, 6:08 PM

The clash over labor costs intensified Tuesday at the state Capitol.

While one legislative panel split down the middle over whether to raise Connecticut’s minimum wage, unions and their allies rallied to battle proposals that would allow communities to cut worker wages on public construction projects.

…

And while the labor committee battled over the minimum wage, the Connecticut Building Trades Council, other unions and their allies rallied to block proposed changes to Connecticut’s prevailing wage statute.

Currently, municipal remodeling projects that cost more than $100,000 and new construction projects costing more than $400,000 must meet a competitive wage scale based on the regional market. Municipal officials say, though, that this standard generally reflects artificially inflated costs paid chiefly to unionized construction workers.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, proposed new parameters in January of $500,000 for remodeling work and $1 million for new construction.

House and Senate Republicans also have introduced bills to raise the thresholds.

“I just don’t know what’s wrong with this building,” said Lori J. Pelletier, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, who was referring to both the prevailing wage proposals and to the opposition to the minimum wage hike. “That’s not the kind of state that we are.”
“We understand that raising thresholds are not good for workers,” said David Roche, president of the building trades council.

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Key legislators and worker advocates introduce bill to crack down on wage theft in Illinois

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21 FEBRUARY 2017 BY MILITARY NEWS

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Feb. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – Three key legislators, State Senate Labor Committee Chairman Daniel Biss and State Representatives Lisa Hernandez and Carol Ammons, have joined forces with worker advocates, including HourVoice and United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 881, to introduce groundbreaking legislation (SB1720) to crack down on wage theft in Illinois. Wage theft is estimated to cost American workers over $50 billion per year and news reports have shown Illinois is a very difficult state for workers to recoup stolen wages.

“Our Illinois Fighting Wage Theft Act increases the penalties on companies that commit serious wage theft and prohibits those companies from receiving state government contracts for at least five years,” said State Senator and Labor Committee Chairman Daniel Biss (D-Evanston), who is sponsoring the bill. “Fair to both workers and businesses, SB1720 will level the playing field. Workers deserve to get paid every dollar they’ve earned and employers who treat workers properly and play by the rules shouldn’t be undercut by competitors who cheat their workers.”

Wage theft takes many forms, including: shorting workers on their hours, not paying the minimum wage, and not properly paying overtime. It most commonly victimizes low-paid workers; the very people who most need the money they earn.

Workers in nearly every industry are affected. For example, fast food giant Domino’s was caught using payroll software that systematically underpaid workers, and a major road contractor paid with our Illinois tax dollars was caught shorting its workers by $1.5 million.

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Minnesota unions, businesses unite against wage theft

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February 22, 20179:39 AM CST
BY BARB KUCERA

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Workers and communities suffer – and businesses face unfair competition – when companies cheat their employees through wage theft, Minnesota advocates told lawmakers at a mid-February hearing at the state capitol in St. Paul. They called on the legislature to pass measures to strengthen enforcement against this widespread problem.

“If you work for a living, you should get paid!” said Rep. Tim Mahoney, DFL-St. Paul, one of the authors of the anti-wage theft legislation. Several legislators, Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith and state Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Ken Peterson listened as workers described how their paychecks have been stolen by unscrupulous employers.

One of the most egregious current examples is Lakeville Motor Express, a trucking firm that allegedly changed its name and location to avoid paying thousands of dollars to its workers. Their union, Teamsters Local 120, is leading an effort to recoup what was lost.

“We are union strong and we are here to fight for our rights!” said Samuel Nunn, one of the 95 affected workers.

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Ohio cities could stop paying prevailing wage to construction workers

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POSTED ON FEBRUARY 24, 2017
BY LIMA NEWS

 

COLUMBUS – Local governments could opt out of paying Ohio’s prevailing wage on public construction projects under a new proposal from state Sen. Matt Huffman.

State law requires counties, cities, villages and townships to pay minimum wages and benefits, called prevailing wages, to construction workers on projects exceeding a certain cost.

…

Huffman plans to introduce a bill next week that would allow jurisdictions to decide whether they pay prevailing wages and for what projects. He said the bill has the support of the Ohio Municipal League and Ohio Association of County Commissioners.

The Affiliated Construction Trades of Ohio, which represents Ohio’s skilled trades, opposes the idea.

Executive Director Matt Szollosi said Huffman’s proposal would cause drive more work to out of state contractors who pay their employees less. Szollosi said that would drive down participation in trade apprenticeship programs, are funded with a portion of hourly pay.

“Labor costs are 23 percent of overall costs so the notion that you can elicit significant savings on the labor side by cutting wages and benefits for workers is unfounded,” Szollosi said.

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Veterans Urge Walker, GOP To Abandon Prevailing Wage Repeal

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Wisconsin American Legion Argues Repeal Would Cost Veterans Jobs

Wednesday, February 22, 2017, 1:45pm
By Laurel White

Veterans are calling on Gov. Scott Walker and GOP lawmakers to abandon their proposals to repeal prevailing wage laws in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin American Legion representatives said Wednesday veteran jobs could be lost if state lawmakers move ahead with repealing the prevailing wage. The group says a large number of veterans work in construction after returning from service.

During the last legislative session, lawmakers removed prevailing wage, which sets minimum salaries for workers, on local construction projects. Now they want to end the prevailing wage for state projects.

“Why is it that always the budget is balanced on the backs of veterans,” said Daniel Seehafer, department commander with the Wisconsin American Legion.

Seehafer and his colleagues cited a 2016 Midwest Economic Policy Institute study that contends 2,000 veteran jobs would be lost if the wage repeal becomes law.

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Bill would define independent contractors, reform worker’s compensations system (AK)

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21 FEBRUARY 2017 BY MILITARY NEWS

The state is trying to combat employee misclassification by tightening the reins on definitions of independent contractors versus employees.

Independent contractors work on a freelance basis for employers, but the relationship can flirt with the line between contractor and employee. Some companies intentionally call their employees independent contractors to avoid paying payroll taxes and worker’s compensation insurance premiums for them. Some employers also avoid the costs by reporting employees in lower-paying job categories.

House Bill 79, an omnibus worker’s compensation reform bill sponsored by Gov. Bill Walker, would outline an 11-point litmus test for independent contractors, defining when misclassification amounts to fraud. It also makes it the employee’s duty to report work and receipt of other wage-loss replacement benefits, according to Walker’s transmittal letter with the bill.

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During an initial hearing on the bill Monday, Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Heidi Drygas and Division of Worker’s Compensation Director Marie Marx explained the details of the bills to the House Labor and Commerce Committee. The Worker’s Compensation Board, a citizen board advising the state on worker’s compensation issues, has been tackling the misclassification problem for some time, Marx said.

“We do not want to prevent true independent contractors from operating – we want them to operate,” she said. “We just want to make sure that those employers who are following the law operate on the same level playing field as those that do not.”

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Council member pushes prevailing wages bill as a construction safety issue (NY)

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Would apply to projects receiving city money and are 50K sf or hold more than 50 housing units

January 26, 2017 05:10PM
By Kathryn Brenzel

Alongside a package of controversial construction safety bills, a City Council committee is scheduled to consider a measure that seeks to require prevailing wages on certain construction projects in the city.

The bill, first introduced by Queens Council member Elizabeth Crowley in April 2015, has been re-referred to the Committee on Housing and Buildings, and is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday that will largely focus on construction safety measures. The proposed bill would apply to projects that receive financial assistance from the city, are larger than 50,000 square feet or, if a residential project, more than 50 units, and that don’t have a project labor agreement.

While her revived bill – which has 20 listed sponsors – doesn’t explicitly involve construction safety, Crowley says the proposed legislation will at least indirectly encourage it.

“If you’re an employer, and you’re obliged to pay the prevailing wage, my guess is that you’d want to employ someone who is trained and qualified through a state program,” Crowley said. In New York City, that likely means hiring union labor. (Before joining the City Council, Crowley was a member of a painter’s union.)

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