Local Right-to-Work Zones Would Weaken the Illinois Economy

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

April 6, 2015
Frank Manzo IV, Policy Director
Illinois Economic Polict Institute (ILEPI)

 

Efforts to create local “right-to-work” zones would have negative impacts on workers and the economy in Illinois, according to a new report released today by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The report, The Impact of Local “Right-to-Work” Zones: Predicting Outcomes for Workers, the Economy and Tax Revenues in Illinois (PDF), investigates the economic and policy impacts of adopting local “right-to-work” zones in Illinois, testing claims made by proponents of the ordinances. The report finds that worker incomes are lower in economies with right-to-work laws and that employment effects are inconclusive. For instance, average worker wages are $2.90 per hour (13 percent) higher in Illinois than in right-to-work Indiana. At the same time, the unemployment rate in eastern Illinois counties is lower than in right-to-work counties across the Indiana border in December 2014.

(Read More)
(Read Full Report here)

WAGE STEALERS WATCH OUT: Seattle Police join forces with Labor Dept. to catch wage thiefs

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

April 04, 2015

 

(SEATTLE, WA.) — The City of Seattle and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division have agreed formally to share information and coordinate enforcement efforts to combat wage theft, a major problem across the U.S. and an even bigger problem in low-wage industries.

“A Memorandum of Understanding – the first signed by the Wage and Hour Division with a city in its western region – aims to boost the Seattle Police Department’s ability to investigate alleged wage theft cases and, when warranted, forward them for review by the City Attorney’s Office,” according to a Seattle Police statement.

In 2011 the City Council made wage theft – the intentional failure to pay or underpay an employee for work – a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Wage theft is the illegal withholding of wages or the denial of benefits that are rightfully owed to an employee. Wage theft, particularly from low wage legal or illegal immigrant workers, is common in the United States, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports.

St. Pete leaders pass wage theft ordinance

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

BY STEVEN GIRARDI
Tribune staff
Published: April 2, 2015

 

ST. PETERSBURG – An ordinance to help protect workers from being paid unfairly or, in some cases, not paid at all, passed its first review by the City Council on Thursday. The council voted unanimously to establish a city office to help workers file and pursue wage theft complaints against employers. The ordinance will require a second approval later this month.

City Councilwoman Darden Rice, who proposed the ordinance, said the city needs to protect workers, as well as employers who are harmed by competitors who pay illegally low wages.

The wage theft problem gained attention when Pinellas landed forth on list of counties with the highest incidents of wage theft in the state, behind Miami-Dade, Hillsborough and Broward, in a study by Florida International University in Miami.

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Seattle Minimum Wage and Wage Theft Ordinances Take Effect April 1, 2015

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

4/1/2015 by Portia Moore, Paula Simon

 

 

Two significant wage-related ordinances take effect on April 1, 2015, impacting all employers with employees who work in Seattle, whether regularly or occasionally.

The Seattle Minimum Wage Ordinance: Minimum wages rise for all employees who perform at least two hours of work in Seattle in a two-week pay period. The Ordinance sets forth additional record-keeping and notice posting requirements, along with provisions on joint employers and integrated enterprises. The city’s new Office of Labor Standards (OLS), which is part of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR), has just released the final administrative rules that guide how the Seattle Minimum Wage Ordinance is interpreted and enforced, available here, along with an extensive FAQ sheet, available here.

The Seattle Wage Theft Ordinance: Although the City of Seattle originally passed a Wage Theft Ordinance in 2011 (amending SMC 12A.08.060), the sole complaint mechanism provided by the 2011 law involved the filing of a criminal complaint to law enforcement. Starting Wednesday, April 1, 2015, a new administrative process will allow employees to file wage theft charges with the OLS.

Why Wage Theft Is a Growing Problem in America

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Sienna Beard
March 31, 2015

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor protects wages and enforces laws that cover more than 7.3 million establishments and 135 million workers. The WHD has determined that certain industries are more likely to have workers who are cheated out of their wages, as well as workers who are less likely to speak up against those who are cheating them.

In order to have far-reaching results, the WHD uses civil money penalties, liquidated damages, and debarments; it is also looking at supply chains and attempting to discourage the use of subcontractors or suppliers who don’t follow the laws. In addition, staffers publicize violations so that employers can be educated about their responsibilities. This makes it possible for employers and employees to learn from the issues that other companies face. The WHD’s job is to protect the wages of citizens, but you can also take steps to protect your own wages.

In 2014, the WHD discovered that $240 million was owed to more than 270,000 workers. Since fiscal year 2009, the WHD has recovered over $1.3 billion in back wages for more than 1.5 million workers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Blog, an average of over $659,000 in back wages were collected each day last year; more than $890 for each employee due back wages. That equates to 2.9 paychecks for a maid or housekeeper, and 3 paychecks for a cashier. Also last year, the WHD recovered $79 million owed to 109,000 workers in low-wage industries. The WHD targets its investigations based on data, and evidence leads them to industries where there are often problems and violations. From 2009 to 2014 there was a 20% increase in establishments found to be in violation. Of agency-initiated investigations during 2014, 78% were found to be in violation.

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DOL Signs Agreement with RI Department of Labor and Training

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

The agreement is a new effort by the agencies to work together to protect the rights of employees and level the playing field for responsible employers by reducing the practice of misclassification. 

May 08, 2015

 

The U.S. Department of Labor and the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training signed a three-year memorandum of understanding intended to protect the rights of employees by preventing their misclassification as independent contractors or other non-employee status. Under the agreement, both agencies will share information and coordinate law enforcement, according to DOL’s release.

The agreement is a new effort by the agencies to work together to protect the rights of employees and level the playing field for responsible employers by reducing the practice of misclassification. Before the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training agreed to partner with DOL, Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming agencies also signed similar agreements.

(Read More)

For more information on misclassification, visit (DOL/Misclassification)

 

DFW Television Report Puts Spotlight on Worker Misclassification

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

by Scott Braddock on Wed, 04/29/2015 – 7:36am

In an explosive investigation that drew the attention of many average Texans over the weekend, WFAA Television in Dallas/Fort Worth put a bright spotlight on the problem of worker misclassification. It’s a problem the Construction Citizen team has exposed for years and we greatly appreciate any time other media outlets take up the cause as well.

This most recent outrage came to light after three men working as independent subcontractors underneath Thanksgiving Tower in Dallas died in a horrific accident. But, the companies involved have denied damages to their families. How can that be?

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Employers Of District Of Columbia Employees Have One Month Left To Provide Wage Notices To Current Employees

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Monday, April 27, 2015

The District of Columbia’s Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act of 2014, which became effective on February 26, 2015, requires in part that employers provide written wage notices to their D.C.-based employees.  Employers have until May 27, 2015 to satisfy this requirement with respect to their employees who were employed as of the Act’s effective date of February 26, 2015.

Specifically, the law requires written wage notices as follows:

  1. New Employees:  Employers are required to provide a written wage notice, both in English and in the employee’s primary language, to all new employees at the time of hiring (with receipt of the notice to be acknowledged in writing by the employee and a copy retained by the employer);
  2. Current Employees:  Employers are required to provide a written wage notice, both in English and in the employee’s primary language, to all current employees (who were employed as of February 26, 2015) by May 27, 2015 (with receipt of the notice to be acknowledged in writing by the employee and a copy retained by the employer);
  3. Upon Change:  Employers are required to provide a written wage notice, both in English and in the employee’s primary language, whenever there is a change to any information on the wage notice (with the notice to be acknowledged by the employee and a copy retained by the employer).

 

(Read More)

 

Calif. Bill Would Ramp Up Enforcement Against Wage Theft

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By Erin Coe April 22, 2015

Law360, San Diego (April 24, 2015, 10:43 PM ET)

 

Looking to crack down on wage theft, California’s Senate leader said Thursday he has introduced a bill that would allow state regulators to require businesses that have failed to pay court orders for worker wages to post a bond of $150,000.

State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon said S.B. 588 would help boost the state labor commissioner’s efforts to go after employers that illegally withhold wages from workers. If companies that already have outstanding judgments also fail to post the bond, the bill gives the labor commissioner the option to file a lien for unpaid wages on the employer’s property.
“Wage theft has reached epidemic proportions in California,” de Leon said in a statement. “California must target the bad actors to level the playing field for honest businesses and help workers collect the pay they’ve earned.”
A U.S. Department of Labor report in December found that between 334,000 and 372,000 workers in California were paid less than the minimum wage each week, at a cost of between $1.2 and $1.5 billion annually.

Seattle’s New Wage Theft Ordinance Imposes Notice Requirements and Civil Penalties

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

4/16/2015 by Breanna M. Sheetz, Daniel L. Thieme and James Zissler

 

Effective April 1, 2015, a new Wage Theft Ordinance imposes specific wage and tip notice requirements on employers in the City of Seattle.1  The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) is granted power to investigate complaints, and employers who violate the Ordinance are subject to orders to pay wages and tips, as well as civil penalties.

What Employers Should Do Immediately to Comply with this Ordinance

Following are the immediate steps that employers should take if they have non-exempt employees2 working in Seattle:

1. Provide immediate notice of the wage theft law to Seattle employees.

Employers must provide notice of employees’ rights under this law in writing (or electronically, as noted below). The SOCR has issued a poster that includes the required information about the new wage theft law, as well as information about Seattle’s new minimum wage law.  The poster is available in English (http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/CivilRights/mwo-poster-english.pdf) and Spanish (http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/CivilRights/mwo-poster-spanish.pdf).  In lieu of displaying the poster, employers can comply with this requirement by reprinting the information in a handbook, or duplicating the poster in another format such as a letter or online system that is accessible by employees.

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