City Council bans Cleveland from doing business with companies that practice wage theft

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Published: Dec. 05, 2022 | Cleveland.com

By Courtney Astolfi

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland City Council approved on Monday an ordinance banning the city of Cleveland from doing business with companies found to practice wage theft and those that commit payroll fraud.

The new law bars Cleveland from granting financial assistance to such companies or entering into contracts with them for city services or construction.

The measure is a victory for advocacy group Guardians for Fair Work, which has been lobbying city officials this year to deliver wage-theft protections for Cleveland workers.

“This is an important step forward for working people in Cleveland. We believe the only way we succeed as a city and region is to put workers at the center of our economic development strategies. Without this worker centered approach we will not have shared prosperity,” organizer Nora Kelley said in a news release. She added that workers with the lowest wages are often the ones victimized by wage theft.

Businesses seeking city contracts or financial assistance will have to report to the city’s Fair Employment Wage Board any instances of a government agency finding that they or a subcontractor committed wage theft or payroll fraud within the last three years. Businesses that self-report those instances would not be eligible to receive city money or contracts.