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Wage theft bill heads to governor’s desk (ID)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

NATHAN BROWN
3-13-2019

A bill to give employees a year rather than six months to file claims for partial payment of wages is headed to the governor’s desk.

The bill, which was sponsored by House Minority Leader Rep. Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, passed the Senate unanimously Tuesday. It had already passed the House, also without opposition.

Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, who sponsored the bill in that chamber, said people often discover they were partially shorted on pay when filing their taxes. With the current statute of limitations, that means if they file a complaint with the Department of Labor they can only recover part of the year’s pay they may be owed.

“I believe this legislation corrects a problem that affects too many wage earners, and there is no known opposition to this bill,” Burgoyne said.

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Guest opinion: Idahoans should get what they’re paid for (ID)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Rep. Mat Erpelding and Jason Hudson
3-5-2019

Working Idahoans believe in receiving a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work. If you agree to do a job for an agreed upon wage, that money should show up in your paycheck. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way. For reasons innocent and sinister, hundreds of (if not more) Idahoans get shorted every year. As leaders who represent hard-working Idahoans, we don’t think that’s right. For the first time in a long time, your elected leaders can do something about it.

Every year, hundreds of working Idahoans file “wage theft” claims with the state Department of Labor. They seek to recover wages they were promised but never paid. This is their right under state law. The problem is, they can only recover unpaid wages for six months. If they’ve been shorted on payday for a full year, too bad.

House Bill 113 would allow workers to recover up to one-year of the money they worked for, earned, but were never paid. It’s a modest step toward ensuring an honest payday for working Idahoans. The legislation passed through the House unanimously and is heading to the Senate floor. We are hopeful our elected Senators vote to support our hardworking men and women who deserve – and could use – every cent they’ve worked for.

Chances are you know someone who has gotten shorted in their pay envelope. The workers affected by wage theft run the full spectrum of trades and professions – from constructions workers, to retail employees, food service and the healthcare industry. Most victims are blue collar workers who lose hundreds and even thousands of dollars over the course of a year. Those dollars add up quickly for someone who is trying to support a family, put food on the table and make rent every month. Giving those people the tools to recover the wages they’ve earned is not just the fair thing to do, it’s vital to their well-being and the security of their families.

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Rep. Mat Erpelding is the House Democratic Leader and Jason Hudson works with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

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Lawmakers debate bill to allow Idahoans to get unpaid, underpaid wages back (ID)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

by KLEW News Staff
Tuesday, February 26th 2019

BOISE, ID – A bill allowing working Idahoans to recoup up to one year of under-paid wages is trying to become law.

Currently, Idaho only allows workers to get six-months of unpaid or underpaid wages through a process with the State Department of Labor.
It is one of the lowest look-back periods in the nation. Supporters of working Idahoans say it’s about fairness.

The Department of Labor said that most workers notice wage theft in one of two time periods; either the Monday after payday or when they do their taxes.

The bill being debated Monday maintains protections for Idaho employers while injecting fairness into the system.

“What this does is level the playing field and makes sure that someone who’s legitimately had wages stolen from them, can claim those wages up to a full year when they realize that their wages were taken from them, when they go to do their taxes,” said Rep. Mat Erpelding.

The Idaho Department of Labor processed more than 900 wage theft claims last year from workers representing virtually every line of work including construction, service workers, healthcare employees and retail workers.

(See Article)

Ninth Circuit Upends Idaho’s Anti-Union Law

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

By MIKE HEUER
(CN) – Since federal labor law controls what workers do with their pay, Idaho cannot block union contractors from using portions of wages as a subsidy to better compete for work, the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday.

Construction unions developed the strategy, known as “job-targeting” or “market-recovery” programs, as the percentage of workers they represent continued to decline.

The program involve unions collects funds from workers it represents and using those funds to subsidize bids by union contractors, “allowing the contractors to lower their labor costs and so more effectively compete with non-union contractors,” a ruling from the Ninth Circuit says today.

When Idaho banned the practice with a law called the Fairness in Contracting Act, unions filed suit for an injunction.

Before the law could take effect in 2011, Chief U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill ruled that the law conflicts with Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

An appellate panel with the Ninth Circuit in Portland, Ore., affirmed today.

In addition to private jobs, Idaho’s law would apply to federal contractor jobs that are governed by the Davis-Bacon Act, a federal statute that determines labor and pay standards on federal projects.

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