Ohio|Alliance|Against|Wage|Theft
Proposed Legislation
Ohio
Senate Bill 212
Wage Claim Legislation
Summary:
A Bill to allow the Director of Commerce to investigate and enforce specified claims involving unpaid wages, expand the Department’s enforcement capabilities to allow the Director to investigate complaints beyond the scope of the minimum wage.
At the present time, the Department of Commerce can only investigate and resolve violations of the minimum wage requirements under Article II, Section 34a of the Ohio Constitution. Workers earning more than the minimum wage are unable to file a complaint with the Department for the full amount of the unpaid wages. Civil remedies are available for violation of wage laws, however, many Ohioans lack access to counsel and cannot avail themselves of those remedies.
Text of the bill: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=128_SB_212
Sponsor: Senator Sue Morano (D)
Cosponsors: Senators Cafaro, Miller, D., Turner, Strahorn, Schiavoni, Miller, R., Fedor, Smith
Status: Introduced: 11/18/09; Assigned to Insurance, Commerce & Labor Committee. No Votes
Senate Bill 195
Employee Determination
Summary:
A Bill to create a consistent standard to determine whether an individual performing services for an employer is an employee or an independent contractor. The Bill also requires the party claiming that a worker is an independent contractor and not an employee to bear the burden of proof in a wage dispute and expands the Department of Commerce’s powers to investigate and enforce misclassification violations. Employers who violate the law would be subject to actual and liquidated damages, civil penalties, and repeat offenders would be barred from bidding state contracts.
Text of the bill: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=128_SB_195
Sponsor: Senator Patton (R)
Status: Introduced 10/27/09; Assigned to Insurance, Commerce & Labor Committee. No Votes
House Bill 523
Honest Employer Act
Summary:
A Bill to create a uniform definition of “employee” for specific labor laws. Currently, the definition of the term “employee” varies across Ohio laws and administration rules governing the payment of the minimum wage, the Bimonthly Pay Law, the Prevailing Wage Law, the Workers’ Compensation Law, the Unemployment Compensation Law, and the Income Tax Law. This Bill would provide clarity and conformity between the laws and would remove ambiguity for employee and employer alike.
Text of the bill: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=128_HB_523
Sponsors: Representatives Phillips (D), Driehaus (D)
Cosponsors: Representatives Patten, Murray, Weddington, Letson, Hagan, Szollosi, Brown, Okey, Domenick, Dodd, Walter, Pillich, Garland, Skindell, Foley
Status: Introduced: 5/24/10; Assigned to Commerce & Labor; Amended on 12/08/10; Defeated in House 12/08/10. Final Vote 47-49.
Federal
H.R. 3303
Wage Theft Prevention Act
Summary:
This Legislation would suspend the statue of limitations while the DOL (Department of Labor) investigates the alleged infraction. This prevents workers from having their case dismissed through no fault of their own. The present statute requires that the duration of the DOL investigation be included in the two year statute of limitation. After the two years, any unresolved cases are dismissed.
Access Text of Bill at: http://thomas.loc.gov/
Sponsor: Rep Miller, George [CA-7].
Cosponsors: Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9]; Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51]; Rep Hare, Phil [IL-17]; Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6].
Status: 10/22/2009 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
Senate Bill: S.3254.
Employee Misclassification Protection Act (EMPA)
Summary:
The Employee Misclassification Prevention Act (EMPA) would protect workers from being misclassified as independent contractors, thereby ensuring access to safeguards like fair labor standards, health and safety protections, and unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits. The Act would also prohibit employers from using misclassification to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
SECTION 2
Recordkeeping and Notice
Requires employers to keep wage and hour records of workers who are not employees 1) who are engaged in the course of the employer’s trade or business and 2) for whom the employer would have to file an IRS 1099 (i.e. independent contractors receiving $600 or more in remuneration).
Creates a rebuttable presumption that, when an employer fails to keep wage and hour records or provide notice of classification, a worker will be considered an employee.
Requires that all wage and hour records include an accurate classification of the worker as either an employee or a non-employee engaged for the performance of labor or services.
Requires that all employees and non-employees be given written notice of their classification and that they be directed to Department of Labor employee rights resources.
Prohibitions and Penalties
Makes it a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act to discharge or discriminate against a worker because he or she filed a complaint or instituted an action concerning his or her classification.
Makes it a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act to misclassify an employee.
Extends a private right of action to employees who are misclassified with double liquidated damages assessed against the employer when they also violates minimum wage or maximum hour standards.
Subjects employers to a civil penalty up to $1,100 for misclassification violations or violations of minimum wage or overtime standards and up to $5,000 when such violations are repeated or willful.
Employee Rights Website – Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a website that summarizes the rights of employees with respect to the amendments contained within the Act.
SECTION 3: State Directives – Makes state unemployment compensation grants contingent on 1) the state having programs in place to identify employers that exclude employees from unemployment compensation; 2) the filing of quarterly reports describing the findings of such programs; and 3) the establishment of administrative penalties for misclassifying employees or for paying unreported compensation. Also directs the Secretary of Labor to audit states’ performance in conducting unemployment compensation tax audits.
SECTION 4: Departmental Coordination – Directs all divisions of the Department of Labor to report information obtained concerning misclassification to the Department of Labor Employment Standards Administration, which may report such information to the IRS, as appropriate.
SECTION 5: Directed Audits – Directs the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division to conduct audits of industries with frequent incidence of misclassification.
Access Text of Bill at: http://thomas.loc.gov/
Sponsor: Sen Brown, Sherrod [OH]
Co-Sponsors: Sen Casey, Robert P., Jr. [PA]; Sen Durbin, Richard [IL]; Sen Franken, Al [MN]; Sen Harkin, Tom [IA]; Sen Merkley, Jeff [OR]; Sen Mikulski, Barbara A. [MD] ; Sen Murray, Patty [WA]; Sen Tester, Jon [MT].
Status: 6/17/2010 Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held.
OHIO ALLIANCE AGAINST WAGE THEFT
The Ohio Alliance Against Wage Theft is committed to ending wage theft in our state.
ALLIANCE MEMBERS
Allotta, Farley & Widman Co., LPA
Barkan Neff Handelman Meizlish, LLP
Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center
Cohen, Rosenthal & Kramer LLP
Greater Columbus Jobs with Justice
Cleveland Jobs with Justice
Communication Workers of America - AFL-CIO District 4
Interfaith Worker Justice
The Lazzaro Law Firm, LLC
National Employment Law Project
North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor
Ohio Administrative District Council of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
Ohio Poverty Law Center
Policy Matters Ohio
SEIU District 1199 - Service Employees International Union, CTW, CLC
United Auto Workers, Region 2B
United Church of Christ - Justice and Witness Ministries
United Food & Commercial Workers, Local 1059
Join us by signing our policy statement.
WAGE THEFT IN OHIO
Wage theft happens across Ohio. This map shows violations in Hamilton Country.
Interested in creating a wage theft map for your county? Contact bgrayson@manleyburke.com to request a "Wage Theft Map Toolkit".
Search for wage theft near you
Thank you to Allotta, Farley & Widman, Co., LPA, for sponsoring this website as a community service.
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