May
2013 21
2013 21
IBEW Pres. Hill’s Op-Ed Supporting Retail and Fast Food Workers Strikes a Chord
In an interesting and well-crafted op-ed for The Huffington Post, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) International President Edwin Hill asks all workers in America to stand with low-wage workers in the fast food and retail industries to demand an end to exploitative pay practices. Hill notes the similarities between the...
May
2013 20
2013 20
Abused Mentally Disabled Workers to Receive a Fraction of Initial Backpay Settlement Due to Federal Punishment Caps
A recent landmark verdict which awarded $240 million to 32 mentally disabled plant workers in Iowa has been almost entirely wiped out due to federal caps regulated under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The new total is $1.6 million, according to the Associated Press: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Henry’s Turkey...
May
2013 20
2013 20
OR Forestalls Nike Founder, Moves to Expand Prevailing Wages to Privately Funded College Projects
A bill requiring prevailing wages on all projects built on Oregon college campuses passed the state senate last week. House Bill 2646 flew through the House in a 27-2 landslide despite attempts from Nike founder and University of Oregon donor Phil Knight to have the bill pulled. State prevailing wage laws already cover publicly ...
May
2013 17
2013 17
Million Dollar Kentucky Backpay Case Helps Set Precedent for What Constitutes an Independent Contractor
Kentucky-based cable installer Bowlin Group, LLC has been ordered to pay $1,075,000 in back wages and damages to 196 employees after the Department of Labor (DOL) obtained a consent judgement from a federal court. The decision concludes an investigation which found that 77 of Bowlin Group’s workers were misclassified as independent...
May
2013 16
2013 16
Wage and Hour Lawsuits Up for Fifth Straight Year, Up More Than 400% Since 2002
Once again, wage-and-hour suits have increased year over year with 7,764 such lawsuits being brought forward between April 1st, 2012 and March 31st, 2013. Last year’s total was 7,064. This marks the 5th consecutive year that the number of wage and hour suits has increased. A sharpened focus from the Department of Labor (DOL) is ...
May
2013 15
2013 15
USA Today’s List of the 8 Companies that Most Owe Their Workers a Raise Will Piss You Off
USA Today has put together a list of the 8 companies that most owe their workers a raise. The list was determined based on actual numbers not anger, sympathy or any other completely reasonable thing to feel in the face of rampant income inequality. Authors Douglas McIntyre and Samuel Weigley argue that the lowest paid ...
May
2013 15
2013 15
Mountain View, CA, Unlike Cities in MI and PA, Seeks to Expand Rather than Diminish the Prevailing Wage
In California, the Mountain View City Council is changing their stance on prevailing wage laws as they pertain to the building of affordable housing units. In the past, prevailing wage laws were limited to public works projects and capital improvements. In a 6-1 vote, however, the council has directed city staff to create a resolution ...
May
2013 13
2013 13
The Skills Shortage Is a Meme.
The American skills shortage is a meme. It is a tired argument used to lobby for increased temporary guest workers who bring low wages and it is a red herring used to explain away unemployment while bolstering austerity’s selfish bottom line. Writer Robert J. Samuelson recently took to the pages of the Washington Post with ...
May
2013 8
2013 8
Missouri Bill that Will Limit the Prevailing Wage Headed to Governor’s Desk
Last week, the Missouri Senate passed a House bill that aims to make changes to the way prevailing wages are calculated in the Show-Me State. The bill, HB34, passed along party lines in a 23-10 vote and now heads to the desk of Gov. Jay Nixon. The changes “would eliminate the prevailing wage in third ...
May
2013 7
2013 7
Massive NY Developer that Secured Stimulus Funding Being Sued by Unions for Underpaying Workers
The controversial City Point Development in downtown Brooklyn, New York, faces increased legal problems stemming from the underpayment of construction workers. Elected officials, construction unions and community groups last week have filed an Article 78 lawsuit against developer Arcadia Trust which aims to shut the project down. Due to...
May
2013 7
2013 7
Canadian Prime Minister Responds to Outcry, Reinstates Prevailing Wages for Guest Workers
Following the controversy sparked by the RBC-iGate affair in which the Royal Bank of Canada was replacing Canadian IT workers with foreign counterparts in order to lower labor costs, the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced changes to the country’s temporary foreign labor program. The changes, made under...
May
2013 3
2013 3
PARRAMORE: On Average, Workers Lose $2,634 a Year to Wage Theft
A deep look into American wage theft from AlterNet writer Lynn Stuart Parramore provides an enhanced view of the problem plaguing workers today. Published as part of a series titled, “The Age of Fraud,” the piece looks into the details of how wage theft occurs and what protections there are (or aren’t) for workers. Parramore ...
