Bill Title: As Introduced 128th General AssemblyRegular Session2009-2010S. C. R. No. 22 Senator Morano
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-11-18 - To Insurance, Commerce, & Labor
[SCR22 Detail]Download: Ohio-2009-SCR22-Introduced.html
As Introduced
| 128th General Assembly | | Regular Session | | 2009-2010 |
| |
Cosponsors:
Senators Cafaro, Miller, D., Turner, Strahorn, Schiavoni, Miller, R., Fedor, Smith, Sawyer
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
| To urge the Congress of the United States to enact | 1 |
|
House Resolution 3303, the Wage Theft Prevention | 2 |
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF OHIO
(THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING):
| WHEREAS, Wage theft is a serious problem in this country and | 4 |
|
has affected those employees who can least afford to lose their | 5 |
|
pay and, given these difficult economic times, the nation must | 6 |
|
ensure that hard-working Americans earn the compensation to which | 7 |
|
they are entitled and ensure that legitimate complaints of wage | 8 |
|
theft are given a thorough investigation; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, The Wage Theft Prevention Act amends the | 10 |
|
Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 to toll the statute of limitations | 11 |
|
for
bringing a cause of action for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid | 12 |
|
overtime compensation, or liquidated damages under the Fair Labor | 13 |
|
Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., the Walsh-Healey Act, 41 | 14 |
|
U.S.C. 35 et seq., or the Bacon-Davis Act, 40 U.S.C. 376a et seq., | 15 |
|
starting from the time the United States Secretary of Labor | 16 |
|
notifies an employer of the initiation of an investigation | 17 |
|
regarding a cause of action under those laws until that employer | 18 |
|
is notified of the conclusion of the investigation; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, An undercover investigation by the United States | 20 |
|
Government Accountability Office found that complaint intake, | 21 |
|
complaint resolution, and investigation processes of the Division | 22 |
|
of Wage and Hour within the United States Department of Labor were | 23 |
|
ineffective and discouraged workers from lodging wage theft | 24 |
|
complaints; and | 25 |
| WHEREAS, For example, in several of the Division's regional | 26 |
|
offices, staff were directed to record only successful complaint | 27 |
|
resolutions in the staff's database, making the Wage and Hour | 28 |
|
Division appear better at resolving wage and hour complaints than | 29 |
|
the Division actually is, and in addition, the Government | 30 |
|
Accountability Office found that, because of the lack
of | 31 |
|
resources and staff, investigations on wage theft and child labor | 32 |
|
violations were frequently delayed by months or years; and | 33 |
| WHEREAS, The ineffectiveness of the Wage and Hour Division's | 34 |
|
investigations and procedures leaves thousands of low-wage workers | 35 |
|
vulnerable to wage theft, and because of the Wage and Hour | 36 |
|
Division's delays, an employee's right to file a lawsuit could be | 37 |
|
jeopardized; now therefore be it | 38 |
| RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the State of Ohio | 39 |
|
urges the Congress of the United States to enact House Resolution | 40 |
|
3303, the Wage Theft Prevention Act, to allow employees to bring | 41 |
|
an action for wage theft and to allow the Division of Wage and | 42 |
|
Hour to conduct an investigation to assist low-income employees in | 43 |
|
need; therefore be it further | 44 |
| RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly | 45 |
|
authenticated copies of this resolution to the President of the | 46 |
|
United States, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of | 47 |
|
Representatives, the President Pro Tempore and the Secretary of | 48 |
|
the United States Senate, the members of the Ohio Congressional | 49 |
|
delegation, the United States Secretary of Labor, the Governor of | 50 |
|
the State of Ohio, and the news media of Ohio. | 51 |
