There’s something really unseemly about local restaurant and hotel leaders fighting a proposal that guarantees that low-wage workers aren’t cheated or underpaid.
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners’ resolution to fight wage theft is a laudatory – and much-needed – piece of local legislation now opposed by our local restaurant and hotel associations. It’s a black eye for industries that are major employers of low-wage workers and rely so much on public good will.
Hotels and restaurants are often the first jobs for many of us and jobs of last resort for even more, and by and large, most restaurants and hotels are reputable places to work. That’s what makes it all the more strange that they would oppose a resolution that more than anything levels the playing field so the reputable are not put at a disadvantage with disreputable businesses that are not living up to the law.
All in the Family
These days, it seems that every time there is something proposed that protects consumers or workers, it’s called “anti-business.” Some opponents of the policy have in fact trotted out this well-worn meme.
Put directly, it’s simply absurd. If a hotel or restaurant is not stealing wages from its employees, it should have no issue with the law, and why would any employer with a conscience not want to make sure that his industry is not seen as exploitative and unscrupulous?
At times like these, it’s hard for us not to think of our friend and legendary local restaurateur Thomas Boggs who could tell you every employee’s personal situation and who wanted every employee to have their best changes for success in life. As he once said: “They (our employees) are our family and when they succeed, we succeed.”
It’s a sentiment that seems missing the current discussion, and it reminds us what a gaping hole that was left when Mr. Boggs died in 2008 at the age of 63.
WWTD?
As we wrote after his death: “He remembered his tough times, and because of it, he saw value in every person, and often went the extra mile to help them fight addiction, hardship and personal difficulties, including hiring them at his restaurants where he could run his own 12-step program for them. If anyone’s life embodied the concept of ‘there but the grace of God go I,’ it was Thomas’.
“As a result, he felt compelled to share his good fortune with so many others. He was so clear-eyed about the potential for his life to have taken another direction, and because of it, he often acted as a roadblock to others at risk. He could also exercise the kind of tough love that turned so many lives around. In the life of the city, he was everywhere. It was as hard to find a local charity that was not a beneficiary of his help as it was to find a bad hamburger at Huey’s.”
We still invoke Mr. Boggs’ example and his quotable philosophy frequently, and as a result, we often ask ourselves: WWTD – What would Thomas do? It’s hard to imagine that he would not be a fighter for fairness in this case.
A national report concluded low-wage workers exist in a world where they are regularly paid less than minimum wage, where overtime pay is ignored, and where meal breaks are often uncommon. The report found that two out of three workers experienced at least one pay-related violation in the previous work week with an average violation of $51 of an average weekly pay of $339, or 15% of pay lost to wage theft. Here, the Workers Interfaith Network (WIN) last year handled over 100 actual wage theft cases, with amounts in dispute averaging over $2,000 per worker.
Businesslike Answer
It’s hard for middle class Memphians to imagine how powerless these low-wage workers are in these situations. It is a national problem, but with a disproportionate number of low-wage workers in Shelby County, it is a crisis here. More to the point, it is a crisis in which it is not unreasonable for us to expect our favorite restaurants and hotels to stand on the side of fairness, equity, and fair play.
The radical idea being considered by Shelby County Board of Commissioners: passage of a local law to allow workers to recover their stolen wages through a county complaint and hearing process.
The county ordinance has been subject to a great deal of misinformation. It does not duplicate wage theft provisions of the U.S. Department of Labor (which generally only handles large claims), it does not require any regular reporting by businesses, it does not require any new paperwork, it does not place the burden of proof on the employer, and the process is in fact much simpler than Department of Labor procedures.
All in all, the proposal before the Shelby County Board of Commissioners is a businesslike response to a problem.
Golden Rule
It responds with an efficient, streamlined approach. An employee who makes a wage theft claim fills out a simple form with Shelby County, whose Equal Employment Opportunity office determines if it is proper and would try to mediate the dispute. If that fails, the county office would conduct an informal investigation, and if they found that wage theft had occurred, they would issue a citation (similar to a building code violation or for failure to cut his grass). Within 90 days, the review would be completed and the matter would go to General Sessions Court, where the judge can order the business to stop its practices, require payment of wages, or fined $50 for each violation.
We live in a world of situational ethics, but it is striking to us that if someone steals money or property from us, there are detailed legal processes for action. And yet, people can have their wages stolen from them and a practical answer to the problem is fighting for the required votes on the Board of Commissioners.
With commissioners’ approval, the law becomes effective for unincorporated areas of Shelby County. A similar law is being considered by City of Memphis government that would apply within the city limits.
The legislative bodies of city and county governments have shown leadership – not to mention a sense of what’s right and wrong – with consideration of policies anchored in equality and fairness, not to mention the Golden Rule. This wage theft law falls squarely in that category.
Big News
The most exciting things happening in Memphis are not happening in the traditional halls of power and are not being driven by the official power structure. They are instead flowing out of Memphis neighborhoods in dozens of grassroots initiatives driven by a sense of urgency that serves our city well as we attack one of our biggest challenges: business as usual.
The Workers Interfaith Network – led by the indefatigable and inventive Rev. Rebekah Jordan Gienapp – has pricked the conscience of our community with its campaigns on living wage, against wage theft, for worker safety, and for the right for workers to organize. She leaves next month as the founding executive director for WIN after a decade in which she has proven again the power of an individual to change history.
nice one-sided smear. You make no mention that the restaurant and hotel industry have offered self-policing measures including employee education and communication of rights and procedures, an industry funded legal fund, and petitioning state and federal governments for more help addressing the situation. All of which have been dismissed. Also, no mention that if you really are intent on punishing offenders, why is it that Commissioner Mulroy has attempted to remove the fines from the ordinance? Couldn’t possibly be that there are other implications related to the ordinance? It must be that businesses are evil and support wage theft.
WOW! Paranoid much 3:24. Perhaps feeling a little guilty?
“Self-policing measures” – now that sounds like window dressing to a serious problem. And the petitioning of state and federal governments is more window dressing. State officials refer complainants to federal government and federal government only handles big claims. It’s the equivalent of looking like you’re trying to be responsive while ensuring that nothing really changes.
That is the reason that Commissioner Mulroy, we suspect, has wisely dismissed these suggestions. He may have to remove the fines because that vote would require nine votes, and without fines, it only requires seven. It’s a matter of politics, but not what he wants and not what is optimal.
Why do so many reputable, legitimate businesses want to work so hard to protect disreputable, cheating businesses? It makes no business sense.
Wage theft is already illegal on the state and federal level. Employers must post these facts along with phone numbers for government help on wage violations.
“Why do so many reputable, legitimate businesses want to work so hard to protect disreputable, cheating businesses? It makes no business sense.”
Why is it that if you are against whatever government solution to a problem that is being proposed then you are necessarily for whatever evil is trying to be addressed. Opponents of this bill are not for companies that cheat their employees out of wages, they just don’t think “I’m from the government and we are here to help” is the answer to every ill that plagues our society. In fact, there always seem to be unintended consequences to laws passed that never really corrected whatever ill was meant to be addressed.
Companies would not long stay in business if they commit wage theft. Word of mouth spreads about employers like that and people eventually will stop working for them and the company will have a hard time finding new employees. Sure wage theft happens, but it’s not the rule and please don’t link to some biased report by NELP or even the department of Labor, they all seem to be biased in favor of unions which is what this issue is all about.
We have state and federal laws for this. The impact on businesses is indeterminate. but it will affect all — good and bad. The impact will depend on how cutthroat the new enforcement procedures become. How many businesses will simply cough up unearned money just to get the County off their back? Proponents are bragging about how much money is being collected under these laws and how quickly. Sounds like a shakedown to me. Not in the least bit anti-business (sarc). What would really help wage earners: a thriving economy that offers more choices in where to work rather than weak one that is managed into the ground in a futile attempt to offset the impact for selected members of the community
Business is already burdened with oppressive government regulations, they don’t need more. Federal and state law already address wage theft issues and worker education is all that is needed, not more regulation.
“The Workers Interfaith Network – led by the indefatigable and inventive Rev. Rebekah Jordan Gienapp – has pricked the conscience of our community with its campaigns on living wage, against wage theft, for worker safety,
and for the right for workers to organize.”
Follow the trail, it leads back to the unions.
And, if it does lead back to unions, who cares? It’s right morally and a simple case of what’s right and what’s not. And what oppressive government regulations does this create? Companies don’t have to complete any forms or submit any reports. If my company is not cheating employees, I will not be affected.
As for state and federal laws, the state office refers people to the federal government and the federal office only pursues large claims. Why is it not a responsibility of local government to ensure that its citizens are not cheated out of their wages?
As we stated, anybody or any suggestion designed to protect consumers or employees these days are immediately called anti-business, but we have a business too and we strongly support this ordinance, as should any business that does not engage in wage theft. It’s hard for us to see why any conscientious, reputable business would not support this modest ordinance, because it’s only good business to treat employees fairly and honestly.
hush! you have tables to bus…
Of course it’s only good business to treat employees fairly and honestly and most businesses do just that. It’s fairly easy for me to see how businesses and citizens alike could be against this “modest” ordinance. They perhaps do not believe that the laws passed by government necessarily solve whatever injustices that exist in the world. Sometimes the solution to the answer has unintended consequences that create more problems. There are ways to solve this problem without creating more laws, more regulations & more red tape. Why do we always have to look to the government to solve problems when they don’t really have a good reputation for solving things?
More education and enlightenment to the employee is what is needed and you don’t need an ordinance for that.
GET BACK IN THE KITCHEN!
Follow the trail, it leads back to the corporatocracy.
It seems that there is a tendency to turn this into an employee problem. How about an ordinance that sends the message by reputable businesses that they have a zero tolerance for cheating employees?
This is a government solution because the enforcement of employment laws has been a government responsibility.
What a bunch of apologists for theft….
“This is a government solution because the enforcement of employment laws has been a government responsibility.”
and the government is so good at solving problems…NOT SO MUCH…they tend to create more problems than they solve.
What a bunch of apologists for theft….and of course anyone not for this legislation loves and wants to see wage theft happen? No, we just don’t think government can solve everything and we also know laws passed that were supposed to fix certain problems often have unintended consequences.
Is it possible to have differing opinions on how to solve problems without one side accusing the other side of being for whatever evil is being fought against? No one arguing against this is for wage theft, so please stop making that accusation…..