Latest news with #OEO
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WV governor signs bills eliminating Equal Opportunity office, exempting some teens from work permits
The West Virginia Capitol in Charleston, (West Virginia Legislative Photography) Gov. Patrick Morrisey has signed dozens of Republican-backed bills into law, including measures officially eliminating the state's Office of Equal Opportunity and rolling back work permit requirements for some teenagers. The bills were among 73 measures signed by Morrisey April 25 ahead of the governor's bill signing deadline by the end of the day Wednesday. In total, the governor has signed 161 bills, and on Monday, Morrisey said in a post on social media platform X that another 48 bills will be signed and shared in the coming days. 'The final 40 bills are under close review, as we continue to research them and see whether there are adequate arguments to approve these bills to determine whether they should become law,' Morrisey wrote. 'For the future, folks should know that if your bill costs taxpayers money and you haven't provided an offset (a saver) for your proposed program, the odds of your initiative getting approved will be slim,' he continued. Morrisey approved Senate Bill 837, sponsored by Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, that will formally eliminate the state's Office of Equal Opportunity by repealing its mandate in state code. The office was tasked with complying with federal disability rights and investigated discrimination and harassment claims from public employees. While vetting the bills, members of the House of Delegates learned that the OEO seemed to already be gone without lawmakers' required approval. The office doesn't have any employees or a website. Lawmakers opted to keep the office's director position within the Division of Personnel, though the position is currently vacant. Rucker said the bill was an effort to streamline state government since the OEO's work was already being done by the Division of Personnel. Morrisey also signed another measure sponsored by Rucker that will terminate the 'Employee Suggestion Award Board' by terminating five sections of code, including a program that provides cash or honorary awards to state employees whose adopted suggestions result in substantial savings or improvement in state operations. 'We heard that this is not really helping the state. We were very hopeful when this got passed years ago that employees would be able to give us ideas that would really significantly find waste and we could reduce cost to the state. But that is not what has happened,' Rucker said during bill debate March 20 in the Senate. 'Unfortunately, It has been years since there's been a single suggestion.' Rucker said they encouraged state agencies to still accept suggestions from employees regarding cost savings. The governor signed Senate Bill 427 that will roll back work permit requirements for 14- and 15-year olds in West Virginia. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan. Current state law requires 14- and 15-year-olds who want to work to get a permit from their school superintendent; the new law, which goes into effect in July, no longer requires that permit. Employers seeking to hire the teenagers will still be required to obtain an age certificate verifying the child's age from the state Division of Labor and the written consent of the child's parent or guardian. The age certificate would include the child's age, name and date of birth, as well as information about the job they're seeking, among other things. The governor still hasn't signed off on a number of high-profile Republican-backed measures from this year's legislative session, including a bill tightening the state's already-strict ban on gender-affirming care for minors and a measure requiring school employees to alert parents when a child requests to be referred to by a different name or pronouns that are different from the student's biological sex. While Morrisey issued an executive order eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs in state government, he hasn't yet signed a bill that would codify that order. The measure is facing a potential legal challenge after the Senate's Democratic members said the bill was not legally passed on the final night of session because of a 'series of procedural irregularities.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House approves dismantling WV Office of Equal Opportunity, opt to keep its director
The House of Delegates voted to approve a bill dismantling the West Virginia Office of Equal Opportunity on Friday, April 11, 2025. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography) Lawmakers have signed off on doing away with the West Virginia Office of Equal Opportunity, opting to keep the office's director role within a state agency that will be tasked with protecting state employees from discrimination. But questions remain about how the office seemingly dissolved before lawmakers signed off on any changes, which is required. The OEO no longer has any dedicated employees or a director, which is required in state code. A website for the office was taken down. A spokesperson for the Department of Administration, which now oversees the OEO's work, hasn't responded to questions from West Virginia Watch about what happened. Gov. Patrick Morrisey told reporters on Monday that he didn't know all the details, but was going to 'make sure everything is done the right way.' The OEO was tasked with complying with federal disability rights and investigated discrimination and harassment claims from public employees. 'All of the suites are still currently housed in the Department of Administration and are still being taken care of,' said Del. Chris Phillips, R-Barbour. The federally-required reports are still being filed, he said. While vetting a Senate bill meant to dismantle the OEO, members of the House Committee on Government Organization last week learned that the office was already likely disbanded, possibly violating state code by not having lawmakers' required approval. Following that meeting, the committee amended the Republican-sponsored bill to now continue the position of the OEO coordinator within the Department of Administration. The office would still be repealed, according to the legislation. The House approved the amended bill on Friday with a vote of 90-9. All House Democrats voted against the measure, citing concerns that it still wasn't clear what had happened to the office. 'During the committee process, we learned that the office was eliminated obviously without our authorization,' said Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha. Sheryl Webb, director of the state Division of Personnel, declined last week to tell House committee members who had directed the division to begin dismantling the office. She did say the change was partially spurred by Morrisey's executive order mandating that government agencies find efficiencies and eliminate waste. Eliminating the OEO would save $125,000 in salaries plus $41,250 in benefits, she said. Bill sponsor Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, also said the bill was in an effort to streamline state government since the work was already being done by the Division of Personnel. The Senate approved the bill March 29, and they'll have to concur with the House's vote on the measure before it goes to the governor's desk for consideration. During a press conference on April 7, Morrisey said, 'One of the things that we're charged with doing is protecting taxpayers and driving efficiencies.' 'I'll go back after this and make sure that we're taking the steps and figure out if there's areas where we need the authority to change, then certainly we'll go to the Legislature and ask for change,' he continued. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
